sight.

Maddux’s parents,

Tonya Thornton-Karper

and her husband Dave, had

also been praying for an

autism service dog for

their son Maddux to help

with emotional support.

It had been difficult for

them to do a lot of things

with their family that many

people take for granted.

Maddux would have

difficulty in public settings

with all of the sensory

stimulations. Tonya

learned about service dogs

from a friend and found

SSD. After applying for a

service dog, she got the

call that her son was

matched with Sedona.

In the months before

Sedona finished his

advanced training, my

family and Tonya’s family

often teamed up for

fundraising events to help

them get a service dog.

Sedona was taught to

search for Maddux, so

Tonya and Dave could find

him in public when he

wandered away. For the

first time since Maddux

was born, neither one of

them had to sleep with

him because Sedona was

there, and he still sleeps

with him to this day.

Sedona instinctively knows

SEE “SEDONA” PG. 2

by Ted Thomas, volunteer

This is the story of two

families and one incredible

dog that brought them

together.

As puppy raisers for

Susquehanna Service Dogs,

my wife Darlene and I had

always known our fifth

puppy in training was

special. At an early age,

earlier than most of the

previous dogs we had

raised, SSD Sedona started

coming to work with me

every day.

Shortly after we got

Sedona, my company

sent me to our office

in Maryland, which

required me to drive

there first thing

Monday morning and

stay in a hotel through

Friday. As the primary

puppy raiser in the

family, I took Sedona with

me, and this routine

continued on and off for

six months. He adapted

easily to his new

surroundings, and the

people I worked with

enjoyed watching him

grow and learn new skills.

I was always concerned

about one thing, though.

He always shied away

from people who used

walkers or wheelchairs. I

used to tell him, “This is

not good man. This is

what you’re supposed to

do when you grow up.”

Darlene and I prayed he

would be able to be paired

with someone who really

needed him.

The time came for him

to go to Meet the Dogs to

meet potential partners,

and true to himself, he

wanted nothing to do with

everyone he was

introduced to. That is, of

course, until Maddux

walked into the room.

I was told that from the

moment Sedona saw

Maddux, it was love at first

SSD Sedona Unites Two Families

April-June 2016

Independence

Unleashed

Mission

Susquehanna Service

Dogs raises and

trains services dogs

to assist children

and adults with

disabilities to

become more

independent.

Contact Us

Susquehanna

Service Dogs

1078 Gravel Hill Road

Grantville, PA 17028

Phone

717-599-5920

Fax

717-469-4268

@SSDOGS

Facebook

Contact Us

Susquehanna

Service Dogs

1078 Gravel Hill Road

Grantville, PA 17028

Phone

717-599-5920

Fax

717-469-4268

@SSDOGS

Facebook.com/

susquehannaservicedogs

have volunteered in a number of

capacities for a variety of organizations.

This year, I celebrated 10 years of

volunteering at Center for Champions, a

non-profit organization that provides

mentoring and after school programs

for children living in inner city

Harrisburg. Many children now have a

piece of my heart, which has simply

made my heart bigger. I love those kids

and I love the organization. I believe in

their mission and I’m thrilled to be a

part of it. Volunteering energizes me.

So even though I marvel daily at SSD’s

volunteers and their capacity for giving, I

get it. I understand what drives them to

keep giving.

Our volunteers love this program and

they believe in our mission. It’s not only

time that they give. They give their

intellect, their expertise, their

connections, their compassion, and their

heart. They love this organization and it

shows.

Everyone who is familiar with

The Dish from the Director

SSD Volunteer Bulletin • Page 2

When I was in high school, I made a

decision that would impact the rest of my

life. I decided I wanted to work with

people. I went off to college to learn how

to most adeptly do that, and for the past

35 years, I’ve been employed in roles that

have allowed me to be a change agent,

supporting people to live their very best

life.

College also taught me about the spirit

of volunteerism, and over the years, I

Susquehanna Service Dogs knows it

would not exist without the volunteers.

From its inception, SSD has been

founded on volunteerism. Nancy Fierer

volunteered the entirety of her years as

SSD’s Founder and Director. Truly,

Susquehanna Service Dogs reflects

volunteerism as its best—offering one’s

services, making oneself available, signing

up.

Even our employees do this. All

current staff members have volunteered

time to the organization in some

capacity, whether they’re puppy raising,

sitting, whelping, fundraising, and more.

