Initially, the stress of fitting a new dog into established routines, learning how they communicate, what drives them or discourages them, and coping with - in my case, as someone living with CRPS - the enormous waves of pain accompanied by working with a dog who has no concept of your sensitivity can be tumultuous. It's normal to wonder if you made a mistake, if you can't do this, if this dog won't be the right fit. I asked myself numerous times in the past 3 months if we should return Austin, out of exhaustion and self-doubt, colored in with minor problems that kept popping up, which at the time, felt insurmountable. All totally normal. The first few months can be brutal. For that reason, it's important for everyone - dog and handler - to give the team 3 months to settle out and then take a step back to evaluate.
Is this a good fit? Are we on the right track?
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Austin's Heel work started the day we brought him home 3 months ago, but not in the sense you might be thinking. The word, "Heel" only appeared in his training repertoire the 2nd week in December. But we've been laying the building blocks of how to Heel this whole time. My approach to Heel may be different than what you've learned or seen done. Or it may be similar. It works for my team, and it's how I teach Heel to my training clients, and draws on elements used with Robbie's heel training. It can be grueling at times, and the intensity with which I'm able to devote to it is made more possible by my inability to use traditional mobility aids. That said, I do have ways to modify my method for when I teach clients who do use mobility aids so that the methodology works for them as well, but what I'm writing here is how I am teaching Austin, with my abilities and my limits. Heel is a hard command and action to learn, so I approach it from multiple angles. *For complete and personalized assistance teaching a reliable working dog Heel, please set up a training consult with me through Disabled Advantage. Written here is a rough overview, not step by step instructions to success. Brainstorming TimeFiguring out ways to train an animal, how to problem solve training blocks, and thinking through what an animal's capabilities are and how they might be wielded to work within our world and our needs is something that both comes naturally to me and that I continue to work on, build, and learn more. It's not a way of looking at the world that's natural to most people though, and it can make it harder for a person to think through what their life is like, what's hard for them, and link it back to how a service dog might could help. Assisting people in determining tasks they may need from a service dog is a consult I offer through my business, Disabled Advantage, because it is a crucial step in planning the outline for your service dog's training. For this year's CRPS November Awareness month posts on social media, I wanted to share 30 aspects of CRPS life and link them to specific task work a service dog could be trained to perform, to help people begin to think like a trainer, see the possibilities, and start to brainstorm for their own teams. \ *The tasks listed are a mix of tasks from my team, other teams, and what could be possible based on a dog's capabilities*
What I didn't know about dog training when I started working with Robbie in 2015 could've filled a dump truck. What I learned about dog training, dog wellness, and a service dog's needs through my own educational pursuits could've filled two. In my pursuit to be a more informed dog trainer, ready to help answer any question my clients might throw at me, and to be able to help them more accurately select a dog right for the job, I've uncovered several points of information that feel pretty important to the overall success of a service dog. The problem is that in all of the conversations I've had with other trainers, other teams, and other professionals in the service dog community, these topics simply aren't covered. The primary topics of interest are, understandably, task training, what gear to use, public access etiquette, socialization, and handler rights. After spending the last 6 years dedicating my life to building up and maintaining a service dog for the long haul, I've learned that more went into his success than what most trainers talk about. A good service dog is the product of multiple components working in concert over time, in addition to early considerations that helps to shape the final dog. I will uncover 7 topics that seem to go unsaid (or mentioned infrequently), that I've found to have a valuable place in any service dog's training & management plan for life, and why they should matter enough to be openly discussed and planned for as a part of any service dog team's training and management. The Next Chapter, Part 5
Whoops. I did not know better, and I did the best with what I knew. As I was reading this book, I learned A LOT about Robbie, and several mysteries that had niggled at me for years came to light. Now, I can share with you.
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My Name is Sally...I have a condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. This blog is about my journey training Robbie, a dog who helped me regain independence, confidence, and achieve the impossible in the face of my disability. It continues on with the training of Austin, Robbie's successor. Check Out... - "More than a Dog" was published on a site called The Mighty Categories
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