wagthedogdotca

[wagthedogdotca]

I have a work term student from a service dog college program in Medicine Hat and she says the puppy raisers are encouraged to watch Bluey with their dogs, and the dogs grow up understanding about tv and turn into tablet kids that can be entertained by giving them a tablet and turning on a show.

I love everything about this.

Here I am, keeping dogs from getting bored with stinky messy kongs like a sucker.

[wagthedogdotca]

I like teaching puppies to read. It

1) stimulates connections in visual processing

2) teaches dogs to discriminate different symbols from each other

3) introduces dogs to the idea that posted signs can "say" something, so I can point to a "dogs must be leashed" sign in the park to explain why I can't let them off leash for example.

4) impresses the hell out of people

5) tires them out really fast.

[wagthedogdotca]

It depends on where you live but in Canada an autism diagnosis gets you access to disability tax credit and also a program where you put money in an disability version of an RRSP ans the government matches that amount. Low amounts are doubled. You put in five hundred, they put in a thousand.

[wagthedogdotca]

I know everyone is even more stressed now so here is that puppy now to remind you that good things keep going too

I know everyone is stressed tonight, even those of us who don't live in America, so here's a puppy.

[wagthedogdotca]

Actually service dogs are not allowed to occupy public seats and most schools won't even allow them to sit on chairs and couches except by express invitation.

I still hope this is true though.

[wagthedogdotca]

According to canine conditioning coaches, the "sit pretty" is the dog version of a burpee. It works all the major muscle groups, builds a strong core, and improves balance.

Plus when your hundred pound dog asks the pet store cashier for a treat, they swoon.

[wagthedogdotca]

I know everyone is stressed tonight, even those of us who don't live in America, so here's a puppy.

[wagthedogdotca]

I like this so much I made it my job

bring back tumblr ask culture let me. bother you with questions and statements

[wagthedogdotca]

I'm so happy that puppy season is starting!

[wagthedogdotca]

This!!!

People step on, bump, and trip over your dog. A service dog finds that funny and/or forgiveable, not scary or frightening.

We have no right to ask sensitive timid dogs to put up with that nonsense just because we find their presence useful.

Please don't pet service dogs without the express invitation of their handler.

However, they absolutely should WANT to be patted.

Teaching dogs to ignore cute people is one of the most challenging parts of public etiquette because it has to be.

An aloof dog who doesn't like being manhandled by strangers would be easier to train. But the fact is that no matter what, people WILL TOUCH SERVICE DOGS.

Some have cognitive disabilities and don't understand why they shouldn't touch your dog. Some are old and half-blind and don't see the vest and don't wonder why a dog is in a restaurant.

Some people are just contrarian I-do-what-I-want assholes who say "I know I shouldn't pat you but you are just sooooooo sweet!"

So no matter what, people are going to manhandle your dog.

So service dogs must enjoy - actively ENJOY - being touched by strangers.

The aloof types can learn to tolerate it, but it will stress them out. The stress will at the very least shorten their working life and at worst result in them losing their temper after many years of it.

So they should love it. They should revel in it.

Then we have to teach them not to seek it uninvited.

It's almost as hard as training the public not to touch them!

[wagthedogdotca]

Maggie was nervous of escalators for the longest time, and now she's an escalator addict!

I never require service dogs to do escalators. It is asking a LOT of a dog - metal electrified surface, slippery, moving, with toe-munching conveyors at the beginning and the end.

But some actively enjoy escalators and many used to be terrified of them.

Maggie is one of those. She would watch the other dogs ride with a mixture of horror and fascination. She would ask to hang around escalators, watching them, milling around as if she wanted to go and then dashing away again.

When she finally decided she wanted to go, we picked her up (ALWAYS pick them up at first or their hind legs get left behind! Then take them off at the end so their paws will be safe) and put her on.

She was so scared/excited!

As usual, she needed some time to process it, then asked to go again.

Now she can get on and off by herself... and she likes to go round and round and round...

[wagthedogdotca]

Please don't pet service dogs without the express invitation of their handler.

However, they absolutely should WANT to be patted.

Teaching dogs to ignore cute people is one of the most challenging parts of public etiquette because it has to be.

An aloof dog who doesn't like being manhandled by strangers would be easier to train. But the fact is that no matter what, people WILL TOUCH SERVICE DOGS.

Some have cognitive disabilities and don't understand why they shouldn't touch your dog. Some are old and half-blind and don't see the vest and don't wonder why a dog is in a restaurant.

Some people are just contrarian I-do-what-I-want assholes who say "I know I shouldn't pat you but you are just sooooooo sweet!"

So no matter what, people are going to manhandle your dog.

So service dogs must enjoy - actively ENJOY - being touched by strangers.

The aloof types can learn to tolerate it, but it will stress them out. The stress will at the very least shorten their working life and at worst result in them losing their temper after many years of it.

