Proven Improvement

You know you've done a good training job when a store owner notices the improvement and makes a big deal over it.

Today, Frankie and I went to the pet store. We hadn't been there in a while, mainly because it just wasn't a good place to train initially. Since I was now doing the final "polishing up" training, I needed to eliminate as many distractions as I could at first so I could concentrate on the actual training.

We went to the store today to get some lizard stuff, but also I wanted to see if Frankie had improved enough to deal with all the distractions that come with a pet store. A pet store with a puppy for sale, with a loose "store terrier", and with a big bird named Big Head that has a sign that says "I bite fingers off!".

Frankie did great! Even one of the store owners, Sam, noticed. Sam has known Frankie since we first started training him. At first, Sam noticed how attentive Frankie was being towards me. Before, Frankie was so distracted that he would barely acknowledge me. Today, it was eye contact big time.

As we were leaving, Frankie got up and untangled his harness hookups by himself with no help from me. Sam noticed this and really made a big deal out of it. Sam was just as excited as I was. And I was very proud.

It's always nice to have someone else notice how well your sdog is doing and really special when they go out of their way to tell you what a good job you've done.

Frankie has sure come a long way!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi Willawomen,
I don't run across many blogs about service dogs so this one is a keep an eye on it for me. I popped a link over at Wheelchair Diffusion for any visitors who are interested in this subject.
Great site on a good subject.
2:24 AM
Conners said…
I'm getting confused messages from animal trainers and behaviourists.
I live in Canada, but a Service Dog is a Service dog regardless as long as trained and certified. Right?
I was told by one that the only 'real' and legal Service Dog is the Seeing eye Dogs.
By others, the Service Dogs for the Disabled physically and the Hearing Dogs are just as valid as the Seeing Impaired.
Could you pease settle this for me and IF you know of any Canadian Sites, that would be even better.
2:53 AM
The WillaWoman said…
Connors, this is a tough one. The laws in the USA are different than in Canada.

In the U.S., access privileges of service dogs are granted through laws passed by each state, as well as the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Housing Act passed by the Federal government.

Since I'm unfamiliar with Canadian law, this site here lists a few Canadian Service Dog orgs that may be able to answer your questions (do a search on Canada): http://www.inch.com/~dogs/service.html

I hope this helps.
The WillaWoman
2:48 PM
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