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.