from bella !!!!

 As Carlene says “Great Dane puppies are born trained” and I am experiencing that now. Working with Ziti has been eye opening. When I had George and met him he was always very work focused on taking care of me. Now, with Ziti as I am getting to know her I noticed she is equally playful and focused. She follows me close behind, and always keeps her eye on me. However, she is a puppy, she still plays and jumps and brings toys over to play. Ziti is so intuitive and smart and curious I can’t begin to describe how grateful I am to have her. With training “Zeets” as we call her I have learned much more about the kindness these big dogs have. Now, onto the training aspects, Ziti is very smart and will listen when there is a toy nearby, or of course, a treat. She currently knows “down, place, stay, and come”. When I started training her there was a lot of “Ziti, no no no”. Now she understands what I mean. As much as she loves treats and toys I do try to let her be when she's asleep. If we are out and about at a restaurant and we are leaving I tell her Ziti up, and she will slowly rise then I reward her. The effort and work that goes into a service dog is very intense. I love training Ziti and I loved training George. When George was first matched with me he was trained in the basics, the things I trained him for were things specifically designed for me. Things like easy and a slow pace. Ziti is a great puppy and has taught me so much. The time and energy Carlene has put into ziti and all other service dogs means so much to me and the recipients. Training ziti has made me realize that all the time and energy put into the dogs is so worth it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. When teaching I have needed to take a step back. Training isn’t linear, it’s not all neat and pretty. As much as I want to teach her, I need to remember she is still little and she needs rest, as much as I do. She tires me out more than I do her. This is new for both of us, we are both experiencing the world for the first time. George was my world my whole life, now I have Ziti, both of them were and are such a big part of my life I don’t think I would be where I am today without either of them. Ziti and I haven’t known each other for a long time, but already she means so much to me. It just shows that these big dogs can really change how we view things, how we should treat others the way they treat us, with kindness and care.