Therapy Dog Training pt 4 & 5

Last week was a bit more hectic. The before/after school program for school aged kids I also work at changed the staff’s hours to accommodate the kids for all day care. The kids had fall break, and let me tell you they acted like it was summer and they weren’t going back to school for months :). Since the kids were out of school, we had our hands full with providing all day enrichment activities. I enjoy this type of work, especially when the staff are all onboard with programming and working as a team. 

The kids being at our center all day gives me an opportunity in knowing them as individuals and knowing their interests. At times, I’m impressed with their higher order thinking and critically assessing situations for say an 8 year old. This motivates me in building upon basic activities and challenging them in new ways for their growth.

At the same time in being amazed by the inquisitive nature and their willingness in trying new things, I’m also confounded by the weight resting on some of their shoulders. One child blew me away. Let’s call her Sally (I’m protecting her identity by not disclosing her real name or age). She’s in 4th grade and new this school year as well as our program. Sally spent much of her time over fall break hanging out in the same area as me. I suggested to her to try another area so she can be around different kids, be exposed to different activities and maybe take the chance in going outside. She refused. At one point, she seemed withdrawn and disinterested. I asked Sally how she was feeling and responded “I’m fine”. I know this answer isn’t really answering the question and with her body language, she didn’t seem happy. In engaging her in conversation she shared with me when she was younger (remember, she’s about 9 or 10 years old), Sally thought about suicide. After she shared with me what happened and how her parents were and continue to be involved in treating her depression, I thought about Bernie and our therapy dog training.

After 5 weeks of training, I see how Bernie will excel in opening someone’s heart who is missing love and compassion in their lives. Bernie’s joy is visible and palatable. You can see his excitement for meeting new people just exudes from him during class. His tail happily wagging, his loose and wiggly body posture when someone comes up to him to greet him he sometimes can’t help himself from hopping up to kiss them (especially the ladies). His once fearful nature of hiding and running away from something unfamiliar, he now greets it with enthusiasm and above all else, trust. Trust that the unfamiliar thing won’t hurt him or scare him in any way.

  
The intersection between children needing extra love and sensitivity and Bernie’s over abundance of giving will fill a hole at our center.  My hope is that this vision of incorporating some level of animal assisted therapy is shared by the management staff there. I know Bernie’s presence will inevitably unlock the children’s hearts and enable them to expand their social-emotional growth further. 

We still have some things to work on like unsolicited kisses, but I’m excited about our upcoming session with the Boy Scouts and our final exams. 

Let’s here one for Bernie 😄🐾❤️💥

   
   

Therapy Dog Training pt3

Another Monday rolled around and of course that means therapy dog training class for me and Bern Bern.  I rushed home on Monday evening, Bernie didn’t get his usual walk before class, so I knew in the back of my head Bernie would have a bit more energy. I didn’t expect Bernie to act like it was his first day!

Bernie and I immediately started working. I worked on redirecting his attention on me and Bernie worked on making the choice to follow my lead than go where the new people and dogs are in class. The thing about group classes versus individual sessions are the level and types of distractions present. Individual sessions provide the client/handler and the dog the time alone in working on getting the obedience cues down pat. By down pat, I mean a 90% success rate of asking for a sit and the dog sitting 9 times out of 10 on the first ask. This success rate also applies for all basic obedience commands. The usual space conducive for such consistent results is in the dog’s home enviroment, particularly inside the home. Ideally, dogs spend most of their time in the home, so the daily goings on and the coming and going and routine reduces the intensity of the distraction for the dog. Its like when a person lives near railroad tracks and overtime they don’t even hear the train when it passes by. Bernie came a long way in following directions, walking on a loose leash and coming when called. Its a whole other story when he’s presented with new sights and smells and he’s out of his normal environment.

The group dog training class is a great tool for deepening a dog’s obedience and for structured socialization. I believe a group class is complementary to the private sessions. The group class provides added challenges to the dog and handler. The main challenge being distractions. The distractions range from a wide number of unfamiliar people and dogs, dog treat smells, different sounds within the building or outside and working in a group setting rather than one on one. The challenges present are a great asset in strengthening the bond between the dog and handler. How you may ask, well the distractions will act to pull the dog’s attention away while the desire to look for the handler will push the dog in thinking about following the obedience cues rather than indulging in the newness of his surroundings. On the other hand, a group setting can be too much for some. In a group setting, I’ve seen (and personally experienced) dogs become overstimulated even to the point of being overwhelmed. These dogs will bark uncontrollably, will not redirect attention back to the owner and it will make working on obedience cues extremely difficult, if not impossible. On the other hand, dogs who are overwhelmed may show opposite signs of stress. Dogs may shut down and will not follow the handler or show the interest in working on any training during class. In these instances, its vital for the handler to reconsider alternative plans. The idea of continuing to put the dog into this much stress, to me isn’t worth it and its not helping the bond between the handler and the dog. Quite frankly, its also a waste of money. 

Bernie is energized and alert in group training. He is continues to surprise me of how much he follows his commands. We still have a bit of trouble with the leave it cue when there is food on the ground, regardless, I’m happy with his progress. Bernie moved past his fear of men. He was able to happily go off into another room with one of the men in the class. He contined to show willingness to work and was delighted to do so.
  


