News:Sad Story Reminds Service Dog Handler of the Importance of Distraction training

I came across this extremely sad story today. This loss of this service dog should service as remind to us all that we need to be aware or our environment and our dogs level of interest and attention to it. Working with the distraction of other dogs is a skill that service dogs really need to be rock solid on for the safety of the entire team. Handlers should regulary train and work their dogs in the presence of other dogs. It would be very simple to blame what happened to the dog in the story on the other dogs, but in the end as handlers we are responsible for our service dogs and ensuring they have the training to stay focused on the job at hand in these common situations.
Articles to prevent future tragedy and keep your service dog safe:

• Training with Distractions
• Proof Training Prevents Fatalities- by Vicky Stever
• The Many "D's" of Dog Training -- 15 Steps To Obedience Training & Proofing Your Dog
• The Eight Ways of Changing Behavior
• Making Progress with Prey Drive and other distractions