So they should love it. They should revel in it.

Then we have to teach them not to seek it uninvited.

It's almost as hard as training the public not to touch them!

[wagthedogdotca]

Hey, I was wondering, how would you suggest going about becoming a service dog trainer?

My plan right now is to go to college to learn more about disabilities, and then do an apprenticeship with a well established service dog trainer, or company.

Any tips or advice? Thank you!

Depends on where you live!

In the US, the best place to go is Bergin College of Canine Studies, which is founded by Bonnie Bergin, who pioneered the concept of wheelchair assistance dogs and started Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).

She has diploma and degree programs. Nothing says "I am qualified" better than "I learned directly from Bonnie Bergin"!!

In Canada, there's a great little program in Medicine Hat Alberta where you puppy-raise for a service dog school while also taking courses in behaviour, business management etc.

Beyond that, puppy-raising for a large and well respected charity guide dog or service dog school will be an excellent crash course. Don't go to a small school that places only a handful of dogs a year. Go to a big one that places 50-100 dogs or more. They have the training of their dogs down to a science.

Many of these schools also preferentially hire people they already know from volunteer pools.

Personally if I could learn from any school, I would go to Canine Assistants in Atlanta, Georgia. I think their way of doing things is the future of dog training.

In fact I myself hope to go if only for a week or two someday when I have the money!

[wagthedogdotca]

Crazy finding myself in the wild on Tumblr. I'm glad this old article still floats around.

Fascinating article from a recommendation I got on another of my posts!

The author is Autistic, has a background in psychology, and as the link says is a professional dog trainer.

And she absolutely rips into ABA, right down to their code of ethics:

In fact, in a 24-page document detailing ethical codes of practice for [certified Behavioral Analysts] working with human beings, including children and disabled adults, the word “abuse” is used zero times.

The word “humane” is used zero times.

The word “positive” is used zero times.

[emphasis original]

To sum it up, as Millman so eloquently puts it:

[ABA] it is NOT “dog training” for children.

…I would never treat a dog that way.

[emphasis original]

[wagthedogdotca]

Oh hey look, it me!

In my field of dog training, you can use reward and punishment to train a dog not to bite when another dog passes by, or when a human touches it.

In fact, Cesar Millan does it with great aplomb on TV.

While he talks scientifically disproven nonsense about dominance, what he is really using is operant conditioning, the aspect of behaviourism which ABA therapists employ. By punishing “problem behaviours” Cesar makes the dogs stop growling or attacking.

It looks like magic to viewers. But to certified dog trainers like me, it looks like painting over rotten wood. Worse. It looks like burying a land mine. We all know that we can feel angry without expressing anger.

That we can smile when inside we are crying.

You can stop someone from expressing an emotion,

but that doesn’t make the emotion go away.

A dog who has been trained not to growl is considered by trainers to be a “time bomb dog.” When you read about a dog attack that came “out of nowhere” and “without warning,” it is because this sort of method was used to handle “problem behaviours.”

(Is ABA Really “Dog Training for Children”? A Professional Dog Trainer Weighs In.)

[wagthedogdotca]

Hallowe'en is totally the best time to be socializing a puppy!

Before 12-16 weeks of age (depending on breed), puppies are very open to new experiences and love to discover the world. This is the MOST curious and brave your dog will ever be!

If the puppy has lots of pleasant happy experiences with unusual surfaces, people, animals and objects, they will be less frightened by these things next year.

Only a month from now, this puppy might have shied away from this animatronic Chucky which moved its stabby knife and raved about murderous dogs. But today she's just happy that he's cute-people shaped.

When she sees things like this a year from now, she may shy away, only to have this happy memory bubble up and reassure her.

Dogs who don't have a bank of happy memories like this struggle far more with weird stuff they encounter in the world.

Note: when socializing a puppy, let the puppy lead the interaction! Don't force puppy into situations they find spooky or bribe them to go up to things that scare them. It should be a HAPPY memory.

Better for them to remember having a treat party with Chucky nearby than remember being scared but feeling they HAD to go near it for treats because sadistic humans manipulated them.

Do you remember being a kid and being bribed/pushed by adults to do something scary, like jump off the diving board or eat a new food? Not happy.

Shy puppies become even shyer dogs. Happy memories will help. Being bombed with stressful events will NOT.

[wagthedogdotca]

All service dogs should have a set of muttmuffs in their outing gear, along with water, clean up kit and food. No matter how bomb-proof the service dog is, doggy ears are delicate and loud noises are everywhere - the construction you're passing, the DJ at the party, teens popping balloons outside the mall.

The dog should be able to request their ear defenders as needed.

And if you have a dog that tends toward being noise sensitive - like any hearing alert dog or herding breed dog - it should probably be on as a matter of course whenever you go into city environments.