Baby Rain on her way home 02/04, moving easily into my existing pack. Cally, 6# Chihuahua, assumed the role of "mom" to baby Rain.
Rain at 4 months of age looking very much like a miniature adult Doberman though her feet are a dead give away that she has much growing to do still.
Rain, a Service Dog in Training. Photo taken at the Dobe-O-Rama in February 2005, Rain 13 months old)
THE START: Service Dog in Training (SDIT)
2/15/04 - 11/30/04
Personal Needs Assessment - Type of Mobility Assistance Needed From Service Dog (SD):
Bracing for stairs and steps; Steadying to keep me from falling on uneven ground when I lose my balance on inclines and declines; counterbalance for walking; helping me get up off the ground when I do fall; assist me in getting up and down from sitting position; pick items up from the floor. (04/2004)
INFORMAL TRAINING: 6 weeks to 16 weeks of age:
Basic Obedience training began the day I brought her home using clicker and positive reinforcement; socialization out in public (city park, plant nurseries, park building, parking lots at stores); riding in the truck. Rain was completely house broken before I began taking her into buildings that allowed pets, at the age of 12 weeks.
Commands learned: sit; down; stay; look at me; no; yes; no jump; no bite; gentle. We worked on these until her formal training began.
FORMAL TRAINING: 16 weeks of age to full fledged SD:
Rain's formal training began at 4 months of age when we were accepted into a local service dog training program, I was one of only two Owner/Trainers (OT) training and working Rain along side the programs fostered Service Dog In Training (SDIT) puppies. Thru the program Rain and I went on "meet ups" with the programs SDITs at local malls. While at the malls we worked and trained as a group: "in public" manners; basic obedience amid mall distractions. 2-5 minute training sessions in varied places in the mall: food court - food counter for ordering, sitting at tables, busing dishes; department stores - in and out of clothing racks and looking in mirrors; toy departments - children running around, moving noisy toys to tempt the puppies; stores that had shopping carts - moving in and around moving shopping carts, walking calmly alongside; at Home Depot - exposed to the running power saw as a worker cut lumber for a customer, tall ladders employees used to get things from high shelves, fork lift moving forward and backwards...etc. exposing our SDITs to many things they may encounter in their work, should they graduate.
We also attended an 8 week basic obedience class where she polished her skills amidst the commotion of other dogs, puppies and humans. Rain passed with flying colors...for graduating the instructor gave Rain a big dog cookie. Rain slowly but graciously took the cookie then looked at me. I asked Rain if she wanted me to hold it for her and she placed it in my open hand. I held the cookie as she bit off a piece and ate it and continued to hold it until she finished eating her treat.
Rain and I were with the service dog program until she was 8 months old when the training instructor who had been working with us told me that Rain was already technically a service dog as I had already taught her specialized tasks to mitigate my mobility disability and she was solid on her obedience.
We were now on our own. We found an advanced obedience class and Rain successfully completed it. Rain was still quite young besides being physically and psychologically too immature to be a Service Dog. I knew she needed time to grow, to mature and have many more experiences out in the world before I could see her as a Service Dog and not an SDIT any longer. I began to look for a training program for service dogs.
Rain completed Obedience 1&2; participated in a Tellington TTouch class with a confidence course.
OBEDIENCE COMMANDS - Rain is solid and reliable on these:
Sit
Down
Stay
Stand
Come
Wait
Heel
Finish
Leave it
Look at me
OTHER COMMANDS/TASKS - Rain is solid and reliable on these:
Brace - stand solidly
Easy - move carefully due to my unsteadiness
Get - retrieve
Give - "hand" retrieve item
Hold - hold item in mouth
Find - look for
Nudge - push/touch with nose
Touch - push/touch with foot
Take - pick up/hold onto with mouth
Back - back up
Forward -start walking
Gee - turn right
Haw - turn left
Ahead Gee - turning up ahead right
Ahead Haw - turning up ahead left
Ahead - move ahead of me alone
Behind - drop behind me
Side - move to my other side in heel position
ComeBy (in harness) - move closer to me/heel position
No Sniff - keep nose to self
Feet Up - rise up and put feet on counter
Feet Down - drop back down on all fours
No Touch - keep nose to self
No Jump - keep feet on floor
Hup In/On - get into/onto
Hup Out/Off - get out/down
Under - go under table, bench, desk, chair etc
No Shake - do not shake
Shake - okay to shake
Give me five - shake hands
No Bark - do not bark
Stop - immediately stop and stand still
Catch - catch item tossed
Excuse Me - move out of my way
Move - get out of the way NOW! HURRY!!!
