In the past 6 months I have had lots of changes, the biggest change that I went through was when I brought on a professional Service Dog trainer to help me with some issues I was having with Jasper. Since then both of us have learned soo much and became an even stronger team. Anyone that knows me knows that I contribute me still being alive due to having Service Dogs.
We started with the basics with Jasper which was of course sit, down, stay... with his biggest problem being barking and going crazy when other dogs were around him. Now that is not an issue and he has incredible self control with not barking. In February he took and passed his Service Dog public access test. I find that I get so impressed by him that many times on the way home from training I cry the whole way. Saying Im proud of him just does not cut it. I find him completely amazing how much he has learned and the things he can do.
In January I was given the opportunity to join COSD's apprenticeship program and entered into a co-ownership with them as well. My co-owned pup is a Great Dane/ Poodle mix and she is soo sweet and very smart. Her birthday is November 4th of 2016. While she is being raised and trained by me with help she is part of my education program as well and I consider myself to be very lucky to be on this journey to become a Service Dog trainer. I have always liked helping others and while Im disabled and cant function at a "normal" job this is something I can do.
When I started the owner trained process with Jasper before bring a trainer in I had already learned quite a bit, so I thought, but in reality I was not able to do it all on my own. I look back on when I trained Bones and realize that while he knew a few tasks there were many things that I should have done different in his training. Point is that all dogs and trainers have to start somewhere and with one you it seems like you look back on issues with the past dogs you have trained and improve on that raising the standard higher with each dog and learning different styles as well. Take for example with Jasper, when working with him its good to get excited to keep him interested in what he is learning along with using treats. Treats do now always work with him because he is not a high food motivated dog. Also, you have to watch your level of excitement because if you get too excited he will shut down so a narrow line has to be walked with him. When he is starting to shut down there are a few ways to get him to come out of it but that took time to figure out. At this point I am pretty happy with where he is. He is very intelligent and loves to work and train, it just has to be done just right. With my pup Daisy shutting down looks completely different and bringing her out of it is different as well but she is highly food motivated which makes training a bit easier. Just cuz its easier does not mean its better as she is young and learning well for her age but does not have the calmness that Jasper has that only comes with age and maturity.
Thing is that a little over a year ago when I started college I had no idea I would end up on this track. Before starting at Kaplan I had researched dog trainer schools but could not afford any of them so I went with another love of mine which is writing. I took a few terms off when I got Daisy because I had too much going on with trying to make sure she was properly trained, most importantly house broke. Now its 3 terms later and in June I return to classes.
All I know is that at this point my life is getting to be pretty busy and I am loving it, I love working with the dogs, all dogs. I love that even though I moved out on my own that I can still call where I was "home" and that since I moved my relationships with all of my family members has gotten stronger. I will admit that my mobility is getting a bit worse but I will deal with it...if I can make it to just one 5k this year I will be happy..
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