raineth Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 aww its so wonderful to hear well done you must be very proud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 (edited) aww its so wonderful to hear well done you must be very proud Thanks I am very proud! Sorry I got Demi and Abby mixed up. It's funny when we visit I usually go with Shan and Mawson and it's a real mix of people being drawn to the big black dog and the smaller fluffy dog, I can see why the lappies appeal to people they are beautiful, and although I've never met one in person if going by DOL they have wonderful natures. Edited November 24, 2011 by tlc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 aww its so wonderful to hear well done you must be very proud Thanks I am very proud! Sorry I got Demi and Abby mixed up. It's funny when we visit I usually go with Shan and Mawson and it's a real mix of people being drawn to the big black dog and the smaller fluffy dog, I can see why the lappies appeal to people they are beautiful, and although I've never met one in person if going by DOL they have wonderful natures. All good I get them mixed up too- and I now have a good reason to make a new sig!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panto Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Gorgeous pics! A very worthwhile thing to do. Something I'd love to do with panto, especially after chatting with Jumabaar and Demi about it, but I think our ship may have sailed on that one, she's already 9, and can be a bit hit and miss with the 'taking food gently' because she's so food driven. I am not surgeon the rules now with age, i know once the dog hits 8 they have to be assessed every year. As far as food goes, you can always ask for the dog not to be fed, I started off not wanting the girls to be fed unless I was handing out the treats for a trick etc, but you would have to be on guard, it seems built into some people to feed feed feed One guy one day as we were walking out of the room called us back and as Tully turned around he stuck a whole sweet bicky in her mouth. I didn't get a chance to say no food and I didn't have the heart to take it off her, so there she sat till the bicky and all the crumbs were gone. So now it is a case by case basis, but the dogs do sometimes expect to get food it doesn't take them long to figure out that these rooms have food somewhere. But it is all good, My friend who recently lost her dog, she visited a nursing home and a centre for mentally disabled people (hope that is the right term) the nursing hem was fine and all the residents would be in one big room for the visit and the dog got a small bit of treat (shacko) from each patient. But at the other place the residents were hard on the dog, pinching, hitting, pulling tails that sort of thing and he just took it in his stride. My friend got to know after a while who the pinchers and hitters were and steered clear as much as she could and was very careful to avoid those situations. I will admit I don't think I could subject my girls to any sort of rough treatment from patients, mind you some of the kids can be a bit rough but the girls seem to accept that ok. Panto, do you have a younger dog you could train up for Delta, might be a good excuse to get a new doggy. I might give Delta a call and at least have a chat, she's in great health and seems her years are beyong her youthful nature, it would be a waste not to at least chat with them especially after seeing your piccies and reading what you've written, it's such a wonderful thing to do - thank you for the encouragement She tends to get a bit excited with food and wants to snatch sometimes if she is too excited and her teeth get in the way, won't bite whatsoever, but she is an awesome catcher if food is thrown up in the air. Last weekend I had a friend over with 4 kids all under 8, a baby girl and 3 boys, the youngest ran around being 'scared' of dogs (but you know they're not really scared), and the other two ran around after her wanting to pat pull tug panto panto panto panto PANTO PANTO pantooooo!!! panto panto panTO!, it was unending but she just either put up with it happily or walked away after awhile. These kids always take away some form of 'dog knowledge - how to be around dogs etc' and they do retain most of it, but we don't see them all that often or frequent, so we do what we can. ps. no younger dog... yet. :p It will be a matter of years before I get another dog, and so far am leaning towards staying as a one dog family whilst Panto is still with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Well Panto definatley sounds like a good contender, no harm in giving them a call or flicking them an email for some info. Good luck. Just reading back some of my post words don't make sense, I blame it on auto correct. for eg I am not surgeon the rule, that was meant to be I am not sure on the rules! Think I might have to turn my auto correct off!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollywaffle Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 absolutely heart-warming photo...thanks so much for sharing..aren't dogs wonderful!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panto Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Well Panto definatley sounds like a good contender, no harm in giving them a call or flicking them an email for some info. Good luck. Just reading back some of my post words don't make sense, I blame it on auto correct. for eg I am not surgeon the rule, that was meant to be I am not sure on the rules! Think I might have to turn my auto correct off!! LOL! I got it - I am an autocorrect numpty - I assumed you must have typed in "sureon" which would have been autocorrected Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezzyno.1 Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 (edited) we too now have been involved with Delta for just over 12 months....we visit 2 nursing homes and have had some real hard times with residents passing but we take things in our stride and have pulled through....if we are late 5 minutes we get told off and asked where have we been...they all know when Dezzy is coming and get real aggitated if we are late (not that we are) we just go around the houses different ways...lol...our biggest success is a young guy who cannot do anything for himself...he cannot eat...dress himself or even feed himself....the guy actually calls out Dezzy's name...and when Dezzy gives him big kisses he laughs so hard he cries...on some occasions he takes about an hour to settle down crying because he wants Dezzy to come back to visit him...I have downloaded some pics of Dezzy waiting to go on a visit and a pic with one the residents he visits and a student....this lady in the pic absolutely loves Dezzy and she puts her face to Dezzy so she can get big kisses off him....she is 94 years old and we have to make sure that she is sitting before we bring in Dezzy because she gets that excited she starts to cry and shake she is so excited...it has been so rewarding and we still really look forward to our two days we visit our residents Edited November 24, 2011 by dezzyno.