Lend Me an Ear is back!

One of the quintessential  resources in hearing dog and service dog training is back after many, many years out print. I, myself, have been hunting high and low in used bookstores hoping to find a copy. Alas, I never did because no one who had copy was giving up this treasured volume  LEND ME AN EAR: TEMPERAMENT, SELECTION AND TRAINING OF THE HEARING EAR DOG- 

http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DTB1316

Free Audio Excerpt Exploring Shaping Available

 Recently, I stumbled across this audio excerpt from one of my favorite books on clicker training, Don't Shoot the Dog, by Karen Pryor. Since finding dog training books in any format other than print is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, I had to share! Never stop learning!
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3596?source=mnl_01_1208

Therapy Dog and Person with a disability Communicate through iPad

You don't need to be able to speak to communicate with a service dog. Dogs will accept anything as a cue as long as it is consistent and the dog is rewarded for responding.What I like most about this video is near the end the young women chooses to pet the dog as well as give her a treat!

Upcoming Service Dog Training Seminars

PREVENTING PROBLEMS in Puppyhood: a 3-day seminar

Preventing Problems in Puppyhood 2011

A three day seminar for Puppy Class Instructors & Service Puppy Raisers

November 11, 12, 13, 2011



www.regonline.com/preventingproblemsinpuppyhood2011
<http://www.regonline.com/preventingproblemsinpuppyhood2011>

The majority of behaviour problems that are seen in adult dogs can be
easily prevented during puppyhood. Understanding the developmental
stages that pups go through and what they need in each stage will help
you to understand and address puppy needs to prevent problems in adult
dogs. We will discuss the pros and cons of puppy play, how to structure
object play to get the best results for individual pups, scheduling of
the puppy's day and week and spay and neuter. We will even have live
puppies on site for you to interact with during our socialization lab.
Join us this fall to get your puppy fix!


Featured speakers include: Sue Alexander CPDT CDBC, John Alexander "The
Puppy Guy" BA CPDT.

For more information or to register:

www.regonline.com/preventingproblemsinpuppyhood2011
<http://www.regonline.com/preventingproblemsinpuppyhood2011>


EARLY BIRD pricing available
Bring a friend and you get a $25 Discount (some conditions apply)
All three days include lunch and refreshments.
IAABC and CPDT CEUs pending!

This is a fragrance free event, held in beautiful Guelph, Ontario,
CANADA
________________________________________

SERVICE DOG SEMINAR 2012

Come join in North America's only 5th Annual SERVICE DOG SEMINAR.

June 1, 2 & 3, 2012

www.regonline.com/servicedogseminar2012
<http://www.regonline.com/servicedogseminar2012>



Learn about the world of service dogs and how they help people with
disabilities. Whether you are already partnered with a dog, looking for
a promising prospect or interested in how service dogs are trained,
everyone will take something new away from this seminar! Core sessions
include preparing for a service dog, operant conditioning, classical
conditioning, and people training. 2012 includes Carting with your
service dog, Successful Access and much more.



Service Dogs are encouraged to attend; friendly service dog candidates
are welcome.

TRAINING LABS and GUEST SPEAKERS including Sue Alexander CPDT CDBC, John
Alexander "The Puppy Guy" BA CPDT, Linda Alberda MBA, Brent Alberda MA,
Sharon Palmer, Melanie Woolley RVT


For more information or to register:

www.regonline.com/servicedogseminar2012
<http://www.regonline.com/servicedogseminar2012>


EARLY BIRD pricing available
Bring a friend and you get a $25 Discount (some conditions apply)
All three days include lunch and refreshments.
IAABC and CPDT CEUs pending!

This is a fragrance free event, held in beautiful Guelph, Ontario,
CANADA
________________________________________

Good Dog Seminar 2012

A three day seminar to help you meet the needs of your client's Good
Dogs with Big Problems!

Fall 2012 (Date to be determined)



Sue Alexander, CPDT, CDBC (featured speaker at the 2009 Canadian
Association of Professional Pet Dog Trainers conference) will be sharing
information about learning theory, canine aggression, fear, reactivity,
adaptive and mal-adaptive behaviours, working co-operatively with the
veterinary and training communities, building support groups and
ensuring the safety of those who participate in a GOOD DOG program.



