Training At The Pet Store

Jade and I had training today and our trainer decided we should try it at the pet store since there are plenty of distractions there.  Shes right.  There are a lot of smells, dog food, toys, other dogs, even a Vet clinic.  Then there are the other dogs coming in, walking around with their owners, and leaving. Theres also a doggie day-care inside the store, with a very large picture window (made of some sort of plexi-glass) so that all the dogs in day-care can see out into the store, a place for cat adoptions, and a grooming salon.   So, yes, a lot of distractions!

My trainer also thought itd be a good idea to have Jade meet with another dog and do some training together, to see how shes getting along with the defensiveness issue shes had since her pit bull attack.  The trainer had another client with her and her service dog in training...a black Lab....well call him, Gabe.

So, we started by walking Gabe and Jade passed each other a few times outside, then the last time, we stopped closest to each other and did a sit/stay.  All of that went very well. Then we let them meet.  They sniffed each other, and sniffed some more, then Jade went on the sniffing other things.  So that went very well and I was VERY pleased....and very proud of her.

Gabes owner asked me about Jade being attacked back then.  She asked me what kind of dog it was....I answered, "It was a pit bull."  Well, that kicked off a whole new conversation about pit bulls.  Seems Gabes owner isnt too fond of pit bulls either.  She asked me what the owner of the pit bull said to me after the attack, and I explained that the owner was nowhere to be found...just a loose pit bull, roaming free, with a broken chain around its neck.  She talked about how that "always seems to be the case....and pit bulls maul and kill a lot of dogs and children, for that matter!"  We talked a bit about the pit bull problem here in Tucson and just the sheer numbers of pit bulls here, as this place is overrun with them!  The trainer also chimed in a bit and talked about how the wrong kind of people are drawn to pit bulls and seem to be the most irresponsible and immature people.  Cant argue with that! Gabes owner said, "I dont blame Jade for having been defensive after that happened to her, I would be too!" Seems Jade is moving past those days now, thankfully!

Anyway....Once we let the two dogs get a good greeting and get to know one another, we all headed inside the store to do some training together.

We did some sit/stays, some down/stays, some "leave its," some down/stay and handler goes out of sight for a few moments, and walking past other dogs.  We had a good time, and Jade did wonderfully! She used to have a hard time with doing down/stay and me going out of sight for a few moments, but she does it now, and just stares at where I went until I get back.  We always laugh because my trainer says, "Wow, I dont think she even blinked until you got back!" Haha! Thats my girl!

We also did a down/stay and had a couple of strangers come and step over her, and worked a bit on her check out counter etiquette, which didnt need much work at all.  Everything seems to be going so well, and the trainer said it wont be long now before were ready to take the certification test.  Weve certainly been practicing for it.

Hopefully it wont be long now until Jade gets her pretty green vest, and is an official Certified Service Dog!

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Training at the Firehouse

This week Jade and I will be doing some training at the firehouse, for a couple of reasons.  Ive already taught her to run and get the phone if I fall, and become incapacitated, which has happened more than once before.  Jade will run and find the phone, bring it to me, and lie down next me until I can either move, or help comes.  Theres only one problem. Due to the past trauma that Jade and I went through, she has a fear response to men in uniform. This is a major problem.  If I were to be in this situation again, Jade would be a tremendous help, until someone in uniform arrived, be it the paramedics, or firemen, or policemen.  She doesnt discriminate, its all men in all types of uniforms. *sigh*  I cant say I blame her after what she went through with certain men in uniform, and now she has learned to generalize to ALL men in uniform.

A police officer had to come to the house last week, and I just knew Jade was going to lose it, and she did.  She is so afraid of them, that all of her training just goes flying out the window, and I cant get her to perform her "door etiquette." Her door etiquette is when she goes to the door, when someone rings the bell, and barks. I tell her "thank you," which quiets her and sends her to her place to lie down until released. Were still working on that, but shes getting better...except when its a man in uniform, which sends her into a fearful, barking, mess, that cant be redirected no matter what.

So I spoke to my trainer about this, and she thinks itll be great for her to get some up close and personal training with men in uniform, actually letting them train her a bit.  Were going to practice "treat and retreat," which is when the man in uniform will toss Jade a treat, then take a step backward, allowing her to come forward and take the treat.  We keep doing this as Jade gets closer and closer, until shes finally eating out of Mr. Uniforms hand. Now wont that be nice! We also plan to plead with the firemen to allow us to borrow one of them to stop by my house a few times in uniform to practice this door etiquette with first responders. I dont know if theyll do this, but I would imagine they might welcome this type of training, as many first responders have issues with dogs upon coming into a home to help a downed person, but who knows, well see.  I figure we can help each other in this training, and maybe theyd be willing to help Handi-dogs do this type of training for the disabled.  Were definitely going to pitch the idea to them and see what happens.

Last week we trained at a bookstore doing down/stays, step-overs by strangers, and a sit and get a pet by a child. All went very well.  I was amazed at Jades down/stay, while she waited patiently for me to go to the counter and purchase a book. She laid quietly while I walked away, and mustve been gone a good 5 minutes. The trainer stayed with her, but never had to touch her or say a word to her.  Children ran past her, and people walked by, some stepped over her tail, and she stayed put waiting for me to return. Pretty impressive.  Im very proud of her.  We had her do a sit/stay and let some children come up and pet her, and she always welcomes a pat on the head.  She did great!

Ive really been noticing also that Jade seems to be getting over her defensiveness with other dogs.  She seems more interested in meeting other dogs at the park when shes off duty and even had a good sniff with another yellow Lab tonight.  She let the dog sniff, she sniffed and gave a play bow.  Im so glad that she seems to be moving past that.  Now, I have hope.  I have hope that she can move past just about anything, so Im hoping it wont take long to move past her fear of men in uniform.  I think its all gonna work out.  Sure am proud of my girl!!!

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