Life for a PADs puppy-in-training is always busy, and I never know where we are going when Lise puts on my cape and we head out the door, but I am always eager. We go to the gym regularly, and I am getting much better at settling and chewing my kong while Lise does her thing. We go for walks and practise our leash skills. We review and practise the skills we learn from our weekly classes regularly, and I am catching on. Lise also thinks I am doing very well.
When Lise starts setting up her laptop on Tuesday nights for our class, I get pretty excited and start offering my skills without any visual cues. Lise says, “nice” and “good boy,” and I get treats, such a sweet deal I have here. We add a few new skills each week and are working on visual cues for now; later on, we will add verbal cues. We always lure into position, this week in between the front paws to fold down from standing; this one was hard for me, but I finally got it. We also learned to rest my chin in Lise’s palm and collar tug. My favourite, of course, is to perch on a stool; I am proud to say I got this one right away.
We are also learning the calming protocols, and it is very important for Lise to have my focus, especially when we are training. Sometimes I can get over-excited, and I need to come back to my “learning zone.” Lise is getting better, but it does take practise with me as I am a high-energy pup. I got a new harness to make walking me easier. We have other calming activities like airplane feeding, and it’s your choice. I like both of these tricks, probably because I just love my kibble. These skills will help reduce my frustration as I need to learn how to switch off and chill.
We also added another member to our Village. I spent a couple of days with a sitter Bahar, she is very nice and knows all about PADS too. Lise says we are very lucky to have so many people with PADS experience to assist in my future as a service dog.
Stay tuned for more adventures coming in March . . . Lise said she would try to take more pictures of me in my cape.
Submitted by: Lise
