With CRPS, I have more bad days than good ones. This makes training a service dog hard. A program dog trains all day, with playtime included. Somedays Robbie just gets formal training for an hour or we take the day off & he braces for me as I need it, or like today, we play training games all day. Everything is training. I'll do another post about that. But, that "everything" includes games. Today is a rough pain day for me. My right arm hurts pretty fiercely. Typing this is painful. I have limited range of motion, and know I don't have the strength for most of our directional commands. Robbie and I played hide & seek, practiced low, and practiced target touching a cup in order to get a treat. Low is just plain fun. What dog wouldn't want to crawl across the floor! And putting a paw on a cup & magical food appears? Awesome. Hide and seek was the best though. Your service dog should be able to find you anywhere at anytime in order to help you when you need it. Playing hide & seek is a great way to teach your dog these things:
We used two commands. Front & Find (Sally). I would put him in a sit or down in one room, then go hide in another. When we first started learning this game, I used a really long leash so that if he got confused, a gentle tug could remind him. Today we didn't need it. We did 10 repetitions of Front, and every time he galloped to me. Then we did 5 repetitions of Find Sally. He did great with that one too. It was a lot of fun, and didn't tax my pain level too much. Just make sure to teach your dog not to ram into your legs with excitement... Robbie is working on that one! Hide & Seek is a great game to play is you have low energy, or have mobility problems. Try it some time!
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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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