Anyone who has ever handled a service dog in public knows that getting barraged with questions and unsolicited feedback from others is inevitable.  Sometimes these inquiries and comments are less than considerate.  While there is a disappointing minority of society who will consciously make hurtful remarks or ask inappropriate question, the vast majority of those who offend do so without mal intent.

Political correctness isn’t the name of the game.  Service dog handlers can handle an awkwardly phrased question or comment.  We won’t broadcast your gaffe across all mainstream media outlets- just in our blogs and online forums [kidding!].  It’s pretty easy to differentiate between someone whose goal is to hurt feelings and someone who is genuinely interested in what you have to say.  When you talk to a service dog handler, you don’t have to step on eggshells.  All that most service dog handlers ask is that others take their feelings into consideration, as they would to any other person.

Everyone Has a First Time
Service dogs are  becoming exponentially more common.

“Studies released in 1990 and 1992 indicated     that the percentage of people with disabilities who wanted a dog trained for them had risen 13-fold.” (History & Future http://www.pawswithacause.org/history.asp )

If you have yet to encounter a service dog team, it’s more likely than not that you will in the future.  No one expects you to inherently know the do’s and don’t’s of service dog etiquette.  A willingness to learn is a great start though!

There are several points of etiquette and courtesy that should be observed in regard to a service dog team. These are in the interest of the handler’s safety, as well as in consideration for the handler’s feelings.

The Initial Encounter
Upon entering a place of business with Bradley, I’m always extremely appreciative of employees who kindly ask if I need any help and then move on once I politely decline their offers.  Greeting a service dog handler in such a manner is an excellent way to make her feel welcome and like slightly less of a spectacle.  I’d love to see more business owners encourage this practice among employees.

It’s common and understandable for many people to be startled initially upon seeing a service dog in a public place where one wouldn’t expect to see a dog.  I’ve witnessed a whole range of reactions to Bradley’s presence.  Most of the time I can observe facial expressions change before my eyes.  Sometimes as soon as others see Bradley, their eyes light up and the corners of their mouths turn up into a grin.  Other times there are people whose faces are taken hostage by scathing looks of disgust, as if they just smelled something in the process of rotting.

If you dislike or are afraid of dogs, there’s no reason to flee.  Just as service dog handlers appreciate consideration for their feelings and needs, we try to be equally as considerate of others.  We go to great lengths to train and handle our dogs in a manner that will not be obtrusive to others.  Our dogs are well groomed and healthy when we take them with us to public places.

If you’re a dog lover, no one understands how difficult it is to ignore one as well as I! Even as a  handler myself, when I encounter another service dog in public, I turn to mush.  Resisting the temptation to gush over the dog is crucial.   Service dogs are not there to be social and in some cases, neither is the person.

Some service dogs may wear vests with patches that say, “Ask to pet me, I’m friendly.”  In the absence of such a patch, and especially in the presence of one that says, “don’t pet me, I’m working”, assume that touching the dog is out of the question.

Interacting with a Service Dog Handler
Handling a service dog guarantees that all eyes will be on you.  However, such amounts of attention are not what most handlers want and, at times, it gets overwhelming.  It is equally important not to give a service dog team excessive, unwarranted attention as it is not to isolate them.

Engage a service dog handler in conversation as you would someone without a four-legged, tail wagging assistant by her side.  Speak directly to the person.  Even if you’re talking about the dog, don’t make eye contact with the dog, make kissing, cooing or other types of sounds to the dog, and as advised earlier, don’t touch the dog.

Think Before You Speak
There are several very common questions and comments that service dog handlers are presented with on a regular basis.  While the majority of those who broach these subjects don’t mean to offend, it’s insensitive to expect a handler to feel comfortable elaborating on them.

Many people are understandably intrigued by the feat of a dog assisting someone with a disability.  However, the presence of the service dog tends to be misinterpreted as the handler’s willingness to openly discuss her disability.  Most handlers get asked questions like, “What does the dog do for you?” and “What’s your disability?”.  An incredibly common remark is, “You don’t look disabled.”

While those comments may not be uttered with mal intent, most handlers feel that they’re out of line.  As a general rule, don’t mention the handler’s disability unless she brings it up first. Even so, don’t assume that she’ll be willing to talk openly about such a personal subject.

Earlier today, I was out shopping  and a woman asked me what I was training Bradley for, in a condescending tone I might add.  While that question may seem innocent enough, answering it gives the same information as if she had asked, “What is your disability?” While this particular woman may have thought I was training him for a program or someone else, there are still plenty of people ask the same question after learning that I’m training him for myself.

An example of a vest that a service dog in training may wear.

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover
A common mistake many people make is that a handler is training the dog, even when the dog is a working, trained service dog.  Sometime this is because many people have the misconception that guide dogs are the only kind of service dog.  Therefore, they assume that a dog who is not obviously guiding the handler or is not wearing typical guide dog gear, must still be in the training phase of his career.  In fact, there are other types of service dogs whose jobs aren’t as outwardly obvious and may not be equipped with harnesses like a guide dog.

Another possible reason for the “service dog in training” misconception is a handler who doesn’t appear to be disabled.  Others make the assumption that if the handler isn’t disabled, she must be training the dog for someone else.  There are a variety of types of service dogs, a wider variety of disabilities and an even wider variety of training and handling methods.  Unless the dog is wearing a vest that says, “in training”, don’t assume the dog is a trainee.

No Autographs, Please.
Most service dog handlers are happy to answer a few, short questions from curious bystanders, under the right circumstances.  However, there is a time and a place for everything.  Approaching a service dog handler to inquire about the dog’s job isn’t always appropriate.  Service dog handlers are just as subject to schedules, the demands of their families, social obligations and other everyday stresses as anyone else.  As patient as we try to be, we are not there to provide a social service or entertainment.

