A Reality Check

In the five months since Sniper's diagnosis we have been learning lots and applying our knew knowledge into practice and seeing great results.  Everything was going so well that I almost forgot we were dealing with Autism.  Our new "normal" was trucking along and life was good. On September 3, 2015 a huge reality check hit me smack in the face.  In the big picture it was a minor set back but at the time it was a completely horrible day.

I was getting ready for work and all the dogs were in the bedroom with me.  Pint, my 4 lb Papillon, decided he was going to get off the bed which meant he had to walk by Sniper to get to the stairs.  I am sure Pint has done this 100 times and didn't think twice about navigating past Sniper.  Just as Pint was going past Sniper's head Sniper snapped at Pint and made him yelp.  Lucky for me I happened to be standing there when it happened so I knew exactly what went on.  In my house, the Papillons are not to be touched or trampled, so that was unacceptable behaviour.  I hollered out a "HEY!' and walked over to the bed to pick Sniper up and put him away in his crate, also probably something I had done many times in his 18 month life.  When I went to pick him up Sniper suddenly turned into a snapping crocodile and I got bit quite badly.  He took off running from the bedroom and went to the kitchen.  Well the trainer in me thought there is no way he is getting away with that and I went to get him and put him away.  We played a short game of cat and mouse as he dodged the punishment of going in the crate.  When he finally stopped in his corner of the couch I could see a look in his eyes that was pure panic and I took a huge step back and figured I now needed to approach this completely different. 

                                                             

When I took a quiet step towards him and reached out to pet him he let out this crazy scream and started air snapping at me.  The whole situation reminded me of a scene in Rainman where Dustin Hoffman was having a meltdown over the smoke detector going off.  Its the best way I can explain what I was seeing.  I had to help him but didn't really want to lose a finger and I was already bleeding pretty badly.  I was also worried about the other three dogs getting hurt in the fray of Sniper's meltdown.  So there Sniper and I stood in a bit of a wild west showdown.  I, trying to figure out how to stop his panic and he trying to defend himself from the world with his back in a corner.  In my problem solving efforts, I looked up and saw a blanket on the back of the couch right behind Sniper.  I reached over him which induced more screeaming from him and flipped the blanket over top of him.  Once he was covered I picked him up and held him tight.  He was the tightest ball of dog you could ever imagine.  When I squeezed him he let out a groan and started to relax and at that point I knew we were going to be ok.  I took Sniper covered in a blanket, grabbed a bag of treats and went back to the bedroom, just me and Sniper, and closed the door.  I gently put him down on the bed, he didn't move or even try to fight me.  I took the blanket off of him and sat down beside him with the bag of treats.  He was a little unsure but you could see he was exhausted from the adrenaline high he was just on.  We sat together for about ten miutes and I feed him treats as he let me pet him.  As Sniper came back down to earth, he sniffed at my bloody hand and licked as if to say, "I'm sorry".  I gave him a pat on the head and said  "it's ok buddy, we both learned something today".  I got up and continued on with my morning routine and Sniper put himself away in his crate until we left the house.

Now what was I going to do from here?  Who had the answers to help me?

Training Crazy (I mean that in a good way)

Sniper was already training in agility and had competed in Dock Dogs and doing well despite some of his odd behaviours.  As I mentioned above, in order to further his training I needed to "unlock" the box that would allow us to connect through the learning process.  At the time, we would get through concepts and he would pick them up and remember them but linking things together were hard for him.  They were hard because I didn't understand how to put the equation together for him.  This is now my responsibility to make the learning path make sense in his brain.  I know he is brilliant and functions in a different level.  He is certainly challenging my training knowledge and opening new doors for me which ultimately makes me a better trainer.