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelissaS Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Such a lovely thread and such gorgeous,gorgeous dogs. I found your stories very moving Such a great thing for you all to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl85 Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 They need to be between 18 months and 10 years for assessment, after 10 they can no longer be assessed, but an accredited dog can still visit and have yearly assessments done until the owner thinks its time to retire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoilt lab lives here Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Ive just got out of pet therapy. I would have loved to been placed in a hospital but was placed in a center with serverely disabled clients. We did our job well and made a difference in their lives. A hospital environment would have been amazing and I more than likely would still be doing pet therapy but with work and study right now my plate is a bit full so I had to stop. Glad to see your having fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 we too now have been involved with Delta for just over 12 months....we visit 2 nursing homes and have had some real hard times with residents passing but we take things in our stride and have pulled through....if we are late 5 minutes we get told off and asked where have we been...they all know when Dezzy is coming and get real aggitated if we are late (not that we are) we just go around the houses different ways...lol...our biggest success is a young guy who cannot do anything for himself...he cannot eat...dress himself or even feed himself....the guy actually calls out Dezzy's name...and when Dezzy gives him big kisses he laughs so hard he cries...on some occasions he takes about an hour to settle down crying because he wants Dezzy to come back to visit him...I have downloaded some pics of Dezzy waiting to go on a visit and a pic with one the residents he visits and a student....this lady in the pic absolutely loves Dezzy and she puts her face to Dezzy so she can get big kisses off him....she is 94 years old and we have to make sure that she is sitting before we bring in Dezzy because she gets that excited she starts to cry and shake she is so excited...it has been so rewarding and we still really look forward to our two days we visit our residents This threads making me all emotional!!! Dezzy is absolutely divine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Dezzy looks like a great ambassedor for Amstaff's too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Such a lovely thread and such gorgeous,gorgeous dogs. I found your stories very moving Such a great thing for you all to do. Absolutely agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezzyno.1 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 thanks everyone...Dezzy is doing the Amstaffs proud and so is our other dog Jessie in that Tamika (my daughter) is the youngest child handler in Australia to have gained 2 very good passes in tracking with an Amstaff....Dezzy really loves his visits and certainly looks forward to the Friday visits where he gets more than his share of food which i compensate and he only gets half his tea that night...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted November 25, 2011 Author Share Posted November 25, 2011 Lisa, I was wondering when you were going to pop in! Dezzy looks so happy and your story bought a tear to my eye as I can picture exactly what your talking about. Dezzy and Jessie are certainly another great example of how Amstaffs really are and should be!! Great photos! SLLH, The hospital is great, Are you finished for good or just for a while, it is hard sometimes to fit everything in and there has been weeks where I haven't been able to go due to other commitments work changes, sickness etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmisssascha83 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Well good luck with your assessment, if they haven't contacted you make sure you contact them again, most of the program is run by volunteers and they can get very busy especially at this time of year. As far as tips go I think if your dog is friendly and has general obedience you should be fine, the assessment was easy although in saying that I know of a lady who's dog didn't pass due to the dog being too friendly and even though she is obedience trained she was just too over the top. They don't allow harnesses of any sort for the assessment. I remember how worried I was that my girls wouldn't pass but afterwards I could see that there was never any doubt. and whats the worst that can happen, just try again next time. My dogs are all Cocker Spaniel x Poodle Thanks I will try to contact them again. I know there is only one person I just don't want to annoy them is all LOL> Sasha is friendly and does have obedience but I"m worried that she might be too happy and excitable sometimes I"m just not to sure although I suppose I'll never know unless I tryl. She could end up suprising me. LOL> Sasha isn't using any harness anymore but I will just see what happens. What made you get involved in this if you don't mind me asking? You can pm me if you like. Your dogs are ALL sooo stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezzyno.1 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 thansk Snook...he really is a big gentle giant and absolutely loves going to visit the nursing homes...he goes absolutely silly when he sees my special polo top on and then barks all the way as soon as we back out of the driveway until we get to the nursing home...sometimes it is annoying because one of the nursing homes is over the other side of town and takes about 20 minutes to get there...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dezzyno.1 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 sorry for the intrude tlc...your dogs are so gorgeous and you are lucky you get to visit a hospital...they won't allow the dogs into the hospitals here....and you do feel like you are doing a great job when you get to see those patients with a big smile on their faces and how their faces light up when you walk in that door...keep up the great work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted November 25, 2011 Author Share Posted November 25, 2011 (edited) Thanks Lisa, intrude all you like, you keep up the good work too, probly time will go so fast we will be back in Geelong for the next assessment before we know it! Snook I meant to say in an earlier post Justice sounds like he would be a perfect candidate for a Delta dog. Do you know if there is a program over your way? One of the main reasons I thought about doing Delta work was due to Tully my youngest girl, she just has that kind of nature with people that makes you go Awwwww, she is a very calm dog around people and from a tiny puppy I just knew that one day she would be making people smile as much as me!! As for Lacy I just thought I'd get her assessed too and she passed with flying colors as well, but like I said earlier as much as she lives it, I enjoy it more with Tully but it doesn't really matter as long as he patients are happy that's what we are there for. It's also nice to give something back to the community, it's in win for everyone really, I don't do it for I do it cause he patients love it and so do the girlies! Edited November 25, 2011 by tlc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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