Week 8

Week 8

                I can honestly say that I can’t believe it’s been eight weeks already. It feels like just yesterday I was walking into Power Paws and playing with a litter of eight golden retriever puppies. Yet here I am, a lot more informed about the service dog world and soon beginning the last phase of this project. It’s so strange to think that initially this project was going to be about how service dogs are trained differently for different purposes and now it’s research about the most common misconceptions about service dogs. I was initially going to compile a list of which dogs should be assigned to specific needs, but now I will be conducting a survey about mistaken beliefs about service dogs and using that to inform younger generations. In a way, this end product will have more of an impact out in the real world. An aftermath I can walk away truly proud of.

                Anyway. Going back to the internships.

                This week at Power Paws was more on the calmer side. Bootcamp continued outside the training facility to help the new recipients practice with their dogs outside a classroom. However, there was a lot of help needed around the office so I stayed behind to help out, so I didn’t go to observe the outing. I did, however, help train a dog in the morning class. We once again practiced turning a light switch on and off and releasing a dog from a “sit,stay.” The release cue is an essential one because it helps practice and prolong the amount of time a service dog will stay in one position or spot while its handler goes to do something else and do not want the dog to wander or cause any distractions. Towards the end of class I also got to do my first shaping exercise. In order to more accurately describe what shaping is, I’m going to explain it in terms of the exercise I took part in. So for this particular lesson, I helped shape a dog picking up its bowl. This was a cue that the dog I was working with did not know quite yet. Shaping, as a result, helps build up a certain action to teach a dog a new cue. Since the dog did not know yet know that I wanted it to pick up the bowl from the floor, I started out with simply clicking the clicker and later rewarding each time the dog interacted with the bowl. The interactions start out with me simply looking at the bowl until the dog looks at the bowl. Click and treat. Then it moves up to the dog nudging the bowl. Click and treat. Then, when I cease to reward nudging, the dog attempts to bite or mouth the bowl. Click and treat. Next thing you know the dog is picking up the bowl and you take it from their mouth before they drop it. Click and treat. By doing so, I showed the dog that I wanted the bowl in my hand and that that was the reason they received the reward. Once the dog does this a few times successfully, I begin to say “pick up the bowl” every time it goes to pick it up. This part of the process is simply associating the cue with the action, and thus teaching the dog a new cue. This being my first time trying a shaping exercise, I was very happy (not to mention relieved) that it worked and that I was able to teach the dog something new.

                At the FSDS, both classes essentially had the same game plan. The dogs and their handlers/recipients worked through several stations perch work, handing off the leash to a stranger, a rally walk, long leash sit/down stays, and “place” without attention. For the certification test, a lot of these skills are necessary to pass. One of the items on the test, is giving the dog to a stranger and walking away. During this time, the dog has to behave in order to consider the exercise successful. The rally walk essentially was just a station at which the handler/recipient walked with the dog with specific instructions on how where to turn, stop, cue to sit, or speed up. The dog must be attentive to whoever it is walking with and ensure it behaves accordingly to consider the exercise a success. The long leash sits and downs were down outside and simply helped with the generalization of the task outside the classroom. During “place” without attention, the dogs were told to go to their blanket and stay there while their handler walked off to give feedback to another team at a different station. The dog was expected to stay in its position without getting up until it was instructed to do so. By walking away to do something else, the handler is able to change their body posture and ensure that the dog doesn’t consider the exercise a “training” moment. As a result, the behavior is being moved more towards application, rather than simply a training session. In the afternoon class, the dogs also practiced the 3 service skills that their recipients will need them to know upon graduation. For example, one recipient wants the dog to distract them away from an anxiety/high stress episode by picking up on their nervous behaviors. During these moments they tend to pick at their nails or exhibit other similar behaviors. In order to train the dog to nudge the handler away from this sort of situation, the recipient starts clicking their nails to get the dog’s attention to their hands and eventually builds up to the nudging and intervention of any nervous hand gestures. The purpose of the dog doing this is to prevent an episode before it happens, allowing the individual to continue with their day to day activities. This dog, however, is not an emotional support dog because it’s actions are not simply for the comfort of the handler, but to prevent an episode as caused by the individual’s PTSD. An emotional support dog is not the same as a service dog, and would not be allowed in public places as a service dog is. This behavior, nevertheless, is yet another example of the shaping process and an even better example of how these dogs are well on their way to becoming not only empowering but loving members to a family in need of this sort of help. Being able to observe this progress thus far has truly been the experience of a lifetime.