I like to think I made a wise decision

years ago when I decided to work with

people. It has led me to a community of

people who make themselves available

so others have the opportunity to live

their very best life.

To all of you, thank you. It is an honor

Nancy and Robert Fierer Spirit of Volunteerism Award

Honoring Nancy and Robert Fierer

in a most relevant and enduring way, along

with honoring our devoted volunteers, is

very important to Susquehanna Service

Dogs, which is why we have established

the Nancy and Robert Fierer Spirit of

Volunteerism Award.

At next year’s graduation in May,

we will recognize the first recipient of this

award.

Nancy has been the epitome of a

volunteer, starting and running

Susquehanna Service Dogs for 21 years as

a volunteer. She understood the

importance of honoring every person

volunteering their time and energy to SSD.

Because we continue to be a volunteer-run organization, we are pleased to

honor our volunteers and keep Nancy and Robert’s legacy alive.

You will hear more details regarding the Nancy and Robert Fierer Spirit of

Volunteerism Award in the next few months. For now, let’s just say thank you

to Nancy and Robert!

SEDONA

(CONT’D FROM PG. 1)

when Maddux is stressed

and will perform tasks to calm him

down, such as licking him or applying

pressure.

Sedona has filled a gap in the

Karpers’ lives that nothing else could fill.

He gives them all emotional support and

has even offered Tonya physical support

when she has balance issues after her

daily runs.

As Sedona gets older—he’s eight

years old now—the family has begun

talking with Maddux about the day when

his service dog will no longer be able to

support him. Maddux is 14 now and

recently asked his mother if it would be

possible to get another service dog

when Sedona is no longer with them.

When she said yes, he said, “Good,

because I cannot live without one.”

SSD Volunteer Bulletin • Page 3

SSD Nikon’s Journey

Nikon has been very busy over the past three months—growing to 70 pounds,

learning new cues and experiencing new things. He’s been very successful with this

semester’s behaviors (fix, under, back) and we continue to proof his early

socialization behaviors, with special focus on leave it and stay.

This quarter brought a few challenges! We’ve made significant progress as a result

of discussing our challenges with Amanda, Lauren and Katie, and following up on

their suggestions.

First challenge: Nikon developed the habit of stopping midway down every flight

of stairs at work and refusing to go any further. I talked with the trainers and after

some questioning, they suggested that I was being so consistent with clicking/treating

Nikon at certain points, that I had actually trained him to stop there, expecting a treat. Back to the stairwell we went for additional

training! It took some practice and being very conscious of when I click/treat. And I continue to think about this so that I don’t

revert to my very predictable pattern. By mixing it up and clicking/treating at different points, we moved past that issue!

Second challenge: All Labrador Retrievers are not natural retrievers! Nikon was very interested in running after the bumper

that we threw, but not so interested in returning with it. Maybe he had an aversion to bumpers? So we tried a stick, a tennis ball,

a stuffed toy… Nope, not retrieving those either. This is an important skill for our partners and one of our “star behaviors,” and

we really wanted to see progress.

When we are shaping a new behavior, we have to break things down and look for small successes. This process took a number

of days and we kept the training sessions short, so that we ended on a positive note each time and before Nikon got bored. I

began by removing distractions; at our house, that means three other dogs have to spend some time inside. To start, I did some

clicking and treating for attention. The next step was to put one of his toys on the ground and click/treat when he looked at it.

From there, we progressed to movement toward the toy, sniffing the toy, touching the toy, picking the toy up (major treats for

that step), holding the toy for a few seconds, holding the toy for a few more seconds, looking at me with the toy in his mouth,

walking toward me with the toy in his mouth, and finally carrying the toy all the way back to me.

Let me reiterate that this did NOT happen in one training session. Lots of short sessions and lots of patience paid off! We’re

now working on retrieving other objects, and hoping to soon demonstrate that “star behavior” for the trainers.

It hasn’t been all work for Nikon. He had the opportunity to visit the Whitaker Center for his first movie. There were lots of

school groups there for field trips, and he did many greetings before we took our seats. And as for the movie, he snored!

By Sue Knode, puppy raiser

Paws Prints: Happenings at SSD

SSD Volunteer Bulletin • Page 4

Who doesn’t love graduation? We had a wonderful time celebrating the

graduating teams and their puppy raisers on May 6, not to mention a

heartfelt thank you to all our dedicated volunteers! Good friends, good food,

and congratulations all around!

