Bladder Control!

Rule 1: A service dog is a living creature
He just can't seem to get past 6:00 am before he must be let out!  Sherman has no respect for sleeping in on the weekend.  If his regular "talking" won't move me, he is prone to start "petting" me to get me moving.  I have to get out of bed and out of the house for at least 10 minutes first thing in the morning.  It helps to keep me from hiding all day under the covers.  

I have been working with Sherman since I adopted him in March of last year.  He started going out in public with me at the age of four months to begin his public training.  I would only kept him out for an hour at a time initially to prevent over stimulation.  In the beginning it was just funny because he was still such a fluff ball and the girls in my college classes loved him.  He would nap under my desk while we were in class for the most part.  I do recall the day I was attempting to give a presentation.  He was sound asleep under my desk, which allowed me to go up and start, a few minutes went by and he woke up.  He discovered quickly I wasn't where he had left me and went on the search.  He followed my voice all the way to the front of the class, where he proceeded to help me give my presentation!  Fortunately, even my professor was in love with him and understood he was just a puppy.  Now at a year old, he has learned to stay quiet and invisible when we are out in public.

OTSD's require determination, dedication, stubbornness and a sense of humor.  I have had to learn to be stoic and calm in some awkward situations.  The first and last time my dog defecated in the wrong place, I felt like crawling under a rock.  I didn't have a thing with me to clean up the mess (boy did I make sure that was never an issue again).  So here I am on crutches, a dog who is confused and trying to figure out what I need because he is alerting on my stress and I'm trying to find clean up stuff. all while in the mall!  My dog was house broke but I forgot the living creature rule and didn't get her out of the building in time.   Even the best trained dog can only wait so long!!

I have learned so much about paying attention to the needs of my dogs over the past few years.  It has made both of our lives much less stressful!