Hello Everyone
It seems like this should be a clear cut idea, a service dog is a tool to aid a person in being more independent, providing tasks that allow a person to do more and go more places. This seems like an easy concept, and people who get fully trained service dogs experience the whole world opening up for them. This is one experience that self-trainers never get to experience, and even people who get a great dog that is still maturing, find this difficult, because they are limited by their experience with their dog.
Going someplace new or places you were scared of before, takes a lot of trust with your dog. In order to desensitize them, they need to experience these places anyway. One topic I talked about before was the idea that, "I don't go to places like that anyway" really defeats the purpose. If you only train a dog to accompany you into places you are already comfortable, then the only thing that changes is you have a dog with you.
Service Dogs need jobs, if you are blind, many new places are scary, you do not know the layout, what if you trip, finding your way may be hard. Getting a dog to guide you would be a great way to feel comfortable going new places. But what if you just stick to your regular route, the places you regularly go and know, these are the same places you were comfortable in without the dog. He/she does not have to tell you how to get places and unless something has changed or a new object is in your path, you already know the layout, they have little to no jobs to perform in these instances. Day after day, sticking to this same routine will slowly diminish their skills and make them board. Many dogs thrive on the change and the challenge of the work, wanting to provide a service to you, if they do not get this task, they will stop working.
Going into new places with your dog is very difficult, especially if you have the joy of going through training with your dog, experiencing the bad along with the good. Trust is a little harder to build when you understand what can go wrong, but this is the whole reason you are going through this, to be able to go to those places and feel comfortable, to open up the world a bit more for you, not just as a companion in your small slice of it.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Monday, February 11, 2019
Testing a Self Train Dog
Hello Everyone
A couple days ago, I received a request to test a self trained dog. Testing a dog is something I never take lightly, the standards for a service dog are very high and it takes more than being able to perform the tasks or to have good obedience. When testing the dog I am also looking for how they handle themselves in public, responding to the handlers needs (without being told), responding to the handlers commands, their temperament and watching all these things in a variety of settings.
After sending the person my test, they indicated that there was no way their dog could pass. Curious to understand where the dog was in terms of training, I asked what exactly she could not do, turns out there were some places they were not going. The idea with a service dog is that it opens doors and assists you in doing things you previously could not do, or things you struggled with so just avoided, the longer you and your dog train, the more opportunities there should be for exposure because you start breaking out of your routine and feeling comfortable. Sticking to the same routine over and over will only mean you have just desensitized your dog to those locations.
Another part of the test is how the dog handles strangers. This doesn't just mean they are ignoring them, but what happens when strangers actively engage with the dog, this includes being pet, hugged, rubbed down and picked up. Even meeting different age groups, ethnicities, and disabilities is looked at, many times these assessments are done subtly and locations are picked where a wide variety of people congregate. Human interaction is definitely something lacking in most self-train dogs, it takes a lot of effort and courage to ask a stranger to help test your dog, and most people become defensive and upset when someone randomly pets their dog, while it is inappropriate, your reaction to it may cause more harm than the actual petting.
Exposure to other dogs and animals is key. There is nothing that makes a service dog worse than reacting to another service animal that is not doing anything. A lot of times this means intentionally working around other dogs, in parks, pet stores and enrolling in puppy classes, just to teach your dog to focus and respond to you with other dogs present.
A couple days ago, I received a request to test a self trained dog. Testing a dog is something I never take lightly, the standards for a service dog are very high and it takes more than being able to perform the tasks or to have good obedience. When testing the dog I am also looking for how they handle themselves in public, responding to the handlers needs (without being told), responding to the handlers commands, their temperament and watching all these things in a variety of settings.
After sending the person my test, they indicated that there was no way their dog could pass. Curious to understand where the dog was in terms of training, I asked what exactly she could not do, turns out there were some places they were not going. The idea with a service dog is that it opens doors and assists you in doing things you previously could not do, or things you struggled with so just avoided, the longer you and your dog train, the more opportunities there should be for exposure because you start breaking out of your routine and feeling comfortable. Sticking to the same routine over and over will only mean you have just desensitized your dog to those locations.
Another part of the test is how the dog handles strangers. This doesn't just mean they are ignoring them, but what happens when strangers actively engage with the dog, this includes being pet, hugged, rubbed down and picked up. Even meeting different age groups, ethnicities, and disabilities is looked at, many times these assessments are done subtly and locations are picked where a wide variety of people congregate. Human interaction is definitely something lacking in most self-train dogs, it takes a lot of effort and courage to ask a stranger to help test your dog, and most people become defensive and upset when someone randomly pets their dog, while it is inappropriate, your reaction to it may cause more harm than the actual petting.
Exposure to other dogs and animals is key. There is nothing that makes a service dog worse than reacting to another service animal that is not doing anything. A lot of times this means intentionally working around other dogs, in parks, pet stores and enrolling in puppy classes, just to teach your dog to focus and respond to you with other dogs present.
