Hard to believe, but it has been 30 days for us with Big Stig! He has come a long way, we have grown together, taught each other lessons and bonded.

Month Conclusion:
Commands: Stig knows and almost consistently does “Sit” “Stay” “Down”. Sit and Stay with hand motions also. “Come” when you have a treat and no other distractions. Still do not trust him off leash. Working on “leave it”, which he does ok, unless it smells like peanut butter!
Leash Walking: Wonderful. Every day we walk morning and evening approx 4-5 miles total. We walk everywhere, every weather.
Socialization: We started more public places: Farmers Market, Home Depot, Solid Ground Coffee Shop,a Restaurant and the Art Fair!! All in all, he does very well in all situations, the restaurant needs a little work. Next week we are working on other dog socialization: Dog Parks and Play dates.
Potty Training: Had a few accidents but he learned quickly. We also learned quickly the signs of him asking to be let out. Stig will get right in your face, constantly and repeating. We had a few nights where Stig had a poop problem and had to go. Stig sleeps on the floor on a dog bed in our room. The only time he bothered us in the night was when he needed to be let out. And even that was so sweet, he would every so gently put his wet cold dog nose right on our face, and blow. Hey, it waked us up!
Toys: Stig does like to play with his toys. His favorite is a rope, a Bubba kong and a stuffed Woody doll. He will play with the toys all at once or one at a time. Moxie does not like toys, but when other dogs are here Big Stig is territorial over toys. He is starting to share, but like a toddler only wants the toy the other dog has!Conclusion:
Stig was with out Moxie this week. I noticed more ‘anxiety’ when we walked by other dogs. Stig wants to play! There are dogs that are better off as an ‘only’ dog, not Stig, he wants a pack!
Stig is starting to bark more. Mostly when he is startled and when he hears a dog barking on T.V. Silly boy……
Stig and Cameron (my 13 year old) have a close bond. It is awesome to see!

Well, not all post’s can be good! It’s not really Stig’s fault, but mine.

I got a last minute call form a girlfriend whom we have been trying to get together for weeks. The timing was perfect, but Stig didn’t have his normal walk that morning and I had been out so he was in his crate. When Elicia called I asked if she could drive to meet me where we could go to a Restaurant that I knew we could take Stig with us. It was perfect, I could kill 2 birds with one stone! (bad phrase actually!?). I would get a rare opportunity to have lunch with my friend and socialize Stig! This was his first restaurant experience, but since he has been doing extraordinarily on his outings, I thought this would be a piece of cake. HA!
We sat outside in the perfect spot, in the shade, away from everyone, by the side walk. We sit, order a nice cold Lemonade drink and dove right into a catch up conversation that went something like this:

“So I planted things differently-” Elicia started to say
“No Stig”
“The kids are-“
“Sit Stig”
“Going up north-“
“No Stig”
“Fire works-“
“STIG!”

Yup! I felt like I had a toddler. Seriously, I couldn’t keep up with a conversation, kept pulling him back, making him sit, giving him treats (when he was good). Stig wanted to eat everything off the floor, under the table…….I realized that next time I needed to bring toys for him to play with. I even caught myself speaking slowly and stern “You better stop this right now Stig, or you are gonna get a time out!” (That is the picture Elicia took where I am talking to Stig and he is looking else where!) JUST like a toddler!
Well, lesson learned. The timing wasn’t right, and I pushed the situation.
Thank you Elicia for your patience with all the distractions. Next time, the children are staying home!

It was our usual early morning Saturday walk with Stig. Joe and I take the 1 mile walk to downtown on the weekends for coffee, bringing Stig with us. Last week we rescued a baby bird, I wonder what today has in store.

Little to our surprise it was a busy day for Downtown Northville. The Solstice Race 5k was just ending. The streets were closed and many runners and walkers of all ages packed the streets. When we got to the Downtown area we realized that it was also the Northville Art fair! Bonus. Joe and I looked at each other, thinking the same thoughts, this is perfect! Any opportunity to socialize Stig in a new environment gets me excited.

The streets were full, vendors setting up their booths, other dogs , little kid carrying good smelling things just the right level for Stig. He flourishes in this type of environment. I actually think he does better in chaos than when it’s just him and I on a lonely road.

I spotted a booth with some Ty-died clothes and instantly made a quick pit-stop. While I was mesmerized by the styles I overheard a conversation that snapped me right out of my trance….

“Mommy, what a cute dog, can I pet it?” asked this precious little girl as she was pointing right at Stig.