Quite frequently, parents will approach me with their young children, encouraging the children to pet Bradley.  While I appreciate the significance of introducing children to dogs early in life, these are not the appropriate circumstances under which to do so.  Unfortunately, parents respond the most defensively of anyone who gets told that the dog is working and cannot be pet.  I’ve gotten some nasty comments from parents when I politely ask them not to allow their child to pet Bradley.  Please understand that service dogs have a job to do and handlers cannot make exceptions for children.

Another common request is for the dog to demonstrate his skills.  Sometimes handlers are asked to do this to validate their right to have the dogs accompany them but more often it is for the entertainment or curiosity of others. (It is not legal for a handler to demonstrate the dog’s skills to gain access to a business.) Not only is this intrusive, but it is also unrealistic.  A large percentage of service dogs perform tasks under very specific circumstances, like alerting to a seizure or low pressure or responding to psychiatric condition like a dissociative state.  These scenarios cannot be replicated for the sake of demonstration or amusement.

Respect the Handler’s Limitations
Each person who uses a service dog is disabled in some way.  Guide dogs are far from the only type of service dog.  Handlers may be affected by a wide range of disabilities, including but not limited to, blindness, deafness, seizure disorders, psychiatric disorders or mobility problems.  Please be considerate of the handler’s potential limitations and respect them accordingly.  If the handler appears to be having a problem of some kind, ask her if she needs help.

Put Yourself in the Handler’s Shoes
Since there are more people who have no experience encountering a service dog team than those who have, handlers are playing the role of most people’s “first” on a daily basis.  Almost everywhere we go, there will be at least one person who has never seen a working service dog before.

Some handlers relish the opportunity to educate every curious individual who approaches them about the joys of using a service dog.  However, even the most extroverted, well spoken advocates for educating the non-service dog-using general public have their days.  Just like anyone else.  If you approach a service dog handler during her grocery shopping, in line at the bank or walking through the park on a sunny day, please don’t be offended if she doesn’t engage you in a lengthy conversation.

Service dog handlers are acutely conscious of the role they assume simply by going out into public with their dogs.  They must act as ambassadors for service dog teams in general.  Handlers realize that if either their demeanor or their dogs’ behavior is less than ideal, they risk leaving others with a bad first impression of service dogs.

Most service dog handlers feel obligated to positively represent an entire demographic of people, most of whom they’ll never know, every time they leave their houses.  Some people can relate to this sense of responsibility.  Speaking for myself, however, I never grasped that concept as deeply as I do now, until I started training Bradley as my service dog.

Everyone has an off day here and there.  Humans and dogs.  If you approach a service dog handler who isn’t receptive to your enthusiasm, your first reaction may be for it to leave a sour taste in your mouth.  However, the chances are, that service dog handler probably thought about it later, and wishes she had made a better impression.

Just as service dog handlers must take others’ poor choices of words with a grain of salt, it’s important for others to be aware that some responses a handler may give are not as offensive as they may seem.

The most prevalent misinterpretation is a service dog handler’s refusal of a stranger’s request to pet the dog. A high percentage of people, whose requests are politely declined, take it personally.   Perhaps they think that the handler has singled them out and has deemed them unfit to interact with the dog.  The reality is that most handlers restrict everyone from touching or interacting with the dog. This is done with reason and without bias.

Service dogs understand the difference between “working” mode and “pet dog” mode.  Most service dog handlers prefer to have their dog completely ignore other people. This is because the dog needs to focus on the task at hand, whatever that may be.  Attention from strangers distracts the dog and can put the handler in grave danger!

Drawing the Line
It should go without saying that taunting a service dog or harassing the team is morally wrong.  However, that’s not enough to deter some people from doing so, as does happen.  Fortunately, there are laws to protect handlers from this treatment.  It is a crime to interfere with a service dog team and many handlers won’t hesitate to press charges if an individual’s behavior so warrants it.

Touching a service dog after being asked not to, threatening harm against the dog, feeding the dog without permission and otherwise intentionally distracting the dog interfere with the dog’s job and put the handler in danger.

Another example of abhorrent behavior is a parent encouraging a child to pet a service dog, despite being told not to.  I’ve heard several accounts of handlers overhearing the parents make comments to the children like, “she’s blind so she won’t know if you pet the dog.”  Pathetic.

The Golden Rule
Treat others how you would want to be treated.  This applies to service dog handlers as well.  Understanding the role a service dog plays in the life of his handler and respecting that relationship is the best thing you can do for a service dog handler.  Remember that a service dog handler is human too and deserves just as much consideration as anyone else.

Teaching Bradley to retrieve is like teaching water to be wet; retrieving is just what he does.  There are plenty of retrieving skills I could incorporate into his training, but there are few I really need.   There are two skills I do need him to use that involve retrieving, and he mastered one of them tonight.

The first is picking up a dropped object.  This isn’t because I’m physically unable to pick it up, but because most of the time, I won’t see where the object fell.  He’s got this down, for the most part.  This skill could use some more proofing but nothing serious.  If I wanted to demonstrate it for someone, I’d feel confident doing so.

The second task is more important to me: a blind retrieve.  This is the task he mastered for the first time tonight.  Not only did I ask him to retrieve my phone for me, but I first asked him to find the phone.  I didn’t know where it was and he didn’t know where it was, so it was more than a matter of sending him to the object.  He had to maintain concentration on a goal: finding the phone.

Since retrieving comes so easily to him, I didn’t have to do very much training for this skill.  It was just a variation of what he already knows how to do.  I started building up to this point yesterday, by showing him my phone, putting it down where he could see it and asking him to get it. Next, I put the phone where he couldn’t see it, like on the kitchen counter, and asked him to get it.  I’d indicate the general area where the phone was, and he’d quickly find it.  Realizing how easy this was for him, I took a leap of faith and decided to move onto the final product.

I was sitting down in a room that I knew the phone was not in but beyond that, I had no idea where it was.  Bradley was in the room with me and I said, “Go find my phone.”  I wasn’t completely sure he’d succeed, so it was a risky move.