The day after graduation we had a terrific Partner’s Day at the SSD facility.

With a Summer Olympics theme, we re-certified working teams and had a

great time doing it!

We held our first Puppy Raiser Day of Fun on June 4 and had over 90 people

attend! Everyone enjoyed food, games, stations for the dogs, lots of

comradery, and FUN with fellow raisers. We’re

already looking forward to next year’s event!

For his Senior Project, Matt Makara, the son of

one of our long term puppy raisers from the

Northeast group, has decided to build play stations

in the kennel yard for the Advanced Training dogs.

We should see some things beginning to happen

by summer’s end. Thank you, Matt!

Girl Scout Troop 11967 has gotten involved with

SSD in a big way! Not only are they going to whelp

a litter for us under the oversight of their lead,

SSD volunteer Dana Little, but they have also

designed four digital billboards for us that have

been running in various locations for a few weeks

in June. The billboards are designed to recruit puppy raisers.

SSD was asked to be part of a grant proposal being submitted by Dr. Brian Allen of the Penn State Center for the Protection of

Children. The grant will involve a study of the benefits of having dogs involved in therapy sessions between children and their

clinicians. We are honored to be part of this proposal and will keep you posted on whether it was accepted.

Eleven teams went through June’s Team Training. Congratulations to the hard working partners, staff, volunteers, and dogs!

Volunteer Services

SSD Volunteer Bulletin • Page 5

Making oneself available—that’s what over 250 people do

for SSD. These volunteers offer their time, energy, gifts talents,

expertise, ideas, dedication, and enthusiasm to this program.

What does that look like? From an emotional perspective, it

looks like love. It looks like a group of people pouring liveliness

into something that matters to them.

From an operational perspective, it looks like success, an

orchestration of roles that add not only value but sustenance to

SSD and to the accomplishment of our mission and vision. The

volunteer functions interrelate impeccably with paid functions

and the overall business of the program.

People often envision the volunteer roles in broad strokes, a

more generic perspective. In reality, there are numerous,

specific volunteer tasks that are vital to operations. Without all

our volunteers, we would need close to 190 full time employees

to do everything that makes SSD successful.

What are some of these specific volunteer roles?

(*means special training is required or provided by SSD and/or special

clearances)

Puppy Hugger: Sign up to hug, cuddle, and play with our eight-

week-old puppies to help socialize them. Available several times

a year, depending on when we have litters.

Puppy Raiser*: Raise a service dog puppy in your home for

approximately two years. You are responsible for socializing and

training the dog, as well as attending puppy classes

and outings.

Puppy Sitter*: Care for a puppy in training for a

shorter time (a day, week, or maybe longer) when

the raiser is unavailable.

Kennel Volunteer: Help at the kennel in various

ways, including cleaning and general maintenance,

grooming dogs, letting dogs out to play and potty in

the evenings when their “work day” is done.*

Team Training Volunteer*:

Support new partners and dogs

learning to work together as a

team during the two and a half

weeks they’re at our facility for

Team Training.

Partner Liaisons*: Serve as a

volunteer liaison for a service team to provide follow-up for the

working life of the dog. Each team is assigned a volunteer liaison

and a staff liaison.

Home Visits*: Visit a potential partner’s home to assess the

home dynamics, including the house itself, other pets, yard, and

neighborhood. Home visits allow SSD to make the best

decisions about partner matches. Home visits also occur for

each potential puppy raiser.

Retesting*: Retest our working teams annually to ensure they

are still able to pass the public access test and are still working

well together.

Puppy Raiser Council:

Provide support and direction

to the puppy raiser program.

The PRC meets quarterly to

discuss issues that will help

SSD and raisers.

Public Volunteers*: Meet

every Tuesday and Thursday

morning at various locations in

the local community to work

on important public skills and

behaviors with the dogs in

advanced training.

Transportation*: Transport puppies, older dogs, and

breeding dogs to other service dog organizations

throughout the continent and help transport dogs

locally to vet appointments.

Property and Facility Maintenance: Provide assistance in

organizing, cleaning, doing laundry, changing light bulbs, fixing

fences, landscaping, building shelves and ramps, making signs,

cleaning vehicles, painting, maintaining the kennel, and more.

