Blog 4: Working EQ

Although I really wanted to do therapy dogs as my senior project, I have found a topic that would better help me in the future. That's why I decided to switch my topic to life guarding. I have always had a passion for swimming and helping others, so this fits the bill perfectly. The only down fall is that now I have to find new research and a new mentorship, but I have already been able to put in a considerable amount of hours for a life guarding that I took a couple weekends ago. 

The life guarding certification class that I took has really helped me to acquire a sense of accomplishment and security. I now feel that if I were to be put into a situation where someones life was at risk, I would be able to help that person and possibly save their life. The part of the training that really opened up my eyes to how tough life guarding can be was the practical training. In practical training we had to go in the water and actually preform various rescues on each other. The deep water spinal rescues are by far the hardest and most nerve racking. For that kind of rescue, you have to stabilize that victims neck and spine so as to not cause any further damage all why treading water and securing them to a spinal board. It's a lot of work, but it gave me more respect for life guards. 

I can't give an honest answer as to what has worked for me so far because I have just barely switched my topic, but hopefully I'll be able to get a position as a life guard at a local pool. That would definitely work for me. What hasn't worked is of course the fact that I have decided to change topics, but I think it will work out for the better in the long run. 

Questions:

• How do you give out warnings to patrons without being rude or unkind?
• What other ways are there of preforming spinal rescues?
• Is it possible to give CPR and other life saving actions for a spinal victim in deep water?
• What is the best way to maintain a professional demeanor at work while still maintaining a team like atmosphere?

My end goal would definitely be to secure a job as a life guard and also to obtain an instructors certification so that I can teach swim lessons. 

I think it would be really interesting to talk to someone who has actually been helped by a life guard. Maybe someone who suffered a spinal injury in the pool, but with the help of the lifeguards, sustained no further injuries and is perfectly okay now. That would be a really difficult interview to set up because of confidentiality rules, but none the less, i think that would be a really good interview. 

Blog 5a: Problem Statement

Life guarding 

Problems:

• preforming CPR on deep water spinal victims
• more effective spinal injury rescues
• better spine boards
• ways to communicate with unruly patrons
• more effective way to tread water while preforming a deep water rescue

What to do with solutions:

• hold an in service with fellow lifeguards
• create flyers to pass out to different aquatic centers with information regarding life guarding techniques
• contact American Red Cross instructor and share findings with her so that she can use them for future classes

Blog 3: Interview Preparation

1. I have emailed several therapy dog organizations about shadowing one of their groups for a day and then asking my interview questions. I have yet to get a response so far. These are the organizations I have emailed: Love On 4 Paws, BARK, Paws 4 Healing, Pawsitive Effects, and Pet Prescription Team. Although the people apart of these organizations are the people that would be ideal to interview, my back up plan is to interview my dog trainer from the class I took at PetCo this summer.

2. Additional Questions:
What is your grooming regiment for your dog? How do you keep them from shedding in the hospitals?
Is there a specific breed that is ideal for the role of a therapy dog?
In your opinion, what is the most rewarding aspect of training a therapy dog and taking them on visits to hospitals and schools?
How long have you been training dogs?
What is the average amount of commands a dog can learn?
What is the best training method for dogs?
How big of an impact do you think diet has on a dogs personality?


Contact Info
Nikki Citwin (626) 215-5115
Dog Trainer, PetCo

Blog 2: Topic Choice

Originally, I wanted to do my senior project on veterinarian medicine, but I couldn't find a vet clinic that would let me volunteer because I'm under the age of 18. That was the initial reason I decided to train a therapy dog instead. Another deciding factor that pushed me to chose therapy dogs as a topic is the fact that I've always aspired to train my dog to become one. This just seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally get the ball rolling. 
By the end of this, I hope to have gotten certified to be a therapy dog handler and to also have Jasper become a certified therapy dog. 
Becoming certified relates to me improving as an i-Poly citizen because I would be helping to better other peoples lives and be exploring a whole new path in life. Once I'm certified, I will be able to go to various hospitals, convalescent homes, and even to libraries so that the patients and children will be able to interact with Jasper. By doing this, I think I will become a better communicator because I will be exposing myself to a series of different people who have come from different paths of life. Initially, I'll be going on the outings with other groups of people and also with my mentor. Being able to just stand back and observe how my mentor interacts with the patients will help me to become a more effective learner due to the fact that I will have to grasp a different way of learning. Instead of jumping straight into hospital visits, I'll have to slow down and take things one by one. In all honesty, my topic doesn't have a whole to teach me about technology. Although, having to make spreadsheets for the mentorship log and bibliography will most likely in the end help me to become more organized. 

Blog 1: Summer Mentorship Component

Contact Information

Nickol Citwin 

(626) 215-5115

Literal (Need to know)   

Mentorship Log

• How do you get a dog to focus on you even in stressful and hectic situations? 
• What are the advantages to positive reinforcement compared to negative reinforcement?
• Can a dog really be trained out of a traumatic experience such as abuse?
• Are certain breeds of dogs just not capable of being trained to have a stable disposition?
• Do some breeds instinctively know certain behaviors such as walking on a loose leash or sitting while waiting?

Interpretive

     I learned so many things from going through the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program that it's kind of difficult to pin point just one thing. I learned how to properly execute a command which is really crucial when training a dog. I also learned how to train a dog out of its fears. Although, the most important thing I learned is actually how to treat a dog properly. Lots of owners give their dogs treats for no reason, what they don't realize is that the treat is actually something that is supposed to be highly valued and should only be given when the dog does something you wanted them to do. Treating is probably one of the greatest tools for training. 

Applied

    Going through this program really opened my eyes to just how smart my dog Jasper is. It's really solidified my want to train him to become a therapy dog because once he is more trained, he would bring a lot of joy into some patients lives. The other reason why this experience has encouraged me to train a therapy dog is because I find the whole process of training extremely rewarding. It's a truly amazing experience to see that light spark in your dogs eyes when they finally learn a new command. I have also seen a huge change in Jasper. He is more willing to learn, almost as if he likes learning new things.