Bradley is most accustomed to retrieving toys.  Since it’s pretty much all he does all day, every day, it’s not surprising that his first inclination is to associate retrieving with play time.  Each time I’ve asked him to find the phone without him knowing where it was from the get-go, his initial reaction was to retrieve a toy.  When he does that, I gently tell him, “not that” and he drops the toy, continuing the search for the phone.

As I sat in suspense, hoping he’d come back with the phone, I heard his stuffed duck toy quack.  I laughed in my head, still hoping for success.  A couple moments later, he proudly trotted into the room with my phone is his mouth!  I’m so proud of him!

This skill still needs a good deal of proofing.  I need him to go directly for the phone more often, and not go for a toy first. Once he reliably retrieves the phone on the first try, I’ll start teaching him the names of new objects I need him to retrieve, like my keys, my purse, his leash, etc.

While this skill needs a little bit of cleaning up, that’s OK. This is still a huge success. Searching for something without my help is something completely new to him and certainly is one of the most important elements of guide work.

Eventually, I’ll ask him to find things and take me to them.  He’ll have to find the car we came in, the person we came with, the door we came in through and an empty seat in a crowded movie theater or auditorium.  I’m even more confident in his ability to actively search for and differentiate between things than I was before he mastered this simple, yet significant skill.

On a side note, Bradley deserves an extra pat on the back for making my life a little easier today.  I made the brave decision to walk Bradley and Lex together this afternoon.  Bradley walks very well on leash, but Lex is all over the place. Keeping Lex from getting underfoot (mine or Bradley’s) while holding onto Bradley’s leash takes concentration.  On the way back home, I had an extra item (read: back of poop) to hold onto.  It was turning into quite the juggling act.  I asked Bradley to carry his leash, which he does frequently.  Bradley conveniently walked himself home, remaining in heel position, so I could handle Hurricane Lexington.

This is a picture of Bradley holding his leash, taken in May 2009.

Joe ended up pulling into the driveway just as I was approaching home and beeped at us.  Once I got to the top of the hill, Bradley had to muster up every ounce of self control he had within himself not to run over to “Daddy.”  Joe was amazed at the verbal control I had over him.  I was pretty proud of Bradley myself!

Almost a week ago, we increased the amount of Golden Retriever in our family by 10 lbs, in the form of an eight week old female puppy.  We named her Lexington Grace but in the interest of simplicity, we call her Lex.

This is one of the first good pictures I was able to get of her face. She moves too fast for my camera!

Lex manifests every stereotypical Golden Retriever puppy characteristic.  She’s curious, clumsy, mischievous, affectionate, playful and incredibly intelligent.  She acquaints herself with her environment with her mouth, just as any good retriever puppy does.  I have yet to find her “off” button but I have discovered “snooze,” which will suffice for now.

There’s no question she’s a bright puppy.  So far, I haven’t asked for much in the way of good behavior.  My first priority has been a smooth adjustment for her into our family. However, she has quickly excelled at the basic skills I’ve taught her.  Even in such a short time, she’s demonstrated a capacity for great potential.

Lexington poses with an expression of intrigue upon her face.

The Power of a Simple Training Exercise
The first thing I teach my puppies is not to crowd me during feeding time.  This may sound arbitrary, but I feel it’s done with good reason.  Exactly what I ask of the dog depends on level of focus and willingness to comply.  Both factors are nearly guaranteed when it comes to a hungry dog!

I began working on this with Lex from the first time I fed her.  I started as basic as possible; gently restraining her with one hand, as I placed the bowl down in front of her.  As soon as she stopped wiggling and resisting, I praised her, released her and completely backed off.  The next time, I went through the same steps but added words to the actions, saying “wait,” as I held her back and saying “OK,” as I released her.    By the third feeding, she grasped the concept that she can’t get to her food until I tell her she may.  Not only did I not have to physically restrain her, but she moved onto the next step all by herself: sitting until being released.  As far as I’m concerned, the phenomenon of a dog predicting the next step of a training routine is nothing short of a small miracle.

Lex is now reliably giving me a wide berth every time she hears the pinging of kibble, as I shake her bowl.  She either sits or lays down, watching intently as I put the food on the floor.  Gradually, I’ll increase the amount of time I ask her to remain in place.  Eventually, she’ll be on Bradley and Louie’s level, sitting at the threshold of the room, waiting to be released at feeding time.

Lex enjoys one of her many puppy toys, a Petstages butterfly.

Teaching the Puppy Restraint and Respect
There are a few reasons why I’ve chosen this as the first skill to teach my dogs.  It’s a very simple concept to teach but has so many benefits!  The most obvious benefit is that it prevents the dog from going crazy for the food and knocking it out of my hand.  Below the surface, however, there are much more significant advantages.

Teaching a puppy, who is essentially a blank slate, to respect boundaries set by the provider of food establishes a healthy dynamic between she and the handler.  This is the foundation for future learning.  If nothing else, dogs understand boundaries.  They aren’t born understanding English but they are born with a sense of pack order, which is essentially defined through boundaries.

These boundaries aren’t finite, in the manner that humans perceive the concept.  Rather, they are standards established by dominant dogs relating  to what is acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable behavior. Dogs who don’t respect boundaries are put in their place by other dogs and they quickly learn that it’s in their best interest to respect those boundaries in the future.  Respect for authority is fundamental to training any dog, no matter the dog and no matter the skill being trained.

Food is a primary reinforcer, so no matter the puppy, if she’s hungry, she’ll want to figure out what she needs to do to get the food in her stomach.  This guarantees that the motivation and focus necessary to teach a new skill will be present.

By showing the puppy that you have something she wants and needs, it expands her capacity of cognition.  Necessity is the mother of invention!  It’s like showing her she has a muscle she didn’t know she had and teaching her how to use it.  She’ll start using problem solving skills she didn’t know she possessed.  This will carry into all future training efforts.

Once she grasps three important concepts,  teaching her new skills is possible.  All three are applicable to this training exercise. These concepts are:

1. She has the capability to make choices.
2. Certain choices result in her getting what she wants and others don’t.
3. I am the one who determines which choices are acceptable and which choices aren’t.

A shot of Lex, mid-stride, running around at the park.

