SSD Hale’s New Skills

SSD Hale went bowling! The Northeast Puppy Raising Program took their dogs bowling, a great way for the dogs to get experience with loud noises and balls they aren’t allowed to chase. Hale actually got to go bowling with her sister, SSD Parks! Parks is being raised in the Harrisburg area, but SSD Parks and SSD Fred did a puppy swap. We have our puppy raisers swap puppies a few times a year so that the dogs get used to a new handler and routine, and so our puppy raisers get used to handling a different dog.

Hale and Parks really wanted to play together, but their puppy raisers worked hard to keep their attention. Once the two puppies were focused, they let them play together for a little bit.

At the bowling alley, Donna spent some time shaping Hale to move the bowling ball with her nose. However, Hale continued to bat at the ball with her paw. Donna recognized that she had clicked Hale for using her paw rather than her nose, and she tried to correct it, but for this particular shaping session, Hale continued to focus on using her paw.

Lindsey and Donna took Hale up to the line to bowl a few times. Hale did very well!

One of the skills Hale has been working on is going into a bathroom stall. This is actually a very important skill, since the dog will need to accompany their partner into the stall. At first, Hale didn’t want to go in. However, with the assistance of Meg, our volunteer trainer, Susan, another puppy raiser, and Lindsey, Donna was able to figure out how to help Hale be successful. Instead of having her walk forward into the stall and then turn around, Donna asked her to turn around and back into the stall. Bingo! Hale now backs perfectly into the stall every time. She will also back out of the stall, if necessary.

Donna has also been working with Hale to get her used to wearing a comfort trainer. Depending on a person’s needs, the dog may need to wear a comfort trainer once they’re placed with their partner as a working service dog. We try to get all of our dogs used to wearing one, and we actually train them to stick their head right into it. Donna has started by getting Hale used to having the loop of the leash over her nose. She wasn’t too keen on it at first, but now she’ll walk around with the end of the leash over her nose. Nice progress!

The skill “under” has been a challenging one for Hale. For a while, she was not too happy about tucking herself under tables, chairs and other small spaces. However, she seems to have progressed beyond that. Donna can now target or lure her under a table or chair. She hasn’t added the cue yet, because Hale isn’t quite ready yet, but soon she’ll be tucking herself under on cue.

Hale also had an experience with a helicopter. One flew very low overhead, and then turned around and came back. Donna was prepared for the loud noise and strange object to startle Hale, but Hale took it all in stride. She watched the helicopter closely, then turned and looked at Donna! She didn’t try to chase it, bark at it, or cower. Instead, she choose to look at her puppy raiser. Nice job!

Hale’s favorite cue seems to be “heel.” She flings herself into position at Donna’s left side, and she always seems so excited to do it.

She also loves to play fetch. It’s a great way to burn off some energy in the morning! She has a tug toy that Nikki, one of SSD Rizzo’s puppy raisers, made for her, and she plays with it constantly. In fact, Hale, Nubble, and Gizzy, the family dog, all pull on it at the same time!

Hale is one smart puppy, though. Donna and her family use baby gates to block the doorways of two rooms in their house when they don’t want to dogs to go in those rooms, and Donna had stopped securing them between the door jambs. They just prop them up. However, Hale figured out that if the gates are facing inward, she can bump them with her nose to knock them down so she can get into the rooms! Donna has had to change the way she props them up so that they hit the doorway instead of falling down.

What do you think Hale will learn next?

Hale in Spring

Although it’s cooler today, SSD Hale has been loving the warm spring weather! She wants to go outside all the time. She spends lots of time watching the robins, but she doesn’t chase them. Hale has also rediscovered how great green grass tastes! She tears off a few blades and tosses them in the air! Donna, Hale’s puppy raiser, is looking forward to the time when the weather warms up enough to set up the doggie pool.

Did you see Hale at PawsAbilities? On Saturday, March 10, she spent some time at our puppy raiser booth near the Faulkner Subaru car. She played with the enormous Cane Corso at the neighboring booth, but she spent most of her time relaxed on her blanket, watching the people and dogs go by. On Sunday, March 11, she and Nubble both got to go to PawsAbilities! Donna and Lindsey walked around with the two dogs and had a chance to play some games, and Donna was pleased with how well Hale interacted with strange dogs. Hale played Temptation Tower, a game where handlers try to build the tallest tower of dog treats before time runs out – without the dog eating any of the biscuits! Hale did great. She played with Lindsey, but she spent the whole time watching Donna instead of focusing on the tower of dog biscuits.

This past Wednesday, the Northeast Puppy Raising Program went to the Mohegan Sun Casino in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Hale did very well! At first, she and Donna sat in the food court with SSD Fred and SSD Cassie. Fred used to get very excited when he was around Hale, but thanks to the hard work of his puppy raiser, he was able to lie calmly next to Hale.