The mother peaked around the corner to look at what her daughter was pointing at.

“No honey, you can’t pet it, it is a Service Dog” She explained.

I immediately spoke up “Please, by all means, pet the dog. He is in training and we encourage it” I said looking from mother to daughter. The child’s eyes sparkled at my reply, and she looked at her mom in question.

Off she ran directly to Big Stig. I am not sure who actually enjoyed their time together more, Stig or the little girl.

“What is your name?” my husband, Joe asked.

“Abby” she said, not once taking her hands off of Stig. She has a dog of her own, a chocolate lab at home. She loves dogs and wished she could sleep with him on her bed, but her dad wont let him. She is precious, and this moment needed to be captured. (Yes, I had my camera this time!)

After snapping the picture, I went right to the mother and handed her our business card and explained that I took a picture of Abby and would love to share it on my blog with her permission.

So here they are, Stig and this dog loving precious girl named, Abby.

It was a beautiful cool summer morning you dream about. Stig and are were out earlier than usual enjoying the breeze. Three deer ran right across the road in front of us about three houses away. Such a beautiful sight! Stig noticed but didn’t seem to mind much, I think we were both in awe…

A car slowed as it was passing, a woman rolled her window down.
“I just wanted to warn you but there is a deer right by the road a few feet from here” She says as she looks at Big Stig.

“Wow. I just saw three of them a few seconds ago!” as I look at Stig “He didn’t seem to care.” I shrugged.Well, she looked like she was about to throw up, or just ate something bitter.

“Did I say something disgusting?” I asked. She impatiently drove off.

What was that all about? I appreciate the warning (I have done that before myself!). If I was walking any other dog, my butt would be dragging on a leash behind the dog chasing the deer! But what I didn’t understand was why she looked disappointed when I said Stig was fine with the deer.

I stopped suddenly, drawn out of my rant, as I was face to face with that deer! We were all startled, Stig, the deer and I. Stig freezes, tail high, hair up. The deer stood just as erect, ears perked, looking directly at us. I stood there, grounded, watching the animal behavior unfold. I whispered “hi” to the deer.

Just then, to my surprise, Stig gave a high pitched soft bark. I look at him to see him in the down-ward dog stance. Stig was initiating play! The deer looked really confused, and tilted his head as if to say,’huh?’ I giggled to myself, looking over my shoulder to see if that woman could see us in her rear-view mirror….

This is perfect. What a photo opportunity I thought. I slowly open the zippered pouch and reach for my camera. It was not there! I faithfully take that camera everywhere but not today, of course. I could have fit both Stig and the deer in one frame!

A car screeched around the corner, startling all of us. The deer quickly jumped and ran away.Stig started off after.
“Stig” I say firmly. “Sit.” He stopped and sat immediately. I reached way down in my pouch to find the biggest piece of chicken jerky I could reward him with.
“Good Boy” I say as I give him it.
“Gooooooooood Booooooooy!”

After 2 .5 weeks, Stig was ready for his first Emotional Therapy Dog work, well training for. This is a big step and should be done when you are comfortable enough about the bond and relationship with your dog. Knowing how he responds to new areas, knowing his behaviors and building on the trust that you have built. This is what it is all about; the human-animal bond and we were ready to go!

“Mom that is like lying” Cameron, my 13 year old said “He isn’t a Therapy dog yet!”

As true as that statement is, there are advantages to his ETD (Emotional Therapy Dog) vest. On one side of the vest it states Emotional Therapy Dog on the other side is a clasp where you would hang the I.D Badge; showing his picture and certification. When people see this, they generally smile and respect what the dogs job is, people approach in a different manner: more cautiously or asking permission to touch. In this situation, that is exactly what we want. So for now, I have a tag that says; “In Training”. As soon as I put the vest on Big Stig, it was like he knew what he was doing. He had a job to do and he was going to do it!

Home Depot was our choice, nice wide aisles. Stig maneuvered in and out of close carts down the aisles, past strollers, wagons, and the scary thing that backs up and beeps loudly……..Stig was a Champ! No one seemed to pay much attention to him actually. A Salesman came over to ask what he was all about, what breed, etc. Stig sat patiently as we talked. A little girl asked to pet him, and Stig obliged happily! He loved every minute of those lollie-pop fingers! What a great first trip for Stig. We could not be more proud.

It was an exhausting day at Boot Camp for Stig. After his 3 mile walk in the morning and his ‘tour’ through Home Depot he was tired! As exhibited in the follow picture…..