Planting the Seeds for Future Learning
There are two more vital training elements that are introduced during this exercise: Praise and correction.  While praise isn’t necessary in the presence of a primary reinforcer, this is a great way to introduce it.  In most cases, simply telling a dog, “good job!”, in the absence of another reward, is valueless to a dog.  Because of this, dogs must learn that verbal praise means they’ve done something good.  Similarly, we must teach dogs that verbal corrections mean they’ve done something wrong.    In this particular exercise, taking the food away each time she approaches it before being released serves as a negative punishment. A gentle verbal correction is as close to positive punishment as I’ll get in the beginning phase of teaching this skill.

As the dog learns not to crowd me during feeding time, she learns one of the most important skills of all: self control.  Without self control, a dog can never reach her full potential.    Dogs who don’t develop self control at an early age are  easily frustrated and can’t deal with stress.  Not only does a lack of restraint inhibit training potential, but it also paves the road for more serious behavioral problems in the future.

Basic obedience skills are introduced within this exercise, yet not as overtly as if I were to introduce these skills in a more traditional manner.  She eventually learns that making the choice to sit and making the choice to remain in place until released get her what she wants.  Soon after, when I decide to devote a training session to teaching her to sit on command, the time it takes her to reach that sought after “aha!” moment is reduced by 3/4 the time it would have taken without the groundwork.

The philosophy between this training exercise is similar to that of the clicker training method.  The puppy is not forced into any particular behavior but is rewarded when the desired result is achieved.  She then learns to think outside the box and offers different behaviors until she figures out which one has a positive result.  As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing more rewarding within the process of dog training than fostering a dog’s desire to think!

Bradley training as a puppy.

If I wasn’t married and I was willing to adopt an alternative lifestyle, I’d probably marry clicker training.

I’m quite far from an expert at clicker training.  In fact, I’m quite terrible at it.  Fortunately, of all training methods in which to lack skill, this is probably the most forgiving.  Practice makes perfect and mistakes won’t leave lasting effects on your dog.

Clicker training is a method of training that utilizes a particular sound to  communicate to the dog that he has demonstrated the behavior that is being asked of him.  The sound is emitted by a tool called a clicker (how appropriate!)  The clicking sound serves as a marker; a distinctive acknowledgement of the desired behavior.

A verbal marker plays the same role as a clicker; it is used to identify desirable behavior.  Verbal markers are not the training equivalent of praise.  Praise does not clearly acknowledge a particular behavior.  The primary purpose praise serves is a reward or to compound a reward.

Many trainers advocate the use of verbal markers.  Some believe that verbal markers are just as effective as the use of a clicker.  In my humble opinion, I don’t think this is true.  Clickers produce a distinctive sound, unparalled by the typical sounds a dog experiences in day to day life.  This sets the clicker aside from any effect the human voice will ever have on the dog psychologically.  The dog will be conditioned to the clicking sound like he is to no other sound (save the rustling of a bag of food or the pinging of kibble falling into a tin bowl).  While the dog may be able to distinguish a verbal marker from a command, cue or praise, the human voice is lackluster in comparison to the distinctive sound of a click.

Timing is everything.  Clicking a moment too soon or too late can reinforce the wrong behavior.  For example, if your goal is to teach the dog to sit, you must click at the exact second the dog’s butt touches the ground.

Marking behaviors is the backbone of clicker training, but there are many other factors at play.  For most dogs, simply hearing the sound of the click is not enough of a reward to keep the dog motivated and focused.  That’s why a primary reinforcer, like food, increases the effectiveness of clicker training.  Just as with traditional training methods, toys and other rewards can serve as reinforcers as well.

There are two ways to incorporate food rewards into the clicker training process:
1. Loading the clicker
Loading the clicker essentially turns the clicker into a secondary reinforcer.  This turns the clicker sound itself into a reward.  The clicker is loaded by repeating a rapid fire ‘click,treat; click,treat; click treat’ sequence.  Ultimately, this will have a Pavlovian effect on the dog’s association with the clicker.
2. Click and Reward
The second role food plays in clicker training is as a primary reinforcer.  This purpose is much like that of food in traditional training methods; the dog does something good and gets rewarded for it.

Both of these elements sound a little redundant.  While some may disagree with me, it has been my experience that clicker training is less effective if one of the two factors is neglected.  As I said before, most dogs won’t work for the click alone.  It’s my belief that just as the dog can be conditioned to have a positive association with the clicker, he can also be counter conditioned to that association once he realizes there’s not a valuable payoff.

An important concept to keep in mind is the value of and rate of reinforcers.  All thinking creatures respond more acutely to random reinforcements.  This can be taken advantage of in clicker training by varying the value of rewards.  For example, kibble can be a reward most of the time, a crunchy treat can be another reward and a chunk of steak can be a jackpot reward, for exceptional performance.

There are trainers who see no point in loading the clicker.  Being a firm believer in the power of classical conditioning, I prefer to err on the side of caution.  Before starting a clicker training program with a dog, I spend about a week introducing the dog to the clicker by loading it.  This consists of occasional, short “training sessions” during which I perform the rapid fire “click, treat” sequence.  I sit on the floor, which attracts the dog’s attention on its own, and as soon as the dog shows interest, I begin.  This is done in a quiet, distraction free environment.  I don’t give the dog any commands, I don’t say anything to the dog and I don’t expect anything of the dog.  I end it just as I would end any other training session; positively and calmly.

Once the dog is ready to start learning the concept of marking, I’ll cue the dog to perform a behavior he already completely understands, like “sit.”  The clicking sound must be made precisely at the moment the dog’s butt hits the ground.  The dog then gets a treat immediately.  I’ll continue this exercise a few times in a row.  If there is another equally simple behavior the dog already understands, like “down,” I’ll repeat the exercise a few times with that cue.  Eventually, I’ll alternate between the two.  Over the span of a few, short, training sessions, the dog will start to grasp the concept of behavior marking.

