Training

Well last night we had an OccuPaws training night. I also had my own training class going on on the other side of the room. So since I was busy with my class, Maddi worked with some of the other puppy raisers. From what I could see, she was mostly good, but she kept breaking her stays. I know what I need to work on with her for the next few weeks. Along with all the other things she needs to learn to be a great guide dog.

On the other side of the fence, Marlene came back from the graduation ceremony with a few items for puppy raisers to work on. The first was the importance of getting the dog to potty on command and on any surface (grass, gravel, concrete, wood chips). She also reminded us that we need to physically touch the dog as she poops, so she is accustomed. To make the point, we all experienced picking up poop (pine cones) while blindfolded.

Still blindfolded, we called our dog, had them touch us, SIT in front, and HEEL. The important part was to teach the dog to touch when she COMEs - a blind person will not see them sitting in front of them.

We finished off the session with some basic obedience: SIT, DOWN, STAY, and recalls with plenty of canine distractions. The oldest puppy, Cinder, was a fantastic role model for STAYing while others were called.