Training my dogs is just part of my daily routine, just like waking up, reading a book, taking walks, writing about therapy dogs… all the activities that go into making my day of Living and Working with Therapy Dogs. When I get a new dog, though, training goes to a higher level. The new dog is not building and maintaining skills, he’s learning them for the first time.
Today, King made a trip with me to buy groceries and dog food. While I picked up a few provisions at the market for our weekend meals, King sat patiently in the car gazing out the window. When I headed into Dave’s for the dog food, King walked by my side into the store. One can expect to be met by other canines in Dave’s. Dogs are most welcome in this pet food establishment. Right away, King spotted a lovely white standard Poodle in the distance. No problem… I gave him the Leave It command, and on we went. We were in Dave’s to practice his skills. Not to play with the other dogs. Along with Leave It – for the Poodle and for the large, open bin of dog biscuits, we practiced his Heel command up and down the aisles as I pushed the shopping cart, and the Sit/Stay commands. Standing in the check-out line, King had a chance to introduce himself to the Poodle who waited patiently with her owner behind us in line. The experience at Dave’s, lasting about 15 minutes, is a good example of the type of training and socialization one needs to do with dogs learning to become therapy dogs.
Over the weekend, I hope to take King over to the nursing home I visit. This will be his first time at a nursing home. I will take him over about 10:00 on Sunday morning, a very quiet time at the facility. I need to make this a brief visit, just to check out his response to being there and interacting with a couple of residents who are out-and-about in their wheelchairs and walkers. I have a practice training vest for my new dogs in training. It’s just like our regular Bright Spot Therapy Dog vests, but it’s yellow in color, not the Bright Spot blue. I make it clear to those folks we meet that I’m working with a therapy-dog-in-training. The people at the nursing home welcome dogs with open arms. I can’t wait to see how King reacts!