Once the dog understands that the clicker means that he has done something good and a reward is coming, he’s ready to start learning new skills through a clicker training program.  There is a very important concept I must understand before moving on to teaching the dog new skills.   How will I achieve the desired behavior that I want to reinforce?

There are several different ways to elicit a behavior that you want to reinforce.

Catching the Dog in the Act
This actually isn’t eliciting a behavior at all.  It is waiting until the dog manifests the behavior on his own, without any influence on the trainer’s part.  Although, you can set up circumstances that are conducive to the dog manifesting the behavior. Depending on what the behavior is, this could require a lot of patience.  For simple behaviors and behaviors that a dog wouldn’t do on his own, this isn’t the best method.  Especially if you want to train a dog to do something like jump through a hoop; you could end up waiting a very, very, very long time.

Luring
In this context, the word, “lure,” is both a noun and a verb.  The noun form of a lure is anything that catches the dog’s interest enough for him to follow it with his body; usually his eyes and nose.  The verb form of lure is the act of using that object to guide the dog into the desired movement or position.

Luring is one of the most common ways of eliciting a desired behavior, in traditional training methods and clicker training alike.  Luring is usually done by holding a small treat in front of the dog’s face and guiding it in the direction you want the dog’s body to move.  This works great for basic behaviors like sitting and lying down, but more complex behaviors require additional measures.

This is where shaping and back chaining come in.  Shaping involves training behaviors in steps and then grouping them together to achieve the final product.   Back chaining is basically backward shaping.  Training a behavior using back chaining means that the final step is trained first, working backward to the first step.

Regardless of method, it takes planning ahead to achieve the greatest potential when clicker training.  A plan, coupled with a basic grasp of classical conditioning, paves the road for success.

Clicker training is a process.  Success is dependent on taking calculated steps, as well improvising as necessary.  Occasionally, I’ll move through the steps too fast and, by reading my dog, I’ll realize I need to go back to a previous step.  In a nutshell, the steps are:
1. Eliciting the desired behavior
2. Marking and rewarding the behavior
3. Repeating the behavior, marking and rewarding throughout.
4. Waiting for the dog to offer the behavior, marking and throwing a celebration.
5. Encouraging the dog to continue offering the behavior, marking and rewarding.
6. Adding a word (cue) to the behavior, once the dog is performing it reliably, marking and rewarding

Over time, the dog, and the person doing the training, will become proficient in clicker training.

A clicker proficient trainer will improve in timing.  Most novice clicker trainers have terrible timing, myself included.  Fortunately, Bradley is very forgiving of mistakes and if I do something that doesn’t make sense, he’ll try harder to figure it out for himself.  The proficient trainer will also improve her ability to identify the dog’s state of mind.  She will better be able to adjust the training plan to suit the dog’s rate of progress and level of understanding.

A clicker proficient dog will demonstrate levels of cognition that someone new to clicker training has probably never witnessed in a dog.  The dog will start offering new behaviors, in an attempt to earn a click.  This means the dog is problem solving and is literally executing a process of elimination.  He’ll stop doing things that don’t earn a click and move onto something new that he thinks will.  Once the dog figures out what is being asked of him, not only does it warrant a click, but a full blown jackpot!  Once the dog reaches the “aha!” moment, it’s important to reinforce that to the greatest extent possible.  This means showering the dog with praise, treats, toys, a game of fetch….whatever makes the dog ecstatic.

The more clicker training experience a novice gets, the sharper she will become.  There are some things a clicker trainer can’t learn from reading about this fascinating training method.  These are the things that one can only learn from experience, like I have while training Bradley.  I’ve learned how to read him and identify when he’s confused, when he’s getting the hang of it, when I’m moving too fast and when he has that

Bradley learned this lying behavior through clicker training.

“aha!” moment.  I can practically see the gears turning in his head and it never ceases to amaze me that I can see my dog thinking and learning before my eyes.

If there was a clicker training bible, I would submit the following commandments:

1. Devise a plan.
Don’t jump into clicker training without a clear idea of how to introduce this new method of training to your dog and a definite goal.
2. Control the environment.
Set up training sessions in a private area where you won’t be interrupted.  It should be a quiet room, devoid of visual, auditory and olfactory distractions.
3. Patience is a virtue.
Clicker training is not for the impatient trainer.  Your dog will not learn everything you expect of him after one training session.  That’s the ultimate reward but it takes lots of effort to achieve.
4. Know what makes your dog tick.
Some dogs are food motivated.  Some dogs are toy motivated.  Some dogs are play motivated.  Reinforcers mean nothing unless they mean something to your dog.
5. Keep it fun.
A bored dog’s mind strays.  Your dog won’t learn if his mind is elsewhere.
6. Know your dog’s limits.
Repeating the same exercise over and over gets old quickly. Move onto a new exercise before your dog gets burnt out.
7. Less is more.
A few short training sessions in a day will do far more good than one long training session.  This sets the stage for latent learning.
8. Keep it upbeat.
Getting angry during a training session will sour your dog of clicker training.  If you’re not achieving the results you want to, wrap it up before you get frustrated.
9. There is no room for corrections.
Corrections have their place in dog training but clicker training is not that place.  Corrections inhibit the dog’s willingness to offer different behaviors, defeating the purpose of this training method.
10.. End on a positive note.
Even if you didn’t achieve the final product,  a little learning is better than none.  End training sessions with skills your dog already has a good grasp on so you can both walk away feeling successful (Yes, I’m aware of the blatant anthropomorphism in that statement.  I dare you to find a dog who figures something out during clicker training who doesn’t act like he’s proud of himself though!)

Bradley sits, focused. Taken back when he was training at about 8 months old.

The purpose of this entry is neither to criticize an individual’s personal choice, nor is to claim that one way of handling this issue is better than the other.  It is simply to summarize an issue that affects everyone within the service dog community, so that those who are less aware of it may better understand.  It has been a perpetual cause for debate and almost everyone I’ve talked to has something to say on the matter.

