Two weeks again, Shadow, a handsome black Standard Poodle, and his handler completed our Bright Spot Therapy Dog Training Course held at True Blue Dog Training. The two of them were model students in class, having practiced all the skills and techniques taught in the first workshop in preparation for the second part of the workshop held two weeks later.
Right after the completion of the course, I received an email from Shadow’s handler requesting one of my private lessons. These lessons I conduct right in a nursing home facility. This way, the handler and dog get to try out everything they learned in class on real people and get a sense of their readiness for taking the evaluation, also held in a healthcare facility, to become certified with Bright Spot Therapy Dogs. The private lesson puts the handler at ease. It’s often the handler that is most nervous about the whole thing – and that nervousness travels down the handler’s end of the leash to the dog’s end, causing the dog to become ill-at-ease.
In the private lesson, I work with the team to fine-tune the techniques covered in class. Meeting and greeting residents in areas with vinyl flooring, for instance, often cause the dog’s paws to slip and make the dog anxious and uninterested in interacting with the residents. Various forms of bracing the dog to create firm footing can be taught on the spot. Often things come up in the actual setting that we don’t cover in class. These can be addressed in this type of private lesson, helping the team to be better prepared for their evaluation.
Shadow and his handler are scheduled to take their therapy dog evaluation over memorial weekend. I am confident that they will pass with high marks. More importantly, Shadow’s handler left the lesson feeling well-prepared and armed with an arsenal of skills and techniques to practice between now and the date of their evaluation. I can’t wait to follow this new therapy dog team and see where they end of doing their visits.