New Teams in Training Take to the Mall

Tuesday was a big day for our new service dog teams in training. They went on their first public outing!

For this first outing, we went to the Harrisburg Mall. The mall is a great place for the teams to practice their skills. It gave each person the chance to practice for the public access test that all of our service dog teams must take. They also practiced some of the tasks that each dog was specifically trained to perform for their partner.

SSD Dylan worked on opening doors for his partner. To begin, he started by pushing the button to open the doors. Watch as he uses his nose to push it.

Because not all doors are accessible, Dylan has also been trained to use a pull strap to open a door. Watch as his partner works with him to have him pull the door open for her.

Dylan has also been trained to pull his partner’s wheelchair. Look at them go!

The great thing about practicing in the mall is that our teams are working in real-life situations. Here, SSD Jagger and his partner walk into a store to do some shopping. They were also working on loose leash walking. Jagger is a balance dog, so it’s important for him to stay right by his partner’s side so he can act as a counter balance. Look at how nicely he stays by his partner’s side.

Both of our partners and their dogs did very well on their first public outing!