Just as there is conflict among Americans over the balance (or imbalance) between human rights and civil liberties, there is a similar debate among service dog handlers.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as state laws provide public access rights to disabled service dog handlers.  A common misconception is that the dog itself has access rights.  In fact, it is the disabled human who possesses the right to be allowed access to public places, accompanied by a service dog who specifically mitigates that individual’s disability.  The service dog team must be allowed access to any business that services the general public and cannot be denied unless the dog is aggressive, destructive or significantly alters the nature of the business by being disruptive.

In the United States there is no single, recognized certification, registration or form of identification required of service dogs.  However, that same absence of a standardized system that gives owner trainers broader latitude is also a cause for confusion.  It’s not legally required to have a program trained dog, wearing a bright vest that says, “Service Dog”, with an identification badge around his neck and documentation of registration with a service dog organization in the vest pocket, available to anyone who requests proof.  That doesn’t mean that a lot of people don’t expect it.  Therefore, service dog handlers face a perplexing dilemma: Assert the rights given to them by the law or compromise in the interest of avoiding confrontation?

Some individuals would rather conform to the general public’s expectations than risk potentially frequent and stressful access challenges.  Others are ready and willing to educate every uninformed business owner who refuses to let them enter, for as long as it takes until their rights are no longer being infringed upon.  There are pros and cons to both positions, which is why it presents such a dilemma.

The first extreme is the service dog handler who is completely unprepared to engage in confrontation.  This person may outfit their dog in a labeled service dog vest and photo ID badge, carry proof of the dog’s service training certification, as well as proof of disability.  This person is happy to produce whatever documentation or demonstration of the dog’s skills to anyone who asks, so that they can eventually go about their business without the risk of being challenged.  Such an individual will go above and beyond what the law requires of service dog handlers, which some others think is a bad thing.

The most prominent reason why some service dog handlers chastise those who make such compromises is because they think compliance on the part of one service dog team means that business owners will expect the same compliance from teams to come. Future teams may not be as heavily equipped with documentation and identification, because it’s not legally required of them.  However, they still may face the challenge of convincing the business owner that these things are not necessary.  The business owner may think that since one team had documentation, everyone else will.

Unfortunately, unscrupulous companies are becoming more common, taking advantage of those who desire an easy way out of public access challenges.  They provide official looking ID badges, certificates and registration documents.  These companies have no protocol for determining the authenticity of a service dog team so they can do service dog teams in general a disservice.  “Fakers” can simply purchase these things to appear legitimate, taking advantage of naive business owners and leaving the general public with an inaccurate, negative association with service dogs.

There are, however, reputable organizations that offer certification to service dogs.  These groups establish high standards of training and dogs must undergo rigorous testing to receive certification under that particular organization.  While it isn’t legally required for service dogs to be certified, some individuals choose to pursue certification for their own peace of mind.  Others choose to go this route so they have something to fall back on in the event that they experience a serious challenge; possibly involving court.

It’s important to keep in mind that there are plenty of service dog handlers who simply cannot take the pressure of an access challenge, for one reason or another.  Some may need a service dog because thy have a debilitating anxiety disorder and a verbal confrontation certainly poses the potential for heightened anxiety.  There are also people who just don’t have the patience, confidence or communication skills to deal with a public access challenge.  It could be quite unfair to hold this against them.

The second extreme is the individual who relishes the opportunity to educate others and assert the rights of a service dog handler.  This person wants to be an advocate for all service dog teams and is willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the next team to come will not face the same access challenge that he or she did.  Sometimes this means working their way up the chain of command to speak with supervisors, managers, business owners or whoever is in charge.  It unsuccessful, it could also mean getting the police involved and filing a complaint with the Department of Justice.  Such an endeavor necessitates almost infinite patience and determination.  Not everyone possesses these qualities.

It’s an unfortunate reality that most people with disabilities will experience discrimination in one way or another, at some point in their lives.  Service dog teams aren’t immune to this.  While public awareness continues to rise, the vast majority of the general public is not adequately educated about the role that service dogs play in society.  Handlers must expect and be prepared for public access challenges at some point, because it’s bound to happen to everyone at least once.  Handlers must comply with what the law requires of them and if they can educate others a little along the way, that’s great.  Those who are willing and capable of taking the time to politely enlighten the general public should take steps to do so.  Otherwise, it’s best for an individual who wants to avoid confrontation, to at least explain that their actions don’t reflect what is legally required of them and that other service dog teams shouldn’t be expected to do the same.

Completely aside from whatever the laws in your state require of you in terms of documentation, equipment or identification, one thing a service dog handler should never leave the house without is a copy of the ADA laws, state laws and the contact information for the department of justice.  There are several websites that sell business card size cards with that information that can be distributed as needed.  You can also make your own.  You may also wish to carry a copy of the ADA’s  Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of Business.

As more people become aware of the laws regarding service dogs, the rift between the law and the public’s expectations of what validates a service dog team will begin to close.

Armed with an axe, the blind farmer walks by the flock of mooing chickens.

As I explained in my introduction, I’m not totally blind.  There’s a rather wide divide between legal blindness and the general public’s perception of blindness. My own perception of blindness has evolved, as my vision has deteriorated.  Over the past 10 years, my vision has gotten progressively worse.  I’ve gone from having close to normal vision to being blind.  Despite knowing of my visual limitations, there are still times when the degree of vision loss I’ve experienced surprises me.

I’m still coming to terms with the slow deterioration of my vision.  On the occasions when I have the most trouble, it’s almost like I’m having an out of body experience.  At those times, I find myself thinking, “My vision isn’t that bad…this couldn’t really be happening to me!“

A rather amusing scenario played out yesterday evening when Joe and I went to visit my grandfather, who I call Poppie. This is a good example of what has been happening more and more often these days.

As we were on our way out, I saw something on the floor that caught my interest.  I thought it was a box containing a Swiffer Sweeper, when in fact, it was a pack of Sprite (Poppie’s favorite drink).

Here’s how events transpired:

I spot the “Swiffer” and think to myself, ‘Is that a Swiffer over there? I never would have expected Poppie to buy a Swiffer. Maybe someone else gave it to him.’

