Service Dog Work
One of my best kept secrets. I have always been interested in the work that a service dog performs. It’s a private passion I suppose. I am usually joining service dog lists, and buying service dog books and researching the laws for a service dog and trainer. This work is the most amazing stuff.
Recently I had the opportunity to work with a client that was teaching their new dog to be a diabetes alert dog, really cool stuff. I didnt realize that this could be trained, I thought it was natural. A dogs smelling ability of course is a very natural one and so teaching it to recognize what it is smelling is just the next progression. Cool, cool stuff.
Anyway, I decided to hone my skills and train Ice for some of this service work. Our focus of work is for mobility (picking things up, stabilizing a person etc.) Our first “service outting” was in Clovis, New Mexico. I was very nervous about the whole thing. I prefer to sneak in and out of stores with only the clerk knowing I was there, but with a service dog everyone knows you are there. The secret however is having a dog that seems to not be there. They dont whine, cry, bark or act up. Being that this was Ice’s first outting I had know idea what to expect. He was absolutely awesome! A total natural. Our first stop in Clovis was Applebees. We walked in and were very warmly greeted. We had a booth and Ice just dropped under the table like he had been doing it all his life. He didnt move our intire lunch. Everyone forgot he was there and newbies didnt even realize he was there. Through out the weekend he improved with leaps and bounds and he was more than welcomed everywhere we went -Hobby Lobby, Albertsons, the movie theater (he was awesome), the mall, WalMart, elevators…
I did start remembering all of the commands I needed (from my first service dog dabbling in 2001). The list is huge. For anyone that thinks it would be cool to have your dog come along with you to stores, its ALOT of work and alot of pressure to make sure your dog is an ambassador for service dogs. I would NOT stick a vest onjust any dog because they can not all do the work, there is just WAY too much involved in it and its not worth it. This training that I am doing with him is priceless, and I am learning alot. Ice knows exactly how to act when the vest is on, what a wonderful baby he is.
We are learning retrieve now since he has passed everything else with flying colors. I get stuck here, but feel determined. We continue going on our outtings here in Colorado – he has been to JoAnns, WalMart, Safeway, Home Depot (the one that doesnt allow dogs), Subway, as well as all the usual doggy places where he doesnt have to where his vest.
I will continue to educate myself of what these dogs can do for people and maybe someday I will be able to train a service dog for my mom. I know she could really use the help picking up dropped items and stabilizing her walking.
Ill keep you posted.