For more information or to register:

Email jen at dogsinthepark dot ca



EARLY BIRD pricing available

Bring a friend and you get a $25 Discount (some conditions apply)

All three days include lunch and refreshments.

IAABC and CPDT CEUs pending!



This is a fragrance free event, held in beautiful Guelph, Ontario,
CANADA

Shilo and Cammy Meet Ian Dunbar!

The girls scramble to get to Ian!

I was very lucky to be able to scrape together enough money to attend one day of a three day lecture series put on by Dr. Ian Dunbar called "Science Based Dog Training with Feeling." While I would have loved to go to all three days, it just wasn't in the budget. Therefore I chose the day focused on Lure & Reward training. I learned and was reminded of a lot, so let me see if I can boil down some top points from the lecture.
Keys to Lure and Reward Based Training
1. Lure and Reward Training allows the Training to attach verbal cues immediately (1st trial) to a  behavior
2. The food Lure should be  gone (in other words the dog can see and smell the food while they are doing the behavior) in 6-12 trials for a given new behavior. Note that you continue to reward behaviors you want.
3. Allows the Trainer to immediately select and reward for the best performances of the behavior.
4. When phasing out food ask  more for less and replace with other reinforce like praise and life rewards.
5. The games Tug,  Fetch, and chase are intrinsically rewarding for dogs and can/should be used as rewards in training.
6. Train opposites

I could go one for days with what I learned about lure and reward training, instead visit Dog Star Daily read more about this training technique.


Understanding Pet Professionals & Getting What You Need
1. All pet professionals run their business on the assumption that you dog is both people and dog friendly. If your dog is not good with one of these two expect to be charged more because the work will be harder, take longer and use more staff to get the job done.
2. Don't be surprised if a Trainer fires you, if you don't follow through with exercises and homework. Your dog could be trained by them, yes, but it is your dog and they need to respond to you. The only way that will happen is if you do the work.
3. Don't sign up for group class with specific goals then go in expecting the trainer to throw the whole syllabus out the window because you and you dog aren't ready for it.

Update on the Power Chair Test

This is an unedited video of the first three minutes or so introducing, Shiloh, my Summit Assistance Dog Service dog of nearly two years to a loaner power chair. I will, hopefully, have a power chair soon. Shiloh shows the expected unsureness about where to be and is also adjusting to working on a flexible length leash. Please note she has been working along side a manual char for nearly two years at this point and has never stained, pull, or bolted on a regular six foot leash. Flexible leashed are for dogs with advanced training who will not take advantage of the added freedom. As you watch the video you will hear me give Shiloh cues and advanced warning of any change in direction. If you don't warn a dog about changes in chair direction and they do get run over:
1: you may hurt the dog
2: you may cause them to believe that they must stay as far away from the chair as their leash will allow.
 The chair was running at its lowest speed to give us both time to react and adjust. This video was shot by Catherine Berger.

Books: Free Downloadable Intro to Clicker Training Books

Ms. Shirley Chong began training dogs in 1982 and made the cross to clicker training in 1992. She specializes in analyzing dog behavior as well. She offers two books for free download on her website Just Plain Clicker Sense, an introduction to clicker training and some work on common issues; and the Clicker Cookbook, this book teaches all foundation behaviors and takes you through all the steps. The number of steps may surprise new trainers, but take head because slower really is better (and lumping steps will slow you down in the end!).

News: Fox Valley FABLAB develops a new tool to assist service dogs in opening doors

The Fox Valley FABLAB develop a universal door tool to be used by people with disabilities and their service dogs. Unlike other tools currently in use this one holds the base of the lever and has and extension that translates the dogs pulling action into the simultaneous downward motion needed to operate the handle. Being a gear head I bought several tools over the years. I hope I can try this one!

Gifts Service Dog Partners and their Service Dog will love

No matter what holiday puts you in the festive mood, getting the right gift for your four-legged companion can boggle the mind. This can be especially true for the friends and family who may want to thank your service dog for the service and energy they have brought into your life.

