Monday we took off just due to life being busy. This has got to be the hardest part of owner training, balancing regular life and fitting in service dog training as well. No matter how crazy things get I try to do at least a short 25min training session with Luke. We are also getting Luke use to a gentle leader so that Ara can start walking with him more.
Tuesday - We worked on Paw Push with the touch light, Nose Touch with the aid of the laser pointer, recall into a heel position, plus some Rally O. Luke is getting very good with the touch light and it is his favorite thing to do.
Wednesday - Again keeping up the practice with Paw Push, Nose touch both with the touch light and with the laser pointer (working on nosing parts of my arm and leg), Take it and Give it, Rally O and some Vest work. (if you check out our videos page you can see us working on some of these tasks)
Thursday - We kept it pretty short with Nose Touch with light and Take it and Give it. I was a bit nervous because my first class was tonight. We were able to get through almost 10 signs in our first class which was awesome and everyone had a great time. I really enjoyed teaching it. Luke acted like a teenager though so we will have to go back to the beginning on desensitizing toward other dogs and ignoring them. He is still just a puppy and is so excited to meet and play with other dogs.
Friday - Rally Obedience, distance sits and downs, some retrieve work and more vest work.
Saturday - I have realized that I have taught Luke commands just in every day life and even in public accesses training. The first one being "back up" I say back up and make a shooing motion with my hands and he will back up in a straight line. The second one which is supper helpful is "step" this is used on curbs or single step ups. I tell Luke "step" and he will do the step half way and then stop for a brace/balance from Ara if she needs it. (note she does not lean on him or push, pull him) The third things is "stairs" he stays in perfect position to Ara and stays in pace with her, this will be shaped to actually help with balance and mobility later on.
Sunday - This was a very full day for Luke and had some firsts. I felt it was time to take Luke to a restaurant since he has been doing so well in other public areas. So we went out to breakfast at McDonalds and he did so great. He did a good under and only had minimal huffs when someone walked by our table. A few leave its and treats and he settled down great. We let the kids play in the play room and again I put Luke into a down near a little table, this is where Luke had an issue. He has a hard time with Ara leaving his sight and him hearing her scream, shriek or laugh he did softly bark at me and try to get up and go to her. He was very concerned for her, so this is something we will really need to work on. We then made a quick run into Target were he did great.
Then we went to Lowe's which is another new store to him. He did really good and nothing bothered him, we even did some training in the bathroom (basically Luke being in a down stay with the leash dropped and being use to the sounds of air dryers and such), and we worked on a new task "Find Dad" which is a fun game of hide and seek which we will then shape for distance and such.
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| This is how Luke likes to ride next to Ara, he always puts his head in her lap or as close as possible. |
Later we dropped off the kids at Grammy's house and hubby and I went to walmart. As we walked in the greeter asked "is he in training?" with a frown on her face. I said yes he is and she nodded us through, but did not look happy about it. Luke did wonderful again he is really starting to pick up on stopping at intersections and blocking. On the way out the same greeter gave us a smile and said "he is sooooo well behaved" in which I said "Thank you" I know walmart gets its share of people trying to pass off their pets as service dogs and I am always so proud of Luke and all the hard work we have done at these moments when we show how a real service dog should behave.
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