The casino was a great place to practice greetings. People were wonderful about greeting Hale. “Whenever someone asks to pet her, I ask them to stop if she pops up from a sit or a down,” said Donna. “It helps her learn that she can’t bounce around when someone is petting her.” When people asked to pet SSD Cassie after they pet Hale, they would ask, “Does she need to be sitting, too?” Although Cassie is able to stay calm while standing, it’s wonderful that people are so understanding and mindful of the dogs’ training.

With all of the loud noises and blinking lights, the casino can be a challenging place for a dog. Hale had no problem with it! She did try to eat any gum, so Donna had to be vigilant. After they were finished inside, Donna took the opportunity to have Hale practice walking on a grate. She did very well!

And then it was time for the final challenge of the outing – the stairs. You may remember that stairs were very challenging for Nubble, and Donna was a little apprehensive about taking the stairs with Hale. This particular flight of stairs is much longer than the typical flight, and Donna was preparing herself for a difficult walk up them. However, Hale walked calmly next to Donna the whole time. Donna even planned a few stops along the way up, and Hale stopped right next to her. “I couldn’t believe the mindblock I had about these stairs. It turns out, they’re just a normal set of stairs, albeit slightly longer than normal,” said Donna. “I can completely understand how a dog or any animal can have a negative association with something and have difficulty getting past it until they have a positive experience with it. With these stairs, Hale was my positive reinforcement.”

On Thursday, Hale went to Red Robin with her puppy raisers. Donna has been working on “under” with her, and although she doesn’t quite know the cue yet, she is now comfortable going under things and being in smaller spaces. She tucked herself under the table, and stayed there the entire evening. Donna and her family had a very pleasant dinner. When they got up to leave, their waiter was shocked that they had a dog. He had no idea Hale was under the table the entire time, and neither did the people at the surrounding tables. The sentence “I had no idea there was a dog under there!” is one of the highest compliments a puppy raiser can get. It means the dog and the puppy raiser were doing exactly what they should be doing. “I was very proud of Hale that she was so unobtrusive that no one realized it,” said Donna.

Hale has also gone bowling, witnessed a low-flying helicopter, and learned some new skills. We’ll have more about her adventures later this week.

SSD Hale Takes on the Farm Show

The Pennsylvania Farm Show. These four words bring to mind images of milkshakes, fried cheese cubes and a giant butter sculpture.

These four words also strike terror in the hearts of puppy raisers.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show is an extremely challenging place for service dogs in training of any age. Between the crowds, dropped food and animals, there are so many opportunities for dogs to lose their minds and completely forget all of their training.

Donna, SSD Hale's puppy raiser, knew that the Farm Show was a challenging experience, but instead of concentrating on all the ways Hale could fail, she saw opportunities for success. She came up with a training plan to ensure that she and Hale had a good experience at the Farm Show.

She knew from last year, when she took Nubble, that the Farm Show can be overwhelming. Donna recognized that her own stress level affects the dog at the end of the leash, and she was determined to stay calm and keep her own stress level from affecting Hale. Hale loves people, so Donna wasn't worried about the crowds. She decided that if she saw any signs of stress, she would retreat and give Hale a chance to relax. During that time, Donna planned to reevaluate whether they should call it a day or continue their outing.

Hale went into the Farm Show with her usual gusto! The first thing they did was visit the cows, and the floor was full of all sorts of things a dog finds interesting. Hale may not have even noticed the cows because she was so interested in the things on the floor! To help Hale refocus, Donna moved back into a quiet corner where Hale could sniff the air without actually eating anything. After that, they stuck to the perimeter of the bovine hall, and then headed for the goat hall.

Hale didn't even blink at being around the goats. Her puppy raisers have goats, so she just wanted to greet them. Donna made sure Hale kept her distance, though. While Hale was perfectly fine with the goats, the goats were not as happy to be around a dog. Donna didn't want to add to their stress. The sheep, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered by Hale, although Hale wasn't as comfortable around them. Donna used lots of treats, especially power treats like cheese whiz. At one point, Hale barked, so Donna moved her away. Once she settled, they approached the sheep again, and Hale did a little better. Donna decided to leave the sheep while Hale was still having a positive experience.


In the rabbit area, Hale sat down right next to a row of bunnies in their cages. She just rested and drank some water. Donna also took her to the chicken area, but they kept their distance because the birds could get agitated by a dog.

Although Hale did very well around the animals, she did manage to get into a bit of mischief. The children at the Farm Show loved Hale, and of course, she loved them! She even managed to give out a few kisses. However, considering the number of children who came up to her, she did very well. She even did well when one toddler tried to tickle her with a peacock feather! Many of the children asked if they could give her a treat, and Donna used it as a teaching experience as she explained that Hale is a service dog in training and only her handler can give her treats.

