He accidentally hurt me during training more times than I can count, but I'm still here. I struggled some when the pain spread to my legs, and Adam had to step up to head trainer, but that didn't work for Robbie. He began listening to Adam more than me, and we had to spend 2 months of grueling heel work before he re-aligned himself to me, but it was worth it. Robbie taught me that some days are just gonna suck, but I have the strength and the ability to still do anything that I put my mind too, and not many disabled people can say that. Before we got Robbie, I had just about hit rock bottom. I had to quit my job, which wasn't even a job that was worth it, we moved out to the middle of nowhere, and Adam was working extremely long hours. My pain just kept getting worse, and I had no friends living nearby. It was really hard to hold onto the hope that one day it would get better. When I started looking for a service dog, I felt like a punching bag for other people's ignorance and stupidity. So many people turned us down simply because we lived in the dangerous country and didn't have a 6ft tall privacy fence to protect the dog. Never mind the fact that a service dog would be glued to my side all the time anyways, and be trained to respond no matter where he was or what he was doing. Then we found a dog who we thought would be a good match, and that got jerked away from us (which turned out for the best because that dog would have been a terrible SD). Robbie was just one in twenty calls I had to make one day, and it turned out that he was the perfect dog for us. He was exactly what I needed and couldn't have come into our lives at a better time. All of us have grown so much in the past year... some even literally, as Robbie grew 6" within 5 months of adoption. Expectations vs RealityThe expectations leading up to getting a service dog are totally different from the reality of owning one. Especially when you embark on owner-training. In our initial meetings with our trainer, we always thought he was being overdramatic about the amount of time, work, and energy that would be involved in training, but it turns out that he underplayed it. I am lucky in that I can spend all day every day working with Robbie. I don't know how people with 9-5 jobs train their own service dogs within a 2-3 year window. Expectations vs Reality
What We've Accomplished Together
Looking AheadWhat does the future hold for the three of us? Good things, I hope! We have already faced our first public access issue, so hopefully next time around we will be prepared to handle it better. Adding new tasks, like tugging open doors, pushing tap lights, and finding people long distance. We still have another year to year and a half of training, and I am ok with that. Training is rough some days, but most of the time, I love it. It's great to see that lightbulb moment when he learns something, and gets so proud of himself for doing it right. My life is definitely better with Robbie in it.
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My Name is Sally...I have a condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. This blog is about my journey training Robbie, a dog who helped me regain independence, confidence, and achieve the impossible in the face of my disability. It continues on with the training of Austin, Robbie's successor. Check Out... - "More than a Dog" was published on a site called The Mighty Categories
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