Just a Spoonful of Treats Makes the Puppy Go Down (How To: Down)

One of the most important commands I have learned is Down.  It is convenient and comfortable, and it can often serve as a safety net and control mechanism and can come in handy in an emergency.

Down as I watch Mom: I love my job!

Why should a Service Dog learn Down?  Easy: any dog should learn Down!  That's why it appears as one of the test items on the CGC. It's like going through elementary school for humans--it should be part of every dog's basic education.  Particularly for Service Dogs, it serves as one of the top vital commands that any SD should know (check out this article: http://www.anythingpawsable.com/vital-public-access-skills/#.VVDdL2Y5vV0) because it acts as a gateway to other commands (e.g. Under) and is part of an SD's daily routine in the public sphere (e.g. Down-Stay while waiting in a line).

Down was hard for me to understand at first, and then after I understood what Mom wanted from me, I confused Down with Sit and would do them interchangeably.  Now I do both as though I had been born knowing how to listen to Mom!  Here's how Mom taught me Down:

1)   Mom had me Sit since I already knew how.  Then she put a treat in her fingers and guided my nose to the ground.  I didn’t really understand what she wanted at first, so I tried to figure it out—I stood, I liked, I even did a Leave It, but nothing seemed to work.  Finally, I laid my entire body on the ground, and immediately I got the treat!  That definitely made me want to do that again.

2)   Mom repeated the same exercise, and each time, I learned faster what she wanted.  As she was doing this, she started pairing the action with its command, “Down.”

3)   Soon she held the treat in her left hand and made a downward motion with a flat palm while saying “Down.”  I quickly understood that her hand signal meant the same thing as the command and the treat lure.

Now I Down like a pro!  I’ve even learned that when I’m wearing my vest, it’s best to Down if Mom stops for more than a few seconds—it usually means we’re in line somewhere or another situation where she needs to stay in one place for a while.  Mom didn’t even have to teach me this—I just picked it up naturally.  But I think it shows how useful Down can be and how active a role it plays in a Service Dog’s life.

Cheers,

Kelsie Iris 

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 

Sit-A-Dee-Do-Dah (How To: Sit)

It’s been a while since I’ve posted training advice, so I thought I’d start at the very beginning (it’s a very good place to start).  The first command Mom and I worked on—after my name—was Sit.  It’s a good basic command, a foundation command and a gateway to others, and it is pretty easy for most dogs to learn.

I was lucky—my foster mom had already worked on Sit with me a little bit, so all Mom needed to do was solidify Sit for me.  That being said, Mom ran me through the basic process of training Sit so that I would have a solid foundation in it.

1)    Mom took a treat in her fingers and held it above my head.  As my nose went up to the treat, I could feel my hind end lowering to the ground.  I got the treat when I sat all the way down, which made me take note of what I did.

Doing Sit to pose for a picture!

2)    Once I worked out that I needed to do this to get the treat and started doing it consistently, Mom started pairing the action with the verbal command “Sit” so that I could learn to associate my action with her command.

3)    Eventually, Mom worked on using a hand signal with her hand—a cupped palm facing upward, as though holding a treat—and started giving me treats from her non-signal hand so that I could learn the hand signal.

4)    Eventually, I learned the connexion between the hand signal, the verbal command, and the action!  Now Mom can give me the signal or say the command, and I will promptly sit down—I even sit when I simply hope to get a treat!

Hopefully this is helpful for anyone else looking to learn how to sit!  If you have any other methods or tips, feel free to comment below.

Mom isn’t a huge fan of psychically forcing dogs to follow commands (e.g. physically encouraging a dog to do the action, rather than luring), so she did not push on my rear end to get me to sit, even if some other trainers do use that method.

I’ve learned that Sit can be very useful—I met a cute little girl today who loved giving me hugs and kisses when I was doing a Sit!  She was super sweet, and so I’m glad I could sit still for her so that she could become my newest friend!

Cheers,

Kelsie Iris

At Dartmouth, We Work Hard, Play Hard

I love doing Down-Stay: it's the perfect time to take a well-needed nap! (and check out my new In Training bandana!)

As you saw in my “A Chai Latte with Skim, Please!” post, Mom started taking me out into public this past Tuesday to start getting me to understand the difference between Work and Play and to get as much exposure as possible to different scenarios I might encounter as a PSD.

Actually, I wore my ESA vest for the first time on Monday, when I went to the gym briefly with Mom on a quick errand. I want to take a moment here just to note that both my vests are the same style and weight, so they feel the same to me, which is why I consider being “vested” the same, no matter which vest I’m wearing—so, Monday counts as my first public appearance or SDiT training session because I was wearing one of my vests, even if it was only my ESA vest.