Of course, you can't go to the Farm Show without getting some fried cheese cubes and a milkshake! Hale was very patient while waiting in the long line, although she didn't tuck herself up close to Donna. She always seemed to lay down so that she was in the way. People just stepped over her, though, and Hale didn't seem to mind. She did manage to scarf down a cheese cube that ended up on the floor. She was so quick about it that Donna barely got out the first syllable of "leave it."

Since Hale was doing relatively well, Donna and Lindsey headed to the rodeo for a while. Even though they both wanted to see the rodeo, they decided they would leave if Hale was showing signs of stress.

They had to go up a very narrow, steep staircase to get to some empty seats, and when they got to the top, Hale shook herself, which Donna recognized as a sign of stress. However, Hale relaxed and settled easily under the seats. There were two empty seats next to Donna, so Hale had some extra room to stretch out. She even relaxed so much that she rested her head on her paws.



Once they settled into their seats, three teenagers, an 8-year-old boy and a 3-year-old boy sat in the seats in front of them. Their heads were at the perfect level for Hale to try to sneak in some doggy kisses, and she managed to lick the 8-year-old's ear. Luckily, he just laughed, said "hi" to Hale, and went back to watching the rodeo. Hale also tried to sniff the teenage girl's prayer cap. The 3-year-old occasionally watched Hale and reached back and scratched her back, but Hale was wonderful with him. Every time he interacted with her, she looked to Donna, even when he tugged gently on her tail. "I was quite proud of her then," said Donna. "She has definitely figured out that little kids are not her toys to play with."

Although Donna was watching carefully, the only time she saw any signs of stress that concerned her was during the rodeo. At the very beginning, all of the lights went out and the crowd got very quiet, then very loud. Hale seemed a little worried, licking her lips and yawning. She did the same thing halfway through the rodeo when the lights went down again and the music got very loud. But other than the lip-licking and yawning, she was fine.

As they were leaving, Hale tried one more time to scarf down some treats on the floor, but this time, she grabbed a bead! Donna had to reach in her mouth to get it. Hale knows the cue "leave it," but she doesn't follow it 100% of the time. Donna plans to work on it with her.

All in all, Hale did very well at the Farm Show, especially for an 8-month-old puppy. "I am so glad I took her," said Donna. "It was a great experience for her, and I think I had a good training plan in place so that I was able to enjoy our outing as much as possible."

For Donna at least, the words "Pennsylvania Farm Show" aren't quite as scary.

SSD Hale's Leaps and Bounds

SSD Hale is growing in leaps and bounds! Well, maybe she's just leaping and bounding. It's hard to tell if she's getting bigger. Donna, Hale's puppy raiser, has even had people ask her if Hale is a miniature Lab! They're always surprised to find out that she's only about seven months old, which is quite a compliment. It means Hale is very well behaved in public!

This month, this little dog had her first real bath. She had been hosed off in the summer and wiped down with a damp cloth lots of times, but this time, she got a full bath in a grooming tub. Hale's first real bath is the perfect example of how we train our dogs to do almost everything. The grooming tub had a ramp, and Donna used shaping to get Hale to walk up the ramp. The hose was louder and had more water pressure than the garden hose, so Donna used treats to reward Hale for good behavior. At the end, Hale was very interested in the dryer, and she didn't mind having the air on her fur at all. Hale emerged happy and smelling great, all because Donna set her up for success.

Since Hale was all primped and pretty, Donna and Lindsey brought her to the SSD holiday party. The other dogs and puppy raisers from the Northeast Puppy Raising Program also joined us. We had a lot of dogs at the party, but Hale did great! Donna and Lindsey took her through the line at the buffet table, but while she sniffed at the table a little bit, she didn't try to steal anything. Lindsey was even able to walk with her while holding two drinks in her hands!

The same week as the holiday party, Hale took a scaled down version of the public access test as an evaluation. "She did pretty well," said Donna. "I was please with almost everything." Evaluations like the public access test often help puppy raisers discover strengths and weaknesses, and Donna realized that she needed to work on "under" with Hale. Since the evaluation, they have taken every opportunity to practice "under." Hale will go under with a hand signal, although Donna has to guide her sometimes. Once Hale has a solid "under," Donna will introduce the verbal cue.

In the Northeast puppy classes, Donna has been working on helping Hale differentiate between the cues "up" and "all the way up." "Up" means the dog puts two feet up on an object, while "all the way up" is exactly what it sounds like - the dog puts all four feet on an object. Depending on her mood, Hale might give an "up" or an "all the way up" for either cue. Susan, one of our other puppy raisers in the Northeast, suggested that Donna try working on "up" and "all the way up" at the same time. That would make it necessary for Hale to listen closely to the cues and not just do what she things she should do. Donna has been practicing both cues at home.