Mine - leave it alone, it's mine, not open for discussion
Out - leave the room
Bizzy Bizzy - toileting word for urinating
Poo Poo - toileting word for defecating
Okay - release word, relax
Steady - calm down, go easy
Room - go to "your room" for a time out
Face - put face in harness or cape
Teeth - use back teeth on item
Bite - use front teeth on item
Ouch - that hurts me
Quiet - no talking
Tug - gently pull item
CHAINED TASKS - Rain solid and reliable on these:
Get socks - FIND socks to put on -> GIVE put them in my hand
Take socks - BITE sock -> TUG sock -> GIVE sock to me
Step - AHEAD one step -> BRACE stand solid
Zipper - BITE zipper tab -> TUG move head to activate zipper
ComeBy (out of harness)- HEEL leaning against my leg -> BRACE to balance myself -> FORWARD begin moving....voice directions to where I need her to help me
laser pointer retrieving
TRAINING SCHEDULE:
Training every day on basic obedience for 1-2 minutes several times per day.
Tasks done every day out of home at least 5 times per week: stores; riding the light rail; food places; appointments; riding in the truck; Mall of America; dentist; doctor; neighborhood meetings, etc. Off lead training every day for 1-15 minutes.
ON LINE Service dog Training
December 2004-June 2005
I found an on line service dog training program under the auspices of a service dog certifying non profit organization. This group was chaotic and was like a snake with no head, its leader was non-existent and with no curriculum I was going no where fast. I was asked by the list owner to be the administrator of the group in early May. I began to write an on-line training manual, established rules, dropped inactive members, etc and the group was up and running by the middle of May. The members were now required to make and keep a training journal and post weekly training from those journals on line. They also had to begin answering open ended questions the were geared to get their SDITs a well rounded world experience. Volunteer Trainers (VTs) worked closely with their Owner/Trainers. (OTs) This became a true service dog training program in reality, not just by name. Everything was documented. The primary purpose of this on line program was so that those of us living in States where we had the added police enforcement for public access issues involving SDITs and SDs if our dogs were in or from a service dog training program, would have that protection because we were training thru a service dog training program. Additionally, our SDITs would be certified SDs when finished. Rain graduated from the on-line service dog program in May 2005 and on June 1, 2005 when we earned the AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) award did I make it official. Then list owner reneged on the certification of ALL its graduate SDs and I quit as program administrator in August 9, 2005.
SDIT WEEKLY TRAINING JOURNALS: December 2004
12/01 -12/06/04
Training Journals were free form as no guidance was given in how and what should be journaled, for example:
TRAINING: basic obedience 1-5 minutes many times thru out the day, done daily both in and out of house; GET SOCKS and TAKE SOCKS practiced daily, AM/PM; working on loose leash and flexi leash along side electric scooter, using new command of GO AHEAD; ZIP, new command for new task using a zipper; dremeling nails, wearing NeoPaws winter dog shoes; tethering when very distracted; continue working out in public in mobility harness at least 5 times during the week.
SDIT TRAINING JOURNAL FORMAT: January 2005 thru May 2005
Beginning this month we began to journal a specific way rather than free form as we had been doing:
Task/Command:
# of times per day:
Approx time per task:
Total time per week:
Rating/Comment:
Ratings: (Poor, Good, Very Good, Excellent)
When a task/command was rated Excellent (reliable and consistent) then that task/command didn't need to be journaled any more.
We followed this format for the rest of our training journaling.
The Tasks listed below are rated EXCELLENT and will not be journaled any more:
LIGHT chained task: ahead ->feet up -> nudge -> feet down);
DOOR PAD (chained task: ahead ->nudge ->).
