Saying Goodbye

Ammo the Dachshund // Nursing Home Visit

Saying goodbye is never easy, and today I am saying goodbye to a very special lady, my great-grandma.

Ammo the Dachshund // Nursing Home Visit

Over the years Trooper and I have enjoyed making visits to the nursing home where she lived. I would show her the new tricks I learned and take walks up and down the hallways. She inspired me to become a therapy dog, and although our favorite familiar face won’t be there any longer, we hope to continue to visit our friends there.

We miss you Grandmaruth and we’ll be thinking of you every time we play a round of Kings in the Corner. xoxo Ammo the Dachshund

I Am A Therapy Dog

You may remember that last month I took my canine good citizen and therapy dog test….and PASSED!

Ammo the Dachshund - Certified Therapy Dog

Well just last week a package from Therapy Dog International came in the mail for me! I was so excited to see that now that all the paperwork is complete, I am an official certified therapy dog.

Ammo the Dachshund - Certified Therapy Dog

Not only did I get my own id card (complete with a photo of me), but I also got some super cool gear to wear during my therapy dog visits.

Ammo the Dachshund - Certified Therapy Dog

The bandana and id tag seem to be made for dogs much bigger than me, but I’m pretty sure what I can’t make up for in size, I can certainly make up for in personality.

Ammo the Dachshund - Certified Therapy Dog

I am a Therapy Dog – and proud of it! Ammo the Dachshund

Therapy Dog Harness

One of the rules when taking your Therapy Dog Test through TDI is that dogs must be tested on a plain buckle collar or harness. Training collars, training harnesses, halties, or any other corrective training devices are not permitted during testing or visiting as a TDI-registered Therapy Dog. And on their website they make note that Therapy Dogs don’t wear vests, so as not to be confused with service dogs, and also for the fact that they cut down on the area where people can pet you.

ammo the dachshund therapy dog harness from arja's art

Even though I ended up taking my test in a plain buckle collar, mom knew that were I to become an official Therapy Dog I would need to wear a different harness when I was making visits.

ammo the dachshund therapy dog harness from arja's art

Mom ended up ordering me a custom made harness from Arja’s Art all the way in Finland!

ammo the dachshund therapy dog harness from arja's art

These harnesses come in a variety of colors that all include reflective piping with each one being handmade to your own dog’s measurements. Designed to fit any breed, they are especially great for dachshunds as they put less stress on our sensitive necks and chest.

I chose the grey color in super soft sheep napa and mom helped me get my measurements sent over to Arja.

ammo the dachshund therapy dog harness from arja's art

When my new harness arrived from Finland a couple weeks later Arja had even included a sweet little gift for me in the package. While I personally don’t have a use for a coin purse (being that I’m a dog and also I am not a girl) it was a super sweet gesture – and mom was happy to keep it for herself.

ammo the dachshund therapy dog harness from arja's art

I suggested storing cookies inside the coin purse, but mom didn’t seem too thrilled by that.

ammo the dachshund therapy dog harness from arja's art

After a week of wearing my harness out and about I’m loving it. It’s great to for the hot summer weather too as it gives me a little more breathability. I still love my custom made harnesses from Kalyxcornucopia (that I wear with my Super Hero capes), but they just won’t work as well for my therapy dog work. 

If you are interested in ordering a harness from Arja, you can check out the website and Facebook page – and they are available to ship to the US.

 

Good Boy Treats

I was such a good boy at my Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog Test on Sunday that Mom made me an extra special treat when I got home.

Ammo the Dachshund DIY sweet potato treats

You might remember the Polka Dog Bakery DIY Sweet Potato Dog Cookie Recipe I posted about a few weeks ago – well Mom decided to make me some as a reward for all my hard work!

Ammo the Dachshund DIY sweet potato treats

First Mom sliced up some sweet potatoes for me.

Ammo the Dachshund DIY sweet potato treats

Then we let them soak in a bowl of chicken broth for about 1/2 hour.

Ammo the Dachshund DIY sweet potato treats

While they soaked I sat on my bed in the kitchen just counting the minutes until they would be ready. It was a whole lot of minutes.

Ammo the Dachshund DIY sweet potato treats

Then after baking them for 15 minutes at 400 Degrees I had to wait a whole bunch more minutes for them to cool.

Ammo the Dachshund DIY sweet potato treats

Finally my good dog treats were ready for their taste test!

Ammo the Dachshund DIY sweet potato treats

Of course wouldn’t you know that mom made me practice my leave it command before I was allowed to eat them!

Ammo the Dachshund DIY sweet potato treats

In the end it was worth the wait, because they were yum! Perhaps I should be a good boy all the time.

You can find the entire recipe for DIY Healthy Sweet Potato Dog Cookies HERE

Dachshund Certified Therapy Dog

If you follow along with my adventures on Facebook, then you probably already heard that on Sunday I became a Certified Therapy Dog! Yippee!

ammo the dachshund takes his cgc and tdi tests

For the past 6 weeks I have been taking classes at the Dog Training Center of Chester County to prepare to take my Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog International tests. One of my goals this year was to pass both tests and my Mom was super happy when I did so on my very first try!

As you can see in my testing video I was SUPER excited to be performing. What can I say, I’m just an overly happy guy! I may have forgotten a bit of my heeling a few times, but I was just so pumped to be meeting new people.

ludwigs corner horse show

One of the hardest parts of the Therapy Dog test is to walk past a pile of cookies and not eat them! Do you know how hard that is when your nose is 2″ off the ground!? I was very tempted to eat those cookies when I walked by them in the beginning of my test, but when my Mom said leave it I happily obliged and didn’t eat a single one. (Phew, close call, because mom said I would have failed had I eaten one).

ammo the dachshund valentines day treats

Even though I’ve passed my tests, my training will never be done. Mom and I continue to take agility classes and I know I’ll never stop learning and improving. I’m excited to see what comes next for me – I just hope that for any future tests they let me wear my Super Hero Cape – because we all know I look WAY cooler with my cape on!

ammo the dachshund super hero

If you would like to check out all the requirements to pass a CGC and TDI test, you can check it out here.

P.S. Thanks to all my pals on my Facebook page who congratulated me on passing my tests, you guys totally make me blush!

 

Kings in the Corner

ammo the dachshund nursing home

I may not be a regular like Trooper, but I’m no stranger to a nursing home visit. And when I do visit, it’s the highlight of my day!

ammo the dachshund nursing home

Getting to ride the elevator is so much fun, especially when mom lets me press the button!

ammo the dachshund nursing home

Then me and Trooper get to spend time visiting with everyone – and posing for the mandated photo op.

ammo the dachshund nursing home

Everyone always has a good time, because honestly, who doesn’t love a Dachshund in a sweater? But at the end of the day I really only came for one thing……

ammo the dachshund nursing home

….to whoop everyone at Kings in the Corner!

Elevator Up Please

For me, an elevator ride usually means one thing……we’re visiting great-grandma!

Over the weekend me and Trooper took a trip to visit my great-grandma.

Trooper’s favorite part about our visits is greeting all the residents at the nursing home (and the nurses). Here we are waiting for someone to say hi to.

My favorite part is getting the “scraps” that are inevitably left EVERYWHERE!

It’s like they knew I was coming and set out a special treat just for me. Mmmmmm….cheese….