Sniper at 6 months

Sniper at 6 months

Sniper loves dock diving!  He seemed to be a natural at it when we started out when he was six months old.  I took him up on the dock the very first time and we went to the edge of the dock and I showed him I had the toy 
to throw in the water.  He suddenly got very serious and assumed a "sit" position with out me asking and was very serious about the job in front him.  Now I am a firm believer in letting instinct play our first and then shaping technique if necessary.  I tossed the toy about 7 feet out and released Sniper.  Out of nowhere this little puppy pops himself into the air and lands right on his toy.  Zero hesitation just pure joy!  At this time i had no idea of Sniper's autism but the joy I saw in his face when he was swimming back to me has left a lifetime memory in my brain.  I said to myself then, that is the joy I want to see in everything he does.  I am so happy that the look of gratitude and happiness I see on his face when we step on the dock has been captured in pictures.  These are the moments that stick in my brain that i want to share with the world.  This is the joy Sniper and I share.

We have played on dock dogs for over a year now and Sniper's technique has never changed  but he is jumping 20 feet now from about the same place on the dock.  It is quite unheard of and many dock competitors can't believe the distance he can get.  Not all of our jumps are pretty or the correct form but Sniper doesn't care.  No matter what happens he always gets to swim and he always gets his toy! How can you not enjoy playing with a dog that just wants to play no matter what the outcome is.  While I have competed with my other dogs at an international level for years, it has never been about the ribbons and the achievements but rather taking home the best dogs, my dogs.  I love them all to pieces and having the ability to play in many different venues allows us to spend more time together meeting new people.  Most importantly, when Sniper is playing people forget about the dog that spins like a top and see him for who he really is, experience his joy and love of life.

Because our "technique" is  little unorthodox it has taken some time to connect the dots from release to toss to catch to the water.  It is all over in a blink of an eye and who knew it would be so precise.  Like any sport it takes practice.  I put a pool up in the back yard three years ago for Arson.  Just a simple 9x18 above ground pool for swimming.  Who knew that it would become and interim jumping practice between the times we got on the dock.  Sniper was lucky and stepped into the yard with the pool and learned to swim in it at six months old.  It didn't take Sniper very long to figure out he could launch himself off the ramp and jump into the pool.  I won't lie, there was one day he almost cleared the pool's 18 feet!  Yes I did scream and fortunately since then we haven't repeated that episode.

In the summer we are able to make some trips up north to play with Xtreme Air Dogs and Aaron Grant.  A quick two hour drive and the boys get to practice jumping and compete about once a month over the summer.  Aaron has been great in helping Sniper and I perfect our technique and getting the most we can out of our jumps.  What I feel on the dock and what is actually happening are two different things so it was great to have a watchful eye on the sidelines to give us pointers.  

In September 2015, we took our skills to a new venue of competition, Ultimate Air Dogs at Spruce Meadows in Calgary.  All the disciplines are similar but have different games and sometimes, slightly different rules.  Sniper loved jumping inside and quite enjoyed the crowd cheering. 

Our routine when he gets on the dock starts and the bottom of the stairs.  I take the leash off and let him run up the stairs ahead of me.  When Sniper gets to the top of the stairs he starts spinning in circles which gets the crowd laughing at his enthusiasm.  Little do they know that the spinning is part of his autism not a trained cue.  Unfortunately, being indoors and far away from our vehicle there was no quiet place for Sniper to get away.  He was functioning in the red zone all day.  Over the top crazy.  The only part that brought him back was jumping in the pool.  The shot below says it all...low jump and the tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.  Once I join him on the dock we walk all the way out to the edge of the dock and then Sniper performs one last spin and assumes a perfect sit.  He puts his game face on and waits for my cue to jump.  It really is the cutest thing.  I knock the bumper on the dock and throw it out in the water.  Sniper leaps out to 20 feet from a stand still!  No running just sitting to 20 feet out in the pool!  It's crazy!  The crowd cheers and Sniper is so happy as he gets his bumper and heads back to the ramp.  Never a happier moment than watching your dog do something they love so completely.

Surprise to me both of the boys made it to the finals and low and behold Sniper won a division called Chase-It.  It is a timed event of jumping in and chasing a bumper to stop the time.  He thought the game was fantastic!  His win also brought home $150!  Good boy Sniper.  He was pretty proud of himself at the end of the day especially knowing that there was new toys coming with his winnings.