Michelle and Hayden: One Year Later

It's hard to believe that I have been partnered with Hayden as my assistance dog since September of last year. 

I had the pleasure of meeting the new clients who have participated in the Team Training these past two weeks, receiving their own assistance dogs. They all seem to be very committed and loving people. I think their dogs will be very happy and will be able to provide the assistance and companionship their partners are hoping for.

As I spoke with them and looked in their eyes, I remembered how elated I was as I looked forward to the training I would receive, but more importantly, the gift of Hayden. I literally was on a "high" for the two months before the training.

After receiving Hayden, I was in what I would call, a honeymoon.  By that I mean that I was totally in love with this new being and was so proud of him. His behavior was incredible and my attention to training, grooming and general care of him was impeccable. I followed a very tight schedule as far as providing all of these elements in my every day routine.

Here I am, a year later. Some of these things are still current. I love Hayden immensely. His companionship and assistance are a great help to me. The changes are that I became more lax in my training and working with him everyday, as well as the daily grooming. I brush him, but it may be every three days. I also haven't kept up with the "Nothing in Life is Free" philosophy encouraged by the trainers. 

Due to these oversights (and laziness) on my part, Hayden has developed behaviors that are not good for public access. There's nothing so big that I can't take him out, but he definitely isn't able to follow all of the guidelines set by the trainers. 

Some of the behaviors include: when we are in restaurants, sometimes he crawl a little to get to a food morsel on the floor, a no-no that has developed. When he is in his vest, rather than in his harness, he gets too far in front of me, sometimes even pulling on the leash. I can handle this sometimes, but other times I have fallen which can cause injury. Basically, these are unacceptable behaviors, although for other dog owners, they may be "no big deal".

Hayden responds very well to instruction and guidance, using the positive training and reinforcement techniques that we were taught in team training. The biggest problem I face now, is that it takes a while to come back from the negative behavior, as he was rewarded by my laxness and the rewards he got. Hayden and I will be getting together with our trainer, Wendy, for some guidance. I'd like to say it's for him, but it's really a refresher course for me. 

Consistency is important and it really does help your assistance dog. Prevention is the key. The really good news is that these dogs love the practice and attention they get. I love giving these to him and myself, I just need to prioritize it like I did in the beginning, rather than taking the exceptional behavior he can exhibit, for granted.

Michelle