Treats:

(Be observant of the kinds of treats they give their dogs. What may be a perfectly fine treat for one dog may be asking for trouble with the next. Be mindful of allergies and chewing styles.)

• Pig Ears
• Bully sticks
• Training treats selection (remember to avoid one with ingredients of wheat, corn, or soy as these comprise some of the top allergies in dogs)
• Nylabone Edibles
• Greenies

Toys:

• Buster Cubes
• Kongs
• Nylabones (non-edibles)
• Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball, Large
• Premier Busy Buddy Tug-a-Jug, Medium/Large
• Nina Ottosson's Puzzle Toys for Dogs - The Tornado
• Nina Ottosson's Puzzle Toys for Dogs - The Brick

Training Tools and Games:

• My Dog Can Do That!
• Dog Training Kit Plus- a great introduction for the beginning clicker trainer and their dog.
• Free standing Target
• Clik Stik Training tool- target stick with clicker embedded

Videos and Dvds:

• Take a Bow Wow
• TEAMWORK FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES DVD
• TEAMWORK II: DOG TRAINING FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (SERVICE EXERCISES) DVD
• CLICKER TRAIN YOUR OWN ASSISTANCE DOG DVD/CD SET
• Really Reliable Recall

Books

• See My List of Favorite Books to the Left

Gifts for the Service Dog Handler:

• Gift card to their preferred pet supply store
• Prepay for their next trip to the groomer
• Prepay for a well-dog vet visit
• -Dog First Aid Kit
• -Doggie Traveler Kit (I have one of these and love it. I just switched the balls out for my dog's favorite toy. It's great to have all your service dog's stuff together and marked when travelling long distance by train, bus or air.)
• A subscription to their favorite dog magazine or one of these service dog newsletters
• Pet Passport for keeping those all important records including a current picture, vaccination records, health history, and more. I also keep my current rabies certificate, and health certificate in mine!

Online Communities Share Trials, Tribulations, and Success of Life with Service Dogs

(This review will contain only groups which I have experience with and; therefore, know something about the nature of each group.)


For many people working to train their own service dog, some for perhaps the first time, the process can be daunting to say the least. Is my dog appropriate for Service Dog work in temperament and health? What are the things my dog must know? How do I teach these skills? When should I move to the next skill? What do I do if my dog turns out not to be a good candidate for service dog work? What if my dog works great at home but falls apart in public? These and many other questions occupy the daily discussions on many an online group focused on living with working and training service dogs.


Assistance Dogs hosted by Yahoo Groups

This e-mail list was established to talk about topics concerning trained (or in training) assistance dogs that perform tasks to assist a disabled people with their disability. Therefore, guide dogs for those with visual disability, hearing dogs for those with hearing disability and service dogs for all other disabilities are included. Topics about training or using assistance dogs, access issues, legislative or other issues common to assistance dog teams are welcome. This list is moderated by an extremely experienced professional service dog trainer and you must request permission to join the group.


OC-Assist Dogs hosted by Yahoo Groups

Operant Conditioning training, with emphasis on positive reinforcement (clicker training) for Assistance Dogs (Service Dogs) trainers and partners. All discussions are to be related to the above topic, even writing style will reflect positive attitudes and an open atmosphere for sharing ideas related to the subject matter. This list will be good for children, however, in any list, parental guidance is recommended.

Service Dog Central Community Forum
In-depth forum focused on all aspects of living and working with service dogs of all types. The moderators of this forum are comprised of long time partners and trainers of service dog. The forum and its participants focus on positive training techniques.

Patricia McConnell's Blog- a wealth of information for all who live and work with dogs

Patricia McConnell, PhD and renowned animal behaviorist recently began keeping a blog The Other End of the Leash. Her blog is bursting with information on living with, loving and learning about dogs. She often poses questions to her readers to get them further thing about the topics of the post. Some of the topics she regularly posts on include:

• Border Collies
• Dogs and Sound
• Food and Dogs
• Positive Reinforcement
• Playing with dogs

I for one will be reading this blog! I hope it makes it onto your Internet favorites too!

