October 2022 Newsletter

Message from the Executive Director

Greetings!

Thanks to each of you who have posted reviews for us on Google, Facebook, and/or Yelp. It is much appreciated, and we are seeing increased online traffic and inquiries across the board as a result.

Many of you have been faithful givers for some time now and I want you to know that we couldn’t continue this vital work without you. Thank you!

It appears we may be starting up a 2nd training class later this month which will double the number of students we can graduate. Very exciting! In addition, our Canine Obedience class series has begun, and new offerings will be posted on the website.

I’ve been asked to reprint the information below for your consideration as they are additional, easy ways to also support FSDS:

Additional ways you can help:

Choose The Foundation for Service Dog Support as your charity of choice on smile.amazon.com
Link your shopper card # to The Foundation for Service Dog Support (Org #EY153) with Fry’s Community Rewards at frysfood.com

They each donate a percentage of purchases to the charity chosen.

Check if your employer offers a matching gift program which can double the amount of support at no extra cost to you when you sign up
Please consider FSDS on Giving Tuesday with a gift of your choosing
And remember the tax credit you can receive for gifts to FSDS as an AZ Qualifying Charitable Organization (Code 22372) at azdor.gov.

My best!

Karen

Wellness Tip

Happy Fall, y’all! Along with the cooler weather comes thoughts of holiday parties and decorations. While bright and festive, these decorations can pose serious dangers to the health of your dog. Here are some helpful tips on keeping your dog safe.

Location, location, location! Be certain any hanging decorations hung are well out of the reach of your dogs. Dogs explore the world by eating things. Keep candy dishes off of low coffee or end tables, and secure them at night so your dog does not snack on toxic “treats” while you are sleeping.

Costumes – Halloween costumes should never be left on a dog unless you are present to supervise. If you choose to deck out your dog, be certain to supervise at all times, and remember not to cover up their training vest. Working in public, particularly for our new graduates, will be easier for both team members if the public is readily able to identify you as a legitimate team.

Toxic treats – while certain foods are a real treat for us, they can be deadly for dogs. Some of the most common foods that are toxic for dogs include chocolate (the darker the chocolate, the more toxic), grapes & raisins, macadamia nuts, onions, garlic and caffeine. The safest thing to do is adopt a strict “no people food” policy for dogs . In addition, Crepe paper, foil decorations, stuffed items or cotton used for spider webs can all cause intestinal blockage if ingested. This may result in the need for risky and costly surgery for your dog to remove the blockage.

Kitchen aid – When in the kitchen cooking, provide your dog with a mat so that they understand that this is their “place”. All garbage cans should have lids so that the dog will not be tempted to go fishing. Remember that rising dough, if ingested, can cause intestinal blockage. If at any time you leave the kitchen, take your dog with you!

Company etiquette – if you are planning to entertain for the holidays, we recommend you include a note on all invitations announcing you have a dog in the home. Informing your company in advance is not only good for the adults, but it also provides parents of young children the opportunity to speak with their children prior to arriving at your home so that they understand how to behave around a dog, whether a pet or a Service Dog.

Classroom news

The teams are excelling in the commands we have taught them this past month. They continue to be hard at work with incorporating those commands into varied environments. As we continue to work on these commands, we have also worked on some new things:

Out of sight sit and down stays
Cuing a command from a distance
Off leash heeling
Cover
Center
Go find/Go get
Reactions to unfamiliar dogs

So far, all the dogs have been doing extremely well with seeing unfamiliar dogs entering the training room. There is no reactivity, and they perform their commands without being distracted by the unfamiliar dogs. Each dog has mastered 4 in a box which helps teach a dog how to “tuck” into small spaces.

With us slowly introducing public places to our training, the students have learned the skills they need when it comes to handling their dogs in public. Most of the students are now taking their Service Dog in Training (SDIT) to work or school with them every day.

We are prepping the students for their public appropriateness test this coming month!

The teams did a superb job at our field trip outing to Goodwill. We are looking forward to our next scheduled field trips this month to the Public Safety GAIN event in Peoria and Barktoberfest!

Beginner class Highlights

Tom/Sharon & Ruby- Ruby has made great progress with picking up a dropped pill bottle off the floor and is working on handing it back to her handlers along with achieving her Cover command.

Charlotte & Luna– Luna has successfully accomplished her Perch work and her emergency stop! She has been doing a great job with staying when handler is out of sight.

Kerry/Jase & Sadie– Sadie has mastered her Paw command and is targeting the leg. She now is doing Touch with a lid on the wall which will transition to how to target for alerting purposes.

Scott & Luna– Luna has been performing really well with her Perch work which helps with rear end awareness and has been improving greatly with her Center command.