SEE “VOLUNTEERING” PG. 8

Owner-Trained Dogs

SSD Volunteer Bulletin • Page 6

The Road to Independence: The Owner-Trainer Route by Katie Burland, service dog owner-trainer

As a service dog handler, one of the most common questions is “where did

you get your dog.” This can be a bit of a landmine question for someone like

me, an owner-trainer. This has multiple answers: Where did he come from?

The Quakertown SPCA. Who trained him? Me. Who certified that he met the

training standards of ADI and gave him his ADI certification? SSD. Every single

thing about owner training is complicated! In the United States, it is legal to

train your own service dog. Many people choose this option, and sadly, many

people do not realize how difficult it truly is to do it correctly. The motivating

factor for many novice owner-trainers is time and money. They assume that

they can get a dog, any dog, and quickly turn it into a disability mitigating

companion in a matter of weeks. This, of course, is naive at best, and dangerous

at worst. They also assume it will be less expensive than a program dog.

Neither assertion is accurate.

Selecting a Dog

The first pitfall many new owner-trainers (OTs) make is in selection of the dog. The selection

process can take months; I evaluated over 120 dogs in 8 months to find Dexter! Many want to go

and pick their own, which is a mistake! You should have the shelter behaviorist or breeder

(depending on where you get your prospect) pick out your dog with a selection criteria you provide

to them. They know the dogs better than you.

Oftentimes people will pick a breed that is perceived by the public to be “tough.” While no

breed specific legislation applies to service dogs, picking a restricted breed is very much asking for

future headaches with access challenges.

The dog will then need to undergo health-checks: eyes, hips, elbows, heart, and any breed-specific testing will need to be done.

Training

You will need to then begin training. Every day, or on a schedule that accommodates both

your disability limitations and your dog’s learning style. Training starts basic, with

socialization, basic obedience, housebreaking, exposure to lots of new situations. You need

to understand fear periods, body language, training methodologies and learning theories

and be able to apply them in situations that you yourself might have difficulty managing.

Imagine, you’re disabled, and now you’re trying to teach a dog to do for you what you

struggle with, in a situation that is hard for you to manage on your own, let alone while

having a super-unhelpful, uneducated canine with you. It’s super easy (said no owner

trainer ever!).

People often see the flashy stuff, the task work, and think, “Wow, that must be hard to

train!” and on the whole, they would be wrong. Task training is the absolute easiest and

most fun part of owner training!

Training, done well, should take a minimum of 12 months (if you started with a young adult

dog that already had socialization) to 24+ months and will take hundreds upon hundreds of hours of your time.

The Other 75%

It is estimated that only 25% of owner trained dogs graduate to become full service dogs. This means that you will very

likely be left with a “washout”: a dog that began training, but for any number of reasons (health, behavior, temperament, drive)

didn’t work out. Now you are left with the task of rehoming that dog if you aren’t in a position to keep them as a pet, and start

over again, purchasing another dog, paying for the health clearances, and putting all the time in all over again. A dog can wash out

after 2 months or 2 years, there is no guarantee and no safety net; which is why it is often more costly and time consuming than a

program dog.

As an owner-trainer, you are left juggling the tasks of selecting the dog, being a puppy raiser, and the advanced trainer, as

well as managing your own disability!

It’s a difficult path to take, but for those who do it for the correct reasons, and understand the full scope of what they’re

getting into, it can be incredibly rewarding as well!

The Latest Cues: Long Down-Stays

SSD Volunteer Bulletin • Page 7

How to Train a Long Down-Stay

A long down-stay is one of the behaviors that many dogs

struggle with when they enter Advanced Training. Yet this

seemingly simple behavior is extremely important for working

service dogs. Their partners will use this behavior all the time. A

long down-stay is one of the behaviors that helps a service dog

become invisible in public. When they go to a restaurant, the

dog will be in a long down-stay under the table. Movie theater?

Long down-stay. Office or school? Long down-stay. Airplane or

public transportation? Long down-stay. As you can see, a dog

cannot be placed as a service dog until they have mastered this

behavior.

Service dogs must be able to hold a quiet down-stay for a

long time, without needing to be re-cued and without barking or

whining.

How do you train it?