Me: “Poppie, you got a Swiffer!”

Befuddled looks from Poppie and Joe

Poppie: “What?”

Joe looks in the direction I’m looking and realizes my mistake, empathetically wincing with embarrassment

Joe: (jokingly) “Don’t mind her, she’s blind.”

I finally realize my own mistake

Me: “Oh! I thought that was a Swiffer!”

We all share an awkward laugh.

Swiffer

Sprite; Not a Swiffer.

The past few days have been pretty busy for Bradley and I.

Friday
We had our thrice weekly training session with Laura.  We went to a grocery store we’ve never been to before and Bradley’s performance was mediocre.  He was definitely over stimulated; this seems to happen most in grocery stores, for some reason.  Laura didn’t think he did bad but I was a little disappointed.  I was confident that we were making incredible progress over the past couple of weeks because Bradley had been demonstrating such improved behavior.  Unfortunately, he got a little loopy in the grocery store.  However, he did much better than he did the first time Laura and I took him to a Stop and Shop for a training session.

On the bright side, these days, when we take Bradley out for training (several times a week),  if he’s having an off day, it’s not because he’s out of control or anxious.  While there are certain situations in which he’ll get a little stressed, it’s never to the point that he’s uncomfortable about being at that particular place.  I’m grateful to have spent so much time socializing him as a puppy because now, the only challenges we have are skill training and waiting for him to mature more.

Saturday
On Saturday, Bradley and I went out with Laura and her boyfriend.  Laura administered a practice public access test with  her boyfriend as a helper and her service dog as the helper dog.

Bradley and Gypsy lying on the floor at Walgreens earlier last week

Bradley failed the public access test; not terribly though.  I consider the experience, as a whole, a minor success.  While he didn’t pass with flying colors, he’s made a tremendous amount of improvement since I started working with him on public access training.

One most significant improvements he’s made is being able to share tight quarters with strangers without soliciting attention.  Bradley has never met a stranger; he treats everyone as if they’re his long lost best friend.  It’s an endearing quality but not the best for keeping him focused on working.  Luckily, as he’s matured, he’s gained much more self control.

His biggest weakness used to be children.  If there was a child under 12 years old within 50 feet, all bets were off.  Every ounce of his being lived for approaching the child and engaging in an extreme face licking, butt wiggling session.  Within the past several months, he’s slowly established the ability to ignore children unless he’s sure it’s OK to interact.

Now, our challenge is for him to learn self control while interacting with strangers.  While he can ignore others in his surroundings, for the most part, if they initiate interaction by approaching him to pet, he forgets his manners, breaks his sit-stay and gets all wiggly.   This is one of the areas that he failed on the PAT.  The other was failure to ignore food on the floor at a restaurant.  He ignored the plate of foot placed next to him but ate a crouton that fell, midway through the meal.

Today
We didn’t do any training today.  However, we did have a very pleasant day! Joe and I took Bradley and our Papillon, Louie, to a game refuge for a morning of walking through the woods. ( It was at this game refuge where Joe proposed to me on Christmas Eve 2006.) Bradley had a blast running around, took a brief swim in the pond and we even bumped into a team of 3 SAR (Search and Rescue) dogs!  Below are some photos from trip.

The foliage is almost at its peak of perfection at the game refuge in northern Connecticut.

Bradley and Louie posing in front of the colorful foliage

Bradley is smiling by the pond with the morning mist rising from the water behind him.

Bradley and Louie sit at attention, with mist rising from the water behind them.

Bradley stands on the rocks at the edge of the brook.

Bradley pictured with the SAR team: A GSD who was career changed from Fidelco, a chocolate Lab and a goofy, happy black Lab

All photos are the property of Elizabeth Bossoli. No image
may be copied, reproduced, transmitted or stored in any form or by
any method including but not limited to print, computer image, flash
component, video, streaming and/or animation, for any commercial
purpose without the owner’s consent.

I’m starting this blog to journal my experiences throughout my life with Bradley, my guide dog in training (GDIT).  Bradley is my 19 month old Golden Retriever.  I’m legally blind and decided to train Bradley as my service dog when he was about 4 months old.

My blindness is the result of a condition I was born with, called Septo Optic Dysplasia (SOD). While I am not totally blind, my vision meets the standard of legal blindness.  My vision is affected by strabismus, nystagmus, astigmatism, limited visual field and, most recently, a pesky floater.  I have almost no use of my left eye; while I do have light perception in it, I don’t consciously make use of the little vision I do have in it.  It would be completely useless to me, if I didn’t have latent nystagmus (when my left eye is covered, the nystagmus in my right eye increases.)

When most people think of someone who is blind, they think of an individual who has no vision whatsoever and cannot get around independently.  Blindness is not a black and white concept and people who are affected by this disability experience it in varying degrees.  There are a multitude of eye conditions and any one or combination of several can have very different influences on an individual’s vision.

While I’m not affected as severely as many blind people, it still has a very significant impact on my life.  I have no depth perception, so I frequently misjudge distances between myself and stationary and moving objects.  Another result of not having depth perception is the failure to recognize steps down.  It’s almost equally dangerous to think there is a step down where there is not as it is not to notice a step down that actually is there.  I’ve had the broken ankles to prove it.  Having nystagmus makes it difficult to focus on small things, objects in the distance, or anything for more than a second or two at a time.  Last but not least, a limited visual field inhibits my ability to recognize or acknowledge things in my surroundings, causing me to bump into people and objects.

All of these aspects of my disability can be mitigated by the use of a guide dog, as well as the anxiety that stems from them.

This is where Bradley comes in.  I didn’t get Bradley with the intention of training him as a guide.  Fortuitously, I began exploring the concept of owner training service dogs right around the time we got Bradley and his temperament happens to be ideal for this.  I began rigorously socializing him from around 4 months of age and he relished the variety of environments he encountered at such a young age.   Being a novice, I had no idea what I was doing.  I was learning as I went and I’m very lucky that Bradley intuitively knows what I’m asking of him and is forgiving of the mistakes I’ve made along the way.  I couldn’t ask for a better dog to be my first partner.