Book Review: A Dog Who's Always Welcome by Lorie Long

A few weeks ago I was in a local book store perusing the dog section (as I frequently do) and I came upon A Dog Who's Always Welcome: Assistance and Therapy Dog Trainers Teach You How to Socialize and Train Your Companion Dog by Lorie Long. This book shares the foundations used to raise and train service dogs, therapy dogs, and their human partners to flourish in the unpredictability that is human society. Ms. Long along with staff from Blue Ridge Assistance Dogs, St. Francis of Assisi Assistance Dogs, and Assistance Dogs of America impart the methods used by many service and therapy dog training organizations to raise happy, confident dogs who love to work and can handler (with support from their human partners) just about anything the world might throw their way.

Ms. Long shows the average dog owner how they can help their dog live the full life of a true best friend and companion. This book is not just about raising and training your dog to be a good canine citizen. Just as a service dog is only as good as the person on the other end of the leash, a confident dog about town needs an owner who is consistent, fair, willing to put in time, and who love them as unconditionally as our dogs do humans. Through out the book Ms. Long, along with the seasoned therapy and service dog trainers stress the importance of choosing a dog appropriate for your family, lifestyle, and how you envision the role of your dog in your family. Dogs are sentient beings who can be happy, driven, confused, excited, stressed, tired, and sick; they can reach extraordinary heights when they have owners who not only love them-- but respect and understand them as the unique beings they are. In A Dog Who's Always Welcome reader learn about understanding who their dog is, defining the experiences and skills their dog will need in their everyday life, developing a plan to teach their dog about their world, and teaching the dog the skills they will need to enjoy life to the fullest. Ms. Long weaves the example and experiences of service dog partners and trainers to illustrate the keys to raising a dog who enjoys learning, problems solves, and know that you will be their when the human world just doesn't make sense. The positive training techniques, emphasis on socialization, and list of useful commands can help even the most novice dog owner understand how that dog that they didn't even notice under the table next to theirs could have been there all day and they wouldn't have noticed.

While overall, this reviewer found Ms. Long's book to be well done, I was disappointed to see that Ms. Long choose to use disempowering language when talking about people with disabilities choosing terms like suffering, confined and wheelchair bound rather than more respectful terms in People First Language . Ms Long also states the the ADA guarantees public access for trainers training service dog. Unfortunately, this is not true. In fact, the ADA silent on the issue on access for trainers working with possible future service dogs. The ADA left the decision on access for dogs in training up to the individuals states. Anyone with a dog in training should check their state laws about public access and use the steps in A Dog Who's Welcome to ensure you dog has the skills to begin training in public.

Service Dogs strut their stuff on YouTube

These videos are excellent examples of the variety of tasks and types of dogs working as service dogs.I especially ecourage people to pay attention to the newfoundland working with the handler with multiple psychiatric disabilities. I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I did!

Assessment Round Two: June 2008

On June 5, 2008 I was invited up to Summit for a second assessment for my new service dog. This time they had specific dogs in mind who might be a good match for me. When I got there I was introduced to Brenda, a smooth collie Labrador cross, from Summit's second litter of puppies. She is a big black dog with white markings weighing around 70lbs. I liked her immediately for her size which creates in my mind the potentially for a very versatile partner performing a wide range of tasks. Despite, Bastien being a medium-size boy at 55lbs and 19 inches tall I have always loved big dogs. The bigger the better in my book. I am the only client there with the dogs and three trainers. Brenda's trainer said that I should get acquainted with her by asking her to perform some basic obedience exercises including a recall, sit, down and some loose leash walking. I was allowed to give her treats and they we impressed by my Handi-treat treat dispenser that I had hooked to a lanyard around my neck. I told them I preferred it to other treat pouches because it was easy for me to quickly get treats and -- the best part-- it's thieving tongue proof! I had forgotten my i-click clicker, so I had to use a voice marker to mark correct responses. The common voice markers I have heard include simply clicking with the tongue and the word "yes". I was grateful to hear they used the word "yes" since that is what I am used to using in the absence of a clicker.

