Service Dog Archives - Page 9 of 34

Service Dog Training: Monti’s Off to College

March 18, 2013

I got the news on Wednesday when I was in Pennsylvania for a horse training clinic, that the very next day our dear Monti would be returning to the service dog organization.

No! Not yet! I haven’t had enough time with her!

But, there’s nothing to be done. We had too many dogs with the addition of Schooner. It was better for everyone involved (minus my heart, of course) and it was the logical decision. Me and my heart don’t do logic very well at all.

I left the horse clinic early (which was fine because I was freezing!) and hot-tailed it back down, hoping to get an hour or so with the little girl.

It’s been so cold outside, I haven’t gotten my good camera out in a long, long time. Which means I don’t have any recent pictures of the girl. So I had my iPhone with me and managed to snap this one of Monti while we were waiting for SDV to come pick the girlie up.

She’s fine, of course. She’s happier there than here, no doubt about it. She’s got at least 10 new doggie friends who are in various stages of their own training, her new person also has Caysun, and she also has a pond of her own in which to swim!

The only one missing anything is me. And truth be told, while I miss that bugger like crazy, life with five dogs is just too much for me. And too much for Nemo. But that’s another story for another blog post.

If there was a lesson for me to learn from this, it was that quicker is better. I had no notice whatsoever, [well, 24-hours, but that doesn’t count as notice, right?] so I didn’t pre-grieve her departure. Admittedly, it was far easier for her to ride off in someone’s car than it is for me to walk out the door of the training center and leave her behind. So, all in all, it was one of my better turn-ins. I can’t wait for my next trip to the service dog organization so I can see her (and Caysun!) again when I take Schooner down for his check-in. Stay tuned…

The Life of A Service Puppy — New Adventures for Monti

March 1, 2013

This little girl didn’t stay with us nearly long enough. Asti Spumante is her official name. But around here she’s Monti or Zoomie.

Next Wednesday, she’ll be starting a new life at Service Dogs of Virginia (SDV). With the addition of the Great Dane service pup to our household, it’s time for Monti to move onto her next phase of training.

This little girl has grown into a really nice little Labrador. She’s spunky, she’s sweet. She’s always ready to play or to train. She’s an easy keeper — she entertains herself by playing with a toy, tossing it into the air, then chasing after it.

I will miss her little impish face. I’ll still be able to see her often, just like I see Caysun Louise, everytime I visit SDV. And that’ll be about once a month while the Dane is in training.

It’s always sad for me to let one of “my puppies” go, but I know she’ll thrive at SDV with the training opportunities (not to mention the party she’ll have with all the other Labradors already at SDV).

I’ll be missing her a lot more than she’ll miss me, that’s for sure. And that makes me happy. Well, as happy as I can be that she’ll be leaving us.

Service Pup in Training: From Spruce to Schooner

February 28, 2013

We went from Spruce to Schooner late yesterday. The dog didn’t change, just his name. Turns out we were the only ones who really liked Spruce Goose.

We went from an aeronautical theme to simply a nautical theme. It has nothing to do with pilots, I realize, but hey, everyone involved agreed on Schooner, so we’re sticking with it!

The boy is settling in just fine and the name change won’t be a problem for him — we only used Spruce for a five days or so.

So while he really is Spruce-like, he’s now Schooner. I’m sure he’ll grow into his name and a year from now we won’t be able to imagine him as anything other than “Schooner.”

Service Dog Training: Introducing Great Dane Pup

February 25, 2013

Raising service puppies means there will be emotional highs and there will be emotional lows. The excitement of getting a new puppy is tempered by saying goodbye to a good friend as she moves onto the next stage of her training.

And so it is this week: I’m excited to introduce you to Spruce Goose, yet saddened to let Monti go back to the service dog organization. We’ll simply celebrate the good news in this post, while I live in denial a bit longer regarding Monti’s imminent turn-in.

So this is the new guy: Spruce Goose. He’s 11-weeks old and quite saucy.

Spruce Goose

He looks an awful lot like Siena (who is now named Gracie and very happily adored by her new family) and we’re very happy to have a baby dinosaur back in the house. [More on her in an upcoming post!]

It wasn’t an optimal time to add a puppy to our household, but when Great Dane puppies are delivered to your front door, you don’t refuse them!

He came to us last Wednesday evening, and by 8:30a Thursday morning, he was attending the Frederick New Media and Technology Conference with me. Actually, he was Co-Presenter (I gave a talk about Twitter)!