In this blog, I’ll narrate my experiences throughout the owner-training experience, and eventually move on to journaling  my life as the handler of a fully trained guide dog.  From time to time, I may post about relevant topics relating to service dogs, Golden Retrievers and other issues concerning dogs.

Thanks for getting this far in reading! I hope you’ll come back again and appreciate any input you’re willing to offer!

The concept of owner training a service dog was new to me, up until about a year ago.  Society is still catching up with the notion that service dogs play a valuable role in the lives of the disabled, so knowledge of alternative routes of training or acquiring service dogs is not widespread.

Opinions about owner training service dogs vary significantly.  Some people who hear about it for the first time are both fascinated and impressed, while others think it’s a responsibility best left to the “experts”(i.e. programs like Guide Dogs for the Blind).  There’s no question that I’m in full support of owner training.  However, I’m a firm subscriber to the “to each his own” school of thought.  Even more than I support owner training, I believe that the right to choose between owner training, private training or program training is the most important issue.

It saddens me that the most intense division is among service dog handlers themselves.  While there are plenty service dog handlers who share the viewpoint that different methods are better for some handlers than others, some are just as biased against the “opposing” group as some people are against the use of service dogs in itself.  There are some owner trainers who have an elitist air about them because they may think that there is more honor in training your own dog than having someone else train him.  Alternatively, there are some handlers of program trained dogs who find it reckless or unrealistic for disabled people to train their own dog.  My firm position is that neither is the case.

Realistically, I can only look at the issue from one perspective, as an owner trainer.  I’m also new to the game so my viewpoints are probably more representative of the non-service dog-user than of a seasoned service dog handler or service dog trainer.

I’ve experienced, what I interpret to be, grave hypocrisy, from some other service dog handlers. Maybe I’m just naive, but I expected a lot more support and comradery than I’ve encountered upon disclosing my status as an owner trainer.  Maybe it’s because these interactions have taken place online? Failure to remember that there’s a human being at the other end of internet communication is no new phenomenon, so it’s possible. Regardless, I was surprised to receive such harsh judgments from other SD handlers.  Recurring responses are either of disbelief that a visually impaired person can train a guide dog or that I must not be blind enough to need a service dog.  Either way, these are mindsets that one would expect from someone who has no experience with SD’s; not from someone who should have heightened sensitivity to the issue. Oh well, c’est la vie.

On the other hand, I have no problem with members of the non-service dog-using general public who are taken aback by the concept of owner training.  It’s a subject matter that one shouldn’t expect everyone to be well versed in.

My grandfather asked me a question a couple weeks ago that was interestingly phrased.  He asked, “Is it considered good etiquette to train your own dog?” This represents a perspective from which I never would have thought to approach this subject.  My answer was something along the lines of, “Of course! It’s legal to do so and although it’s not common knowledge, it’s not uncommonly done.  When you see a service dog out and about, there’s no way to know whether he was owner trained or not.”

So…not only is it legal and acceptable to train your own service dog; it’s also good etiquette!

There’s a huge difference between owner training a service dog and putting a vest that says “Service Dog”on your pet dog so you can take him out in public.  Trying to pass a pet dog off as a service dog is neither acceptable nor legal. There are people who do this, however, and owner trainers should never be associated with this pathetic minority. Those who try this will get their reality check sooner or later.  At the very least, they’ll realize what an unbearable inconvenience it is to be accompanied by a dog who is barely trained in basic obedience when they can’t get anything done because the dog is out of control.  If Karma has any say in the matter, it will be clear that the dog is not a service dog and the owner will be prosecuted for their crime.

Owner trainers tend to be more sensitive to the scrutiny placed on service dogs than handlers of program trained dogs.  There’s no denying that when presented with a public access challenge (meaning a business owner illegally prohibits access to the business to a service dog team), the handler of a program trained dog will have an easier time asserting their rights than an owner trainer.  Business owners, the general public and, unfortunately, even law enforcement are more likely to give validation to a program trained service dog than an owner trained service dog.  Because of this, many owner trainers put more substantial emphasis on their dogs’ flawless behavior in public than may be necessary.

While the legal definition of a service dog doesn’t specify a particular level of training, owner trainers hold themselves accountable for training their dogs to the standards one would expect from a program trained dog.

There are two ways many owner trainers evaluate a dog’s status as a service dog.  The first is by assessing the dog’s behavior in public places, under normal circumstances.   While the law dictates that service dogs may not act aggressively, destructively or in a disturbing manner that significantly alters the nature of a business, there are no legally mandated minimum standards of behavior in public.

However, without certain standards, it is possible to live in a vacuum.  That being said, many people choose to administer a public access test (PAT).  There is no universally recognized public access test, but many organizations use their own and most are very similar.  If a dog is tested by a particular organization and passes, he may be considered certified by that particular organization.  Service dogs are not legally required to be certified by any organization. Administering the PAT is personal choice and may simply act as a means to gauge the dog’s level of training.  PAT’s are geared to evaluate the dog’s behavior under normal circumstances and a dog who passes is unlikely to manifest behaviors that could get him legally restricted from a public place.

The second, and most important factor in determining a dog’s status as a service dog is task training.  This is the only factor considered in regard to the legal definition of a service animal. A service dog must perform a task that mitigates his handler’s disability in a significant manner.  There is no particular set of tasks or method of performing the tasks, as long as they are specific to the handler’s disability.  No task training certification is legally required for the dog to be considered a service dog.

Going back to what I said earlier: There is a huge difference between owner training and putting a service dog vest on a pet dog.  Owner training is not an endeavor to jump into impulsively.  The level of knowledge and time commitment necessary to successfully train a service dog is inconceivable until you actually do it.

The decision whether or not to owner train needs to be left in the hands of the most important person in the equation: the owner.  Just as program trained dogs are an invaluable asset to some people with disabilities, the benefits of owner training to those who are willing and capable are insurmountable.