The vest was a little intimidating at first.  I had never worn anything on my body before—that’s such a human concept—so it was tricky figuring out how to function with it on.  I didn’t even know how to go down stairs with it at first!  Luckily, I am now used to it and realize that it doesn’t change anything about my ability to move or perform actions (thank goodness!).

On Duty at CVS!

So how does a dog like myself learn the difference between my “vested” personality and my “free” personality, between Work and Play?  It’s an abstract concept, and it should really be in Tier II with the more abstract commands, except that it is so crucial to a working dog’s life that Mom didn’t want to wait until Tier II for me to start learning the difference.  I’m lucky in that I’ve managed to pick up on the difference between Work and Play very quickly—I can even go into Work mode in Mom’s dorm room!  I’ve started ignoring people who want attention and am even learning to stick by Mom’s side when I’m “vested,” even though I don’t know Heel yet (Mom says I’m probably ready to start learning that soon).  Apart from being a sponge of knowledge thanks to my Border Collie lineage, there are a few things that have helped me distinguish between Work and Play.

Some of the commands that Mom uses have really helped me learn the difference between Work and Play.  When Mom first puts on one of my vests, she tells me to Dress, which means that I stand quietly and patiently until she’s finished buckling me in.  To do this is simple: she simply puts a treat on the other side of my harness, and I get it as I slide my nose through.  This is just the first step in switching me to Work mode.  After Mom and I are both ready, she tells me that I am “On Duty,” at which point, I have learned that I need to focus on my work.  When I need to transition back to being “normal” dog, Mom tells me to Undress, and then she lets me know that it’s “Playtime” in a very happy tone, which breaks my focused trance.

Playtime in the woods!

Mom’s actions and attitude also help me distinguish between Work and Play.  When I’m in Play mode, she is much more lively and lets me off leash—she lets me sniff, chase squirrels, and say hi to other people if they’re okay with dogs.  However, when I’m wearing my vest, she insists that I stay close, and she constantly tells me to Leave it or to Watch her.  She becomes very focused, too, which helps me remain focused—her many commands make me keep my attention on her.

I can’t wait to do my next PSDiT training session with my vest!  I really like the challenge of learning the difference between Work and Play—it makes me feel like such a smart, good girl!

All my tail wags,

Kelsie Iris

A Kelsie by Any Other Name (How To: Name)

Before my name was called: destroying Hokey Pokey

After my name was called: "Yes, Mom?"

Yesterday, I arrived in my new home at Dartmouth and met Mom for the first time!  I don’t want to make a hasty assumption since we’ve only known each other for a day, but I think we’ve hit it off pretty well.

Apart from settling into my new home/dorm room, my first official task was to learn my new name (if you remember, Name is on Tier I).  Mom changed my foster name, Molly, to Kelsie Iris, although she just calls me “Kelsie” to make it easier on her and me—this is actually my third name because my name in the shelter was Cali, which actually isn’t too different from Kelsie.  Sometimes it can take a while for a dog to learn her new name, especially after so many changes, but a dog of any age can learn a new name.  By yesterday evening, I already knew my new name was Kelsie.  There are a few training tricks that really helped me out:

1)    When I first arrived, Mom would say my new name (“Kelsie”) and would immediately give me a small treat (she recommends Mini Zuke’s broken in half: ~1.5 calories). This helped me associate this new word, which I didn’t realize was my name yet, with something good.

2)    Similarly, Mom would say my name while petting me, to associate the word with good things—I love being petted and rubbed and snuggled, so this was perfect for me!

3)    Mom, and Auntie-Mommy K (my other mommy, because it’s the 21^st century) used my name frequently to get my attention.  She would often use it before she told me to do something, like “Sit.”  This works because a dog’s name can work much like “Watch Me,” in that it grabs her attention and lets her know that you are talking to her and not the tree over there.

4)    Mom also used my name when asking me to retrieve a ball that she had thrown.  I have a natural tendency to bring a ball back (because I know that as soon as I bring it back, it will be thrown again), so hearing my name as I trotted to Mom helped me associate my name with coming to her.  Since a dog’s name can also function as an alternate to “Here,” this helped me better understand this other dimension of my name.

As a side note, it also helps that I’m very smart (or so says Mom), and so a natural ability to understand new things has also helped me learn my name really quickly.  However, being smart isn’t a prerequisite for learning a new name—like I said before, any dog of any age can learn her new name, but sometimes it will take some dogs longer to do so.  Learning a new name in half a day is quite speedy, so like with all training, it can take some patience on the handler’s part throughout the process.  Luckily for me, Mom has been so patient!

I have decided to try to keep my blog posts a little shorter, if possible, so if I have multiple commands that I have been learning in one day or period, then I will split them into multiple posts.  This will also help organize the commands a little better for anyone trying to use them as guides or pointers (no dog puns intended there!).  So stay tuned for everything else I’ve been learning over the past day or so!

Love you all,

Kelsie Iris