Kelly and Kane from Largo, FL
Kelly brought her chocolate lab, Kane, to The Doghouse when she looked to have him trained as a service dog. Her priority was to achieve a high level of obedience, but she also needed Kane to learn task training to help mitigate her disability. At one of our monthly group classes, we interviewed Kelly to check in and see how things were going with the training and how well things were working out in daily life with Kane.
Our first goal with Kane was to teach him all of his obedience commands and ensure that he would perform each of these commands in a high distraction environment. This is important for all pet dogs, but it is essential for service dogs frequently in public places. We taught Kane loose leash heeling, which is vital for good manners but is also very important for an owner with balance issues. If Kane pulled on the leash, he could potentially upset her balance, which is very counterproductive to his job of helping her with her balance. Furthermore, being close to his owner allows him to be ready at a moment’s notice to provide support through task work, such as balance assist or retrieving dropped objects. He also learned to perform stationary commands, including the place command, sit-stay, and down stay. These are versatile commands that can come in handy in both the home and out in public while Kane is on the job.
In addition to learning these obedience commands, Kane learned a reliable off-leash recall. During his recall training, we incorporated an electric collar to ensure very high consistency in his performance. Recalls are obedience behavior that is very important for the safety of the dog throughout their life. If you are having your dog off-leash, your dog should be able to perform a recall command whether they are in a low-key environment or if a cat runs by. An electric collar is a handy tool for accomplishing this level of reliability, and we were also able to incorporate it to transfer the rest of Kane’s commands from on-leash to off-leash.
Once we knew that Kane was reliable around the kennel environment, we could start incorporating more advanced training with him. The first part of this was taking the obedience on the road and bringing Kane out into public to generalize everything he learned. Local parks, festivals, stores, and other locations were all incorporated into the public access segment of the training program. This stage of training is critical because Kane is responsible for taking care of his owner, and if distractions throw him off, he will have a hard time keeping his mind on his job. By the time Kane graduated from training, the dogs, bicycles, and other distractions he encountered in town were almost boring because he had so much exposure to them and had practiced his obedience in so many different contexts.
The next step in the process was to teach Kane more specifics of the tasks and behaviors that he would need to perform as a service dog. His heeling had to be very consistent for him to provide balance support for his owner, and he has to maintain perfect position even during changes of pace or when walking up and downstairs. This level of consistency takes more repetition than the typical heeling for a pet dog and requires that the dog be thinking and trying even harder for the entire walk. Kane also needed to learn to heel just as well off-leash as he does when on the leash. Rather than holding onto a leash when walking, Kane’s mom holds on to a handle on a harness that is specially designed for mobility dogs. This harness is very comfortable for the dog, the owner and shows the general public that the dog is working and should not be distracted.
Another big task that Kane needed to learn was how to retrieve objects that his owner dropped. Many dogs like to play retrieve with their owners, but a working retrieve is a different type of exercise. The dog needs to bite down hard enough that the object does not fall out of their mouths, but not so hard that they cause damage to the object. The dog needs to bring the object all the way back to its owner, and they need to release the object immediately when asked to do so. These dogs also need to perform the retrieve with a wide range of objects, not just things that they want to pick up. Many large service dog organizations end up “washing out” some of their dogs due to the dog’s reluctance to pick up bulky or metal items. Kane had no such issues and took very well to the retrieve training. We also took his retrieve work a step farther by changing it to other behaviors. In addition to bringing items to his owner, he can carry them while walking with her, thus chaining together the “hold” and the “heel” commands.
As you can see from Kelly’s video testimonial, all of the training that Kane received while at The Doghouse transferred beautifully. He is now working as her service dog and is providing a life-altering service every day. All this was possible through consistent training, proven methods, and properly motivating Kane for the job at hand. If you want your dog to be as well trained as Kane, please contact us at (727)201-9790 to learn more about our programs.