Bradley’s First Task

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!

The Rift Between the Law and Public Perception

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.

An Eventful Past Few Days

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

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Owner Training Service Dogs

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.