In a matter of 24 hours, Spruce Goose (who didn’t even have a name at that point), learned how to wear a leash and collar, was fitted for his vest, and attended an all-day conference with me.

I was a presenter at the conference — I couldn’t simply skip the event, nor could I leave him in a strange house with four strange (to him) dogs all day. So I packed him up with plenty of “keep busy” toys and chews, and hoped for the best.

He did remarkably well, given his (lack of) previous experience. I was patient, allowed extra time to get him comfortable in his new surroundings, and was willing to take him out frequently to exercise and do his business.

We’ll keep you updated on his progress. It’ll be fun to watch his personality develop.

When the Dog Trainer Goes to Dog Training Class

January 10, 2013

I raise and train puppies for a service dog organization. I’m also a dog trainer. Yesterday, I got the pleasure of being a student in a dog training class and it was delightful! I don’t live close enough to the service dog organization to go to class every week (it’s a 3-hour one way drive), but my resolution for 2013 is to go to class with Monti once a month. It’s important for the service dog organization to eyeball Monti and I to be sure we’re on track with the other pups in the program and to ensure Monti’s developing temperament is still up to the (very high) service dog standards. It’s important for me because (1) it’s FUN, (2) I get to be just a student, and (3) it’s fun! I think I mentioned that it’s fun, didn’t I?

I had been frustrated with Monti’s lack of self control. I’d started to dread training with her. It wasn’t fun anymore. After our session yesterday with the service dog folks, I got to see Monti from their perspective, a more objective perspective.

I’m thankful for that new perspective. Because I really love this little girl. She and I had developed a habit of arguing more than we were agreeing. We’ve already planned an outing tomorrow to work on her self control — Costco, banking, lunch out, then back home. That will also exhaust her — bonus!

I’m already looking forward to our next class in February. I’m hoping they’ll see Monti’s leaps-and-bounds progress (that we’ll make between now and then). In any event, I’m back to enjoying little Monti to the fullest! And that’s what it’s all about.

Dogs in Public: Lessons Learned by Doing

November 20, 2012

If you want your dog to behave in public, you have to teach him in public. Teaching your dog at home or at obedience class is a good start, but if you expect that teaching to carry over to “real life,” you’re going to have to work in that situation.

Because public work is a necessity for service dogs, we start our public training very early. Last week, I attended a day-long meeting and it was the perfect opportunity to introduce Monti to public life. The picture above shows her (finally) taking a nap during the meeting. That relaxed behavior doesn’t happen naturally — especially not in public with so many interesting sights, smells, people and goings on — so I dedicated this meeting time to teaching Monti that she could, indeed, take a nap even in public.

I went very well armed: I had her breakfast and lunch with me, able to dole it out in small bits throughout the morning to reward good (quiet, calm, focused) behavior. In addition, I also brought chew toys (that didn’t squeak, much to my meeting-mates relief), and rawhide chews to occupy Little Miss Social during the meeting. As you can see in the picture above, I also had a portable water bowl, as well as a little soft bed so she could get really comfortable.

Monti’s training thus far has been active training — she’s always been reinforced for doing something. Maybe it was sitting, touching my hand, laying down, going into her kennel, whatever. But this little girl knows that doing gets reinforced. So imagine her confusion when I asked her to down, reinforced her, then ignored her (I had to pay attention to the presentations, it was a business meeting afterall!).

I started to spread out my rewards — if she was quiet for five minutes, then eight, maybe three, then twelve — so we got longer periods of inactivity from squirm-worm Monti. She quickly caught on and began to put her head down on the blanket. Bingo! Now, that was the only way she’d earn a goody. Head down = reward!

I then lengthened the amount of time her head had to be down. Before she knew it, she was asleep! Ahhh, the joys of a sleeping puppy.

It didn’t take long for her to learn that relaxing was the key to it all. Is my job done? Heck, no! It’ll take several more of those one-day meetings to help this feisty little Labrador figure out that public time = time to sneak in a nap. But we’ll get there. Every outing will be easier for her (and me) — the more experience she gets, the better service dog she’ll be for her partner.

You can do the same training with your dog that I’m doing with service pup in-training Monti. Find public places that allow dogs. And frequent them. A lot! Remember, if you want your dog to behave in public, you have to teach them in public.

Do you have a favorite place you like to take your dog to teach him in public? What do you like so much about it? Please leave a comment!

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