All in all, group training classes are a great addition in working on obedience with your dog. Group classes aren’t for every dog. Its a matter of keeping an eye on how your dog is responding in a more stressful environment and responding to your dog’s needs. Ultimately, you are responsible for your dog’s well being and its important in ensuring your are looking out for his best interest.

 

Therapy Dog Training pt 2

I’m so proud of my Bernie Bear! Not only did he defy my expectations, he continuously showed me how much fun he was having during his training class. He was smiling, tail wagging, eager in putting his best paw forward! He paid attention to me and followed directions like it was his job. In that moment, for that hour, it was his job and I was totally floored. I surprised because Bernie never responded to me so diligently until we got into class.

Its hard for me to believe, so let me fill you on the Bernie of yester year 😉 We adopted Bernie October of 2012. Eddie and I were volunteering at a Humane Society event. We had the lovely job of poop scooping, but we also took our time in checking out all the vendors at the event. There were people selling doggie clothing, to spraying painting on your pups and of course those selling delicious treats for us and them. As we made a pass around the event, Eddie asked me to accompany him over to one of the pet adopter’s tent and of course we went. As we walked over towards the dogs, there were about 6 six of them, all different breeds and sizes jumping and barking and trying so hard in drawing attention to themselves. We looked over and we saw Bernie. Bernie was just chillin’ in his crate. He was lying there just watching all the goings on at the event. Eddie was immediately drawn to him and asked to see Bernie. The rescue people were thrilled and maybe a bit surprised. We took him out and a quick little jaunt in the parking lot. Eddie immediately fell in love. He was ready to jump on board with adopting him. I, on the other hand was a bit more hesitant. I wasn’t yet a dog trainer, so I was unsure of my abilities in training him since our track record wasn’t established. Jack was still a bit of a terror and then add another dog which we didn’t know if they would get along, I was totally confused of what to do. 

Bernie was so mild mannered when we met him. The rescue people shared with us that Bernie ALWAYS gets looked over at events since he just lays there. They shared that people ask them “what’s wrong with him, is he sick” because of his laid back nature. They even said they almost didn’t bring him that day too, with that being said, I was hooked on adopting him.

We shared with the pet rescue people our concerns (which was mostly centered around how things would go with Jack). They were willing for us to go pick up Jack and immeditely do a meet and greet. Eddie jumped into our little Ford Focus and sped the 25 min home. We were so excited. We knew if all went well, Bernie was coming hom with us. 

We arrived back at the event an hour later and it look like everyone was packing up. We quickly searched for the rescue and the lady said, “I didn’t think you were coming back. There was so much attention paid to Bernie after we left, I said, he’s taken”. That brought a huge smile to my face. The piece of advice that was shared with me next, is something I continue to share with others: a good dog and dog interaction is when both dogs greet each other and then ignore one another. This is exactly what happened. Neither Jack or Bernie became overly concerned or too involved. Success!

Over the course of the next couple of months, we discovered Bernie was nervous. He was afraid of sounds and of Eddie. Bernie would back up away from Eddie and hide and start barking at him almost every time Eddie came in the room. Bernie would often hide under the bed during stressful moments (when I would drop something) or would refuse to eat if he perceived me to be leaving. He frequently had accidents in the house as well as other people’s houses. Eddie became disheartened since he was the one who picked Bernie and he didn’t know why Bernie had a hard time adjusting to him. I didn’t know the answer either, but I was eager and motivated in finding a solution.

As I enrolled and graduated from the dog training program, most of my practical application of the course material centered on Jack and Bernie. I applied concepts like learning theory and classical conditioning in improving the responses towards new stimulus and experiences. It was like magic! Both Jack and Bernie were less aroused in new and stressful situations. Now looking back, the ease of popping a treat or throwing a ball when something new happened helped create a positive association towards that new experiences which led Bernie in decrease his fear response when something unexpected were to happen. Genious!

Now fast forward a couple of years, and Bernie and I were preparing for Monday’s class. I’ve never really challenged Bernie’s obedience skills. He knows all of his cues, but I didn’t take him out in public spaces like stores on a regular basis and practice those skills. We have on occassion go to the local pet store and I would frequently drive around with both Jack and Bernie in the car, but I never thought it was enough. I did make sure he was exposed to unfamiliar dogs and people and I do know he loves the ladies, but it was a part of our life, it wasn’t a planned training regimen. I chose the option in taking both Jack and Bernie out as much as possible, but in the back of my mind, I always questioned myself, like I should do more with them. In any event, last night was amazing in my eyes and I couldn’t have asked for better execution in his tasks than what he gave, especially with recall. Bernie usually has this look on his face like he’s weighing the options of whether coming when called. Not last night. Bernie kept his attention on me and waited for me to release him from a sit. Wow! Also, Bernie calmly approached when the evaluator walked around with a walker and a cane. Bernie showed interested and fear never reared its head. Bernie’s body language remained loose and his tail happily wagging. A truly amazing sight. 

I’m looking forward to see in the coming weeks how Bernie progresses. He totally rose to the occassion. He also didn’t show any shyness in front of the camera!