Monday, February 4, 2019
Knowing your dogs limits.
Hello Everyone
It is time for to push my dog and take him to the Orchestra, Live Theatre and the Casino. After carefully assessing where a dog is at is important and knowing when and how much to push them. This is usually where self trainers get it wrong and it can have severe consequences. This can drastically reduce the dogs chances of passing. Pushing too far when the dog isn't ready can make them stop trying or enjoying it, preferring to stay home. I have had two dogs fail out because they stopped enjoying the job. This can happen at any age, and may not even be due to a person pushing the limits to soon but the dog just naturally learning that it doesn't like it anymore. Forcing the dog does not help matters but can cause more issues between the dog and the handler. Having your service dog resent you, is not a good way to have the bond you need with your dog.
Making sure your dog can handle different types of stimulus is important, however it is just as important to introduce them slowly and gradually to these stimuli. Assessing where your dog is at and when you can increase the duration and strength of the exposure, helps slowly acclimate them. Situating yourself where you can quickly and quietly leave, also ensures you are not a disruption to the people around you. Little tests at home can also determine your dogs readiness. How do they react to sounds on the TV, music in the car, things going on outside, where are they when you are doing everyday household activities. If your dog is over-reacting to the TV or doesn't have the patience to sit with you while you watch a movie, they are probably not ready to go to the Cinema, where they have to ignore the show, remain calm for over 2 hours, deal with the smell of popcorn and all the people, that is a lot of stimulus.
Sometimes self-trainers struggle with the opposite thing, making sure the dog is exposed. This is one thing that I have to make sure people in my self train program do. They get comfortable going to their same grocery store, the same clothing stores, and build a routine. This is all good for me to assess where the dog is at based on the situations that happen in their everyday life, and can let them know when it is time to take it up a notch by giving them suggestions on where to go or what to do. When self-training your dog, you are also limited to where you feel comfortable, but limiting your dogs exposure doesn't help them and eventually those exposures will happen randomly. Without preparing your dog for the sound of a buzzer (can go to sports games), a fire alarm may cause the dog to freak out. Even watching people run up and down a court helps to teach them that people running, doesn't mean that they get to go play. Having these things spontaneously happen, not only hinder the dog, sometimes to the point where they no longer want to work, but also put the handler in a state of panic, with a misbehaving dog. Pushing yourself to do new things, along with exposing the dog to these new experiences is very important, doing it in a way that you retain control over your situation and the dog so that both of you can get through it together.
It is time for to push my dog and take him to the Orchestra, Live Theatre and the Casino. After carefully assessing where a dog is at is important and knowing when and how much to push them. This is usually where self trainers get it wrong and it can have severe consequences. This can drastically reduce the dogs chances of passing. Pushing too far when the dog isn't ready can make them stop trying or enjoying it, preferring to stay home. I have had two dogs fail out because they stopped enjoying the job. This can happen at any age, and may not even be due to a person pushing the limits to soon but the dog just naturally learning that it doesn't like it anymore. Forcing the dog does not help matters but can cause more issues between the dog and the handler. Having your service dog resent you, is not a good way to have the bond you need with your dog.
Making sure your dog can handle different types of stimulus is important, however it is just as important to introduce them slowly and gradually to these stimuli. Assessing where your dog is at and when you can increase the duration and strength of the exposure, helps slowly acclimate them. Situating yourself where you can quickly and quietly leave, also ensures you are not a disruption to the people around you. Little tests at home can also determine your dogs readiness. How do they react to sounds on the TV, music in the car, things going on outside, where are they when you are doing everyday household activities. If your dog is over-reacting to the TV or doesn't have the patience to sit with you while you watch a movie, they are probably not ready to go to the Cinema, where they have to ignore the show, remain calm for over 2 hours, deal with the smell of popcorn and all the people, that is a lot of stimulus.
Sometimes self-trainers struggle with the opposite thing, making sure the dog is exposed. This is one thing that I have to make sure people in my self train program do. They get comfortable going to their same grocery store, the same clothing stores, and build a routine. This is all good for me to assess where the dog is at based on the situations that happen in their everyday life, and can let them know when it is time to take it up a notch by giving them suggestions on where to go or what to do. When self-training your dog, you are also limited to where you feel comfortable, but limiting your dogs exposure doesn't help them and eventually those exposures will happen randomly. Without preparing your dog for the sound of a buzzer (can go to sports games), a fire alarm may cause the dog to freak out. Even watching people run up and down a court helps to teach them that people running, doesn't mean that they get to go play. Having these things spontaneously happen, not only hinder the dog, sometimes to the point where they no longer want to work, but also put the handler in a state of panic, with a misbehaving dog. Pushing yourself to do new things, along with exposing the dog to these new experiences is very important, doing it in a way that you retain control over your situation and the dog so that both of you can get through it together.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)