Service Dog Training- Second Week
Wow, I can't believe I'm two-thirds done with my training! Chadds and I have made so much progress in the last week. He's definitely listening better and we're improving our connection. Chadds is extremely willing to work, because he knows he'll get treats afterward! Lab are very food motivated. We've been able to improve skills from last week, such as picking things up and tugging cabinets open, by adding new components. Now Chadds can pick metal items up, which apparently most dogs don't like to do. In addition to tugging cabinets, he can tug a refrigerator open and pull my sweatshirt off for me. It's really impressive. Chadds is amazing at pushing handicapped buttons. He also likes a skill called go pay, where he takes a wallet from my hand, puts his front paws up on a counter, and gives the wallet to a cashier. He's not a big fan of carrying items, but we'll work on it. We did a skills completion yesterday and Chadds and I placed third! That made me feel good because it showed how well we work together.
We had two big field trips this week. The first was Longwood Gardens, which is filled with beautiful flowers and other plants. It was pretty hot that day, so Chadds wore little booties. He was a big fan of those, although they were supposed to protect his paws. I enjoyed seeing all the plants and practicing my skills. We also went to the Philadelphia Zoo, which was super fun. Chadds was interested in seeing all the animals, even the lions and cheetahs who thought he was food. He didn't get scared when an orangutan started banging on the glass right in front of him. It was a beautiful day and I really enjoyed the trip.
This weekend we took Chadds to our real home for the first time! My parents were a bit nervous about how our pet dog Bree would respond. I'm happy to say that she and Chadds are now best buddies and enjoy playing with each other. It was so cute watching them meet for the first time. I'm glad I don't have to worry about them not getting along. Chadds was a little harder to control in the house than in the apartment, which is understandable because there were so many new things to experience. I can't wait to take him home for real next week! In this last week of training, we're learning new skills such as putting items in baskets, picking up the phone, and differentiating between items. It will be fun to see what else Chadds can do!