Unexpected Training Opportunity

Today was just one of those days were my plans fall apart.  Today is therapy day for A and usually we take Luke to doggie daycare since he is not yet ready for sitting in a long therapy session(s). Well today we could not get there due to traffic and construction so I had to go with plan B so we would not be late and plan B was taking Luke with us. I luckily had all the needs supplies in the car (vest, treats, travel water bowl, and doggy bags), so off we went into therapy.

First off I love our therapy office they are so wonderful and supportive. Luke did exceptionally well and we got to work on new tasks/work. Hey if a training opportunity comes up we are not going to let it pass by.

We worked on going up and down a large flight of stairs. We worked on his position, pace and stopping at the last step/first step and not rushing. Normally A gets very scared by these sets of stairs in particular but with Luke by her side she was able to do them with little problems.

Next came the button to open the automatic door. We have been working on "paw touch" a target on the wall at home. He did really great and did not hesitate to try and "paw" the button, A was even able to still hold his vest safely when he did this. He is so agile and not at all rough/clumsy when doing tasks. We worked on this about 4-6 times as we moved in and out of the offices.

Then we worked on just being relaxed and in a down stay while in the actually therapy. Occupational Therapy was the hardest as it is physically hard for A and her anxiety can elevate. Luke did a few check ins on A, which is again a new thing we are working on. It helped her to refocus and lower her anxiety. For Speech he was wonderful and did a down stay with minor position movements.

So things we need more work on: office sounds and people out of site talking he was vocal a few times (not loud) when he heard a door slam and people talking out of sight.

All in all he got a lot of compliments especially for being so young and was invited back anytime for more training.