Today was a fun day with Benji. We went to a scholarship banquet hosted by the university. I wish I would've gotten a picture with me looking all fancy and Benji looking like he normally does, but we didn't get a picture. We got a lot of attention from all of the donors and fellow students. He did a lot better than I was expecting, he was a little nervous around people with canes, but he hid it really well despite that! He's learning to handle his stress a lot better and not let it show and clearly. We went up for food twice and both times he did really well with leave it and just being around a lot of people and food. He stayed down the whole time that I was talking with the donors and my friends at my table. I got a lot of comments that people kept forgetting that he was there or that they didn't notice he was there. Which is really good because that's what is supposed to happen with a service dog!
When we arrived at home, I decided to take the night off from doing homework so I brought out my ukulele to play for Maddie and the dogs. Benji didn't like my playing so much, but Finley was totally down to get serenaded by Maddie and I singing and playing to him!
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One of the other interns found this article, and I think that it very nicely lays out how someone can tell whether a dog is an authentic service dog or not. It also shares the possible implications of people abusing the rights given to service dogs and using them for their own gain!
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/19-states-cracking-fake-service-dogs
So, a little tidbit about training:
Today, I was totally floored by the juxtaposition of the two different training methods that are used. First, we have my method. In our internship, we use solely reward based training, this means reinforcing the behaviors that we do want and removing our attention (or whatever the reward is) for the behavior we do not want. We NEVER EVER use yelling or forcing a dog to do what we want. Instead, we keep them willing and choosing to do the behavior we ask of them because a) they want to please us and more importantly b) they will be rewarded at the end with delicious food. So there I was walking Benji to the library, when a little puppy and his owners were walking perpendicular to me, so that they'd be passing behind me. I asked Benji to leave it, and he did. Of course, the little puppy was pulling at the leash and wanted to investigate this newer, bigger dog that he saw. Benji left it long enough so that we were out of the puppy's way, but then he became keenly interested in the puppy again. I made myself even MORE exciting than the puppy and Benji decided that I was better because I was acting crazy AND I had treats. However, the puppy, never being told to leave it, was quickly jerked back to his owners and told to shut up. They never told him to leave it or even offered him a chance to do the right thing to be rewarded. Instead they just used force to try to show the puppy what they wanted. That made me truly sad because that puppy will eventually become just as frustrated with his owners as his owners are with him. He will stop trying to please his owners and their relationship will not be as good as it could've been. It is VERY important that you make training of a dog brief, safe, fun, and successful. If you ever notice that you're getting frustrated with your dog, your dog can sense that and it will no longer be fun for you or the dog. You want to end training with a positive (so that it's successful). Take a break and come back to the training later, when both you and the dog have had the chance to calm down. Just like we don't learn when we're stressed or not enjoying something, dogs won't learn anything when they aren't having fun. You need to make sure that the dog stays willing the whole time and that you reward them for the behavior you want and remove what drives the behavior that you don't want (each and every time), it may be something as simple as your attention Benji was absolutely precious today. He was just looking adorable the entire day, so of course, when I needed a break from studying and doing my homework we went outside to play with a tennis ball because he was the only dog in the house today! He had so much fun!!
Today was Benji's first day at a Costco, I'd say he did pretty well. I think it helped that this time it wasn't as crazy busy and I was a lot less stressed because I knew where things were this time.
It was interesting because there were so many little kids that would scream "puppy!" and their parents would use that opportunity to teach them about service dogs and how when they see a dog with a vest on, they aren't supposed to pet it, but instead just observe. There was also an elderly gentleman working one of the food stands and we had a nice talk with him about the dog that he has living at his house. I love how many people just feel more comfortable to talk to strangers because they see something they have in common with us, which is a dog. Having an assistance dog-in-training really opens doors to meeting new people and having new experiences and conversations that normally you wouldn't have and I would say that is a HUGE positive. I find it funny whenever I take Benji to do public access (taking the dog to a public place so that they're experienced), he doesn't go to the bathroom, unless of course another dog went right before him in the same spot. It happened twice today, cause Maddie and I took Finely with us to Costco. Whenever Finley went pee on a bush or tree, we both would run Benji over to where he was because we know for sure that Benji is going to pee wherever Finley goes pee. I've been working on pairing him going to the bathroom with "better hurry," so hopefully some day soon, he won't need Finley there to go to the bathroom!
More and more, I have come to realize that training a service dog is almost like parenting or having a child. It has it's ups and it's downs. When they don't get something right, you have to ask them to "Try again" and you are constantly checking in to make sure that they aren't getting into something you don't want them to. Whenever I go anywhere, I set up things for Benji (like his water dish and make sure he's all comfortable) before I even begin to pay attention to the things I need to set out or need (like food) and I always have a bone on me now so that he has something to do on our long days. We also have talks about what's appropriate and not appropriate in public because Benji likes to fart randomly throughout class and drink water really loudly. I have also seemed to have grown eyes in the back of my head, letting me see and know whatever could set Benji off or make him nervous. However, I wouldn't change anything at all because the reward of knowing that they'll go to help someone is enough.
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