I started team training with my assistance dog, Apollo, in March of this year with my classmate Maggie who got Apollo's sister Alki. Week 1 of team training was a challenge to us all in more ways than one. Maggie’s disease often leaves her exhausted so the long days of training took a lot out of her. Her husband, Gary, had to go to the emergency room twice because he wasn’t feeling well. My husband, Eric, in the emergency room and admitted to the hospital with complications from his diabetes. Since Eric is my caregiver, the social worker at the hospital helped us to arrange for home health care to come to the hotel to help take care of me so that I could stay and continue training. It was one heck of a week for all of us personally, not to mention, the class lectures and practice sessions…but hey both Maggie and I passed our final written exam!!!! Week 2 promised field trips, the working test, and final certification next week.
In the middle of week 1, we were allowed to take our dogs “home” (back to the hotel for me) with us. All in all I think that Apollo and I did well in week 1 of training. He was still distracted when his trainer, Wendy, was within his sight but that was to be expected. It would take time to transfer that bond from the trainer over to me.
When I'm lying in the bed resting, I have a table beside the bed that I put my laptop on to surf the net or answer emails. The first night I brought Apollo to the hotel and called him up on the bed to lay with me so that I could pet him, he jumped over the table, over me, and on to the other side of the bed!! It really was quite amusing!!
One day we were practicing the "Up" command in training where he should put his two front paws up on a counter, or desk, or whatever I am indicating in front of him. Well Apollo just had to show off that two feet wasn't enough and jumped completely on the table. Of course, this didn't go over well with the trainer who promptly picked him up (all 61 lbs. of him) and put him back on the floor to try again. After doing this twice, he finally got the message that four feet was unacceptable with that command. If I want him to get on something like the bed I use the "Jump On" command.
We also practiced the "Leave It" command where he should not go after something that I tell him to leave alone. I have to say how impressed I was when we put both the dogs on a down stay and the two trainers tried to distract them while playing with a ball to see if they would get up. Alki got up a few times and Apollo got up once. We promptly put them back to a down stay and they actually stayed!! Now the really amazing thing was when the trainers next tried to distract them by placing treats on the floor all around them and then even putting treats right on their paws and they did not eat it or go for it when we told them to leave it. I was so proud!!!
Peggy
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