The key to training a long down-stay is to never treat the

dog during the stay. When puppies are very young, you can cue

them to “down,” give them a treat (but no click), and then cue

them to “stay.” Then they don’t get another treat until you let

them know the behavior is over by clicking and treating.

For older puppies, you should simply cue them to “down”

and “stay” without giving them a treat. They get the treat at the

end of the behavior, when the down-stay is over. Only then do

you click and treat.

What if the dog gets up?

If the dog stands up before you let them know the down-

stay was over, you can re-cue them to “down” and “stay.” But

don’t give them a treat! It’s extremely important that you do

NOT give them a treat when they lie back down. Why? If you

treat them to lie back down, the puppy learns that when they

stand up, they’ll

be given

something to do

and get another

treat. And since

these are smart

dogs, they’ll just

keep standing up

so they can get

another treat

for lying back

down.

If a dog

knows that

they’ll only get a treat at the end of the long down-stay, they’ll

learn to settle much better. The ideal long down-stay results in

the puppy completely relaxing with their head down.

Where and when should you practice?

A great place to start teaching your puppy is in your own

home! You can start at the kitchen table. Put them on a leash

during dinner and cue them to “down” and “stay.” That way, if

they bark or whine, they won’t interrupt anyone but you. Plus,

you won’t be tempted to treat them to make them be quiet. nce

your puppy can handle a long down-stay at your kitchen table

(or anywhere in your house), you can try other places.

Please remember, though, that the length of your dog’s

down-stay will depend on their age. A 10-week-old puppy may

not be able to do a 30 minute down-stay (unless they’re

sleeping).

With consistent practice, your dog will be able to settle into

a relaxed, long down-stay and become practically invisible when

they’re out in public.

SSD Volunteer Bulletin • Page 8

VOLUNTEERING (CONT’D FROM PG. 5)

Administrative*: Help with administrative tasks, such as data

entry, data collection, filing, and processing applications (both

partner and puppy raiser).

Training*: Mentor puppy raisers, support people and dogs

through specific training needs and challenges, and provide hands

-on assistance during numerous weekly puppy classes.

Emergency Preparedness: Assist to develop, implement, and

maintain emergency preparedness plans.

Whelping Team*: Help with the birth of puppies. Roles

include but are not limited to organizing and restocking whelping

supplies, cleaning whelping areas before and after whelps, doing

laundry, sleeping on-site and doing whatever is necessary to

support the birthing process for puppies and mothers. Must be

available 24 hours a day around due dates.

Whelping Families*: Provide a home and perform the many

duties associated with supporting a nursing mother and litter of

puppies for their first eight weeks, including the training that

begins at day one for future service dogs.

Two by Two*: Take home 2-3 puppies at a time for a night or

two when they’re 6-8 weeks old. This gives the whelping family a

break and helps socialize the puppies away from their entire

litter.

Animal Assisted Intervention*: Attend weekly therapy

sessions at a local in-patient psychiatric hospitalization program,

monthly sessions at a local residential facility for persons with

mental illness, and/or library reading programs for children.

Volunteers should have an SSD demonstration dog.

Canine Therapeutic Evaluations (CTEs)*: Children

applying for a service dog require extra steps before being

accepted into the program and matched with a dog. Volunteers

with SSD demo dogs or puppies in training spend at least 3-4

session with the child and family to determine if and how the

child will benefit from a service dog.

Demonstrations and Meet & Greets*: Give presentations

and demonstrations with your SSD demonstration dog to show

various audiences what service dogs can do and how they

change lives. Meet & Greets are less formal opportunities to

showcase SSD and service dogs at various events.

Fundraising and Events: Assist with our fundraisers and

events! Help spread the word about SSD and our needs and act

as good representatives of the program wherever you go. You

can also join the Development Committee.

Walk and Cuddle Program*: Visit the SSD facility for one

hour each week to walk the dogs, brush them, sit in a quiet

room and pet them, and play with them in the field. It’s a great

way for dogs to relax between training sessions!

Save the Date! Aug. 6: SSD Night at the Harrisburg Senators Game

Aug. 27: Dog Days of Summer in Linglestown, PA, 2-9 pm

Sept. 3: Doggie Olympics at Kipona, City Island, 11-4 pm

Sept. 12: Keystone Golf Tournament at Colonial Golf &

Tennis Club, 11:30 am

Oct. 1: A Perfect Pairing at Hauser Winery, 5 pm