[Blind-Rollers] Following progress of service dog in training

[Leah Campbell]

Hi Becky,

I apologize if this is a duplicate response. After I replied to your message, I received two emails wanting to confirm my unsubscribe request which I never made.

Thanks for asking .  Thanks to COVID and quarantine, Merida's socialization and exposure to the public has been drastically limited. The trainer from Paws 4 Purpose has worked with her on obedience and picking up objects.  She was beginning to go train with the trainer for several days and then we kept having interruptions, i.e. a student would test positive for COVID in her kids' class, her son got the flu and strep, an ice storm left her without power, she and her husband got COVID.  She has now had surgery and is on limited duty for 6-8 weeks. She is hoping to be released on February 15th. In the meantime, I am attempting to reinforce what she has already been taught.  I've gotten a little bored and started teaching her tricks.  I've had a guide dog before, and there is a difference between a service dog and a guide dog. I like to have a way for Merida to interact with people when we are out and they ask if they can pet her.  So, she has learned to "say hi" and offer her paw.  She can also say "bye" and waves. I've even taught her to roll over.  The trainer is having obedience classes at the training center.  Since Merida already knows obedience, these would offer a way for her to work on listening to me with distractions. If you or anyone would like to follow her progress, send me a Facebook friend request.  I periodically post her progress, and I do describe all of the photos and videos.

Leah