Puppy Boot Camp: A Sneak Peak

Long time no speak, readers!

While I have missed Mom intensely over the past few weeks and have worried about how she's doing without a Service Dog by her side (and have also been disappointed not to see Italy--I would love to travel internationally someday!), I have actually had an amazing time with my Grand Humom at home.  I've essentially had the closest thing to a vacation that I can get as a working dog (at least until I retire).

My Grand Humom definitely spoiled me!  I got so many new toys that she gave me another basket to keep them in--one of my favourites was definitely the rubber chicken.  Oftentimes, since the weather has been so lovely here, she would go swimming, and we would play a game called Drop It Get It, where she'd ask me to drop a ball in the pool and then pick it up again.  It's kind of like what humans do in bobbing for apples.  My Grand Humom also took me on adventures, including the Dog Beach that Mom and I visited this summer.  I had fun (of course), but the best part was actually at the end: we ran into a Chinese Crested named Arnie and his trainer.  The trainer was really impressed that I was an owner-trained Service Dog, and with Grand Humom's permission, he put me through my paces a little bit.  Watching me, he called me brilliant and very well-trained, which absolutely made my day!  I love hearing that I'm just as special as Mom tells me I am--it's so validating.

Here's my Chinese Crested friend Arnie!  Isn't he cute?

Luckily, now the long wait is over, and Mom has returned safe and sound (and exhausted) from Italy.  I think we're both pretty happy to be together again.  Once her final paper is in, we will have six weeks of vacation before we return

to Dartmouth for winter term--dubbed "Winterim" by Dartmouth students, it's a time which we will be utilizing to polish my tasks and manners as a Service Dog, so that when I return to campus, I will be the paragon of the perfect Service Dog.  My goal, which I share with Mom, is to blow everyone on campus away with my manners, intelligence, and perceptiveness.

While Winterim will be a break for most Dartmouth students, Mom and I are going to be working very hard.  Because of the intensity of the training regimen, we've dubbed our Winterim work "Puppy Boot Camp" (PBC).  I would love to provide an update every day during PBC, since I'll be learning new tasks and going to exciting places, but the days are going to require all my focus and energy, meaning I'll be tired by the end of the day.  Mom has promised me that I will get at least one day completely off once a week to just be a dog, so I'll be updating my lovely readers about once a week when I have my break.

So, what will PBC entail?  Mom and I are still hammering out the details--and the schedule will probably be adjusted as PBC progresses--but we'll be focusing on a number of different areas where I can improve, with specific focus on strengthening task training and encountering unusual situations.  Here is some of what you can expect over the coming weeks:

1. Commands (New and Review)

• Guide work (new!)
• Light counterbalance (new!)
• Greet (new!)
• Get/Take
• Break v. On Duty (learning that I can actually act like a dog sometimes when my vest is on)
• Get Busy (with focus on different surfaces and circumstances)

2. Experiences

• Ignoring food: completing the Food Challenge (wait to see what it is!) and ignoring food offered to me by people other than Mom
• Wearing booties constantly (not looking forward to this)
• Boat/standup paddle boarding
• Increased vigilance for alerts and interruption (even when not on duty)

3. Oh, the Places I'll Go!

• School environments (including primary school and high school)
• UCI and UCLA (hopefully I'll be able to sit in on a class
• The Zoo
• A Movie
• The Dog Park (on duty around other dogs and toys)
• Disneyland (BIG goal)

Get it?  I'm a tennis player for Halloween because I have a tennis ball.

Are you excited?  I know I am!  It's going to be hard, but Mom believes in me so I think I can handle it.  Wish me luck, and I'll keep you all PUPdated!

xoxoxo

Kelsie Iris, CGC

Check out these posts of mine:
SD team etiquette -- http://kelsieiris.blogspot.com/2015/04/dos-and-donts-of-encountering-service.html
Confused?  Here are some terms and abbreviations -- http://kelsieiris.blogspot.com/2015/04/as-abbreviations.html