I did the same get acquainted routine with the second candidate, a decidedly medium sized shepherd mix who couldn't be more than 50lbs.
Even though both dogs had minimal experience working next to a wheelchair both dogs were quick to pick up my cues and lures to get in them in the proper proximity to my wheelchair. Having trained dogs to walk with me before this was a process I am familiar with where a dog needs to walk when working next to my wheelchair. I also got a chance to ask each dog not to touch food on the floor. Since neither of these dogs knew me, they both attempted to get the food on the first pass by. by the second pass by they both knew I was no sissy and left the food alone. The trainers were impressed with the speed I threw my arm up under the leash I had looped across my chest to prevent Shiloh from getting the food making it impossible for her to reach the food were where inches from. It was the quickest thing I could do that didn't require me to yell. (When working in public with service dogs you want and correction to be swift, quiet, and unmistakable for the dog. The quiet part is important because you never want to draw attention to yourself when you dog is doing something inappropriate.)

After I had worked with both dogs the trainers asked me what I liked about each dog, what I disliked about each one, and if I had any questions about either dog. Then we loaded up and went to work with the dogs some in public access situations, so I could get a feel for how each dog behaved and work in public. We went to a local sporting goods store and strolled the aisles. I also put each of them on a down, walked about 20 feet away then called them to me. Brenda had more specific task training at this point, because they had tried to place her before. Unfortunately, Brenda and that person did not click, so they kept her and continued looking for a person who would be a good match. Therefore, I also asked Brenda to retrieve a set of dropped keys. Brenda showed us two things when we did this:
1. she knew what I wanted her to do. She picked up everything she could find on floor. Except the keys!
2. She didn't like the taste of metal. The keys that had been dropped were the trainer's. Keys and a ring. I threw my personal keys that have a caribbiner and a small bit of fabric and she got them immediately!
Just goes to show dogs no matter how far they are in training can always show something that needs work or may make them unsuitable for service dog work. I was asked again what I liked about each dog, what I didn't, and if I had any questions. As we left they told me to give them a few weeks and follow up with them.

No one owner trains in a vacuum

Successful Owner Trainers of their service dogs do not train in a vacuum. I, for one, had a lot of support each and every bit of which I am eternally grateful. When I got Bastien, as I had mentioned in previous posts, I had had dogs as family pets but my parents did much of the work. The house training, the leash training, and the setting of the rules relating to the dogs and children.

With Bastien I learned, tried, made mistakes, had successes and many frustrations. We tried out many training tools, but I steadfastly stuck to operant conditioning training and as much as I could positive reinforcement. I will admit to using a training collar for my safety and his during those dunderhead teenage months. Training collars include things like choke chains, pronged collars, no pull harnesses, head collars (i.e. Gentle Leader, Haltis, and Snoot Loops). Training collars are often used on fully trained service dogs to assist the handler, to assist the dog in focusing, or a combination of both. Head collars should not ever be confused for muzzles they are not built to limit a dog's ability to drink, eat, bark or bite. They do work on a on the theory of where the head goes the body will follow. Same idea a horse halters. It also takes less strength to control a dog wearing a head halter, since it is difficult for dogs to use their full body strength like they can on regular collars and body harnesses.

My Support and Learning Circle included:

• My Family
• My Friends
• The Members and Trainers of the Puget Sound Assistance Dog Club Club
• The About Face K9 Academy in Olympia, WA for puppy class, basic and intermediate obedience.
• The Good Citizen Canine in Tacoma, WA for advanced obedience, remedial recall work (screwed it up in my rookiness), rehab for the incidents with the automatic doors (will post more on this later), Prep course for the Canine Good Citizen Test
• Jeanne Hampl- Hampl's Dog Obedience, Former Head trainer for the Purdy Prison Pet Program for task training, Public Access Testing
• Books tons of them

I wanted to ensure that both my dog and I met the industry and legal standard for service dogs. Only in the U.S. are owner trained service dogs recognized and given access the same as school/program trained dogs, and I wanted to ensure my dog was as well trained as a program dog. Bastien over his career passed the Canine good Citizen and Public Access Test twice and the Therapy Dogs International Therapy Dog Test. If we as an owner training community do not maintain high standards of training owner training may very well become a thing of the past.