Hale has also been making good progress with the cue "back." She walks backwards nicely as long as she has something like a wall or table to align herself with. She doesn't yet back up in a straight line if she's in an open area, but Donna believes that with a little more work, she'll have it.

The Northeast group also likes to incorporate games into puppy class. At one class, they played "Duck, Duck, Goose" with all of the dogs. Hale and all of the dogs did very well! It was an excellent way to practice their focus. The dogs enjoy the mental stimulation of the games.

Hale and the other Northeast dogs in training also practiced "leave it." Look at their amazing self control!


If you've been following Hale's progress here on the blog, you know that she gets very wiggly when she greets people. Donna has been working with other puppy raisers to teach her to stay calm when people are petting her. It's much easier to practice in a controlled setting with people who understand what you're trying to accomplish. Donna has decided that when strangers want to pet Hale, she needs to be in a "down." Once Hale is down, Donna lets people pet her, although she asks them to stop petting her if she stands up. This has been helping Hale learn to be calmer during greetings.

Lindsey went to the DMV to renew her driving permit, and Hale got to go along. It was crowded, and really tested Hale's self control, but she did great! She also did a very nice "under" while Lindsey was filling out paperwork.

Over the holidays, Hale went with her puppy raisers to pick out a tree. It was the perfect opportunity to practice "stay" and recalls!

In December, Donna and Hale went to one of Lindsey's indoor soccer games. It could have been very stressful for a dog because the bleachers were very close to the field, and there was nothing separating them but a four-foot-high glass wall and a net above that. Hale did very well, though. She stayed under Donna's bench for the entire game. She didn't even flinch when a ball hit the wall right in front of them! There was also a toddler with food and toys about 20 feet away from her, but Hale only watched her without trying to pop up out of her spot.

Hale was able to be so successful at the soccer game because Donna planned ahead and set her up for success. "One thing I do before events that could be stressful is make sure Hale gets plenty of exercise," said Donna. "I really think that dogs (and humans) can handle things much better when they have the proper amounts of exercise. The day of the game, I got there early and walked Hale around the outside of the building for about 20 minutes. The exercise gave us both a chance to clear our heads."

"December was a good month for Hale," said Donna. "I'm hoping that January will be even better."

SSD Hale's Adventures in Learning to Become a Service Dog

When she's not hard at work learning how to become a service dog, SSD Hale is a cuddlebug. She loves to lean against her puppy raisers, and she loves the cue "visit," where she puts her head in someone's lap.

Hale has been visiting a lot of different places lately. She went to the movies last week, which really tested her ability to "leave it." The floor was covered in popcorn! She did well, though, especially considering that popcorn is one of her favorite treats. While she and Donna were walking, she left the popcorn alone. However, sitting in the theater with the popcorn around her proved to be a bit too much temptation. Other than that, she stayed in a down for the whole movie.

While they were finding their seats, Donna took the opportunity to work on the cue "back" with Hale. "Back" is a little challenging for her. She sometimes just sits and scoots backwards instead of walking backwards. In the movie theater, Donna used the rows of seats to guide Hale in a straight line backwards. Someone had also suggested using the curb at the edge of the street. The curb works well because it keeps Hale moving backwards in a straight line without making her feel like she's confined in a narrow space.

During the movie, Donna took Hale outside to potty once, just to be certain she would be successful during the entire outing. All of our dogs are trained to go potty or "get busy" on cue and Hale has certainly figured that out. In fact, if she doesn't need to go, but she's given the cue, she will still pretend to go and then look up at Donna as if to say, "See, I went. Now can we go back to doing what we were doing?"

In October, Hale went to the King Frost Parade in Hamburg. Parades can be very challenging for dogs because of all the people, loud noises, strange objects, and of course, candy, but Hale did very well. She ignored the entire parade. She did get to practice lots of greetings. Donna has her sit when people pet her because she gets so excited that she wiggles and bumps into people, although she does stay focused on Donna. When Donna was first teaching Hale how to do proper greetings, she would click her for simply looking at her. However, Hale thought that they were in a shaping session and would then touch the person with her nose. (When we shape dogs for behaviors, we sometimes start by having the dog look at an object and then touch it with their nose.) Once Donna figured out what was happening, she started concentrating on her clicks and made sure she clicked when Hale sat.

If you live in Pennsylvania, we're sure you remember the snow we had at the end of October. That was Hale's first snow! She had a blast playing in it!


Hale also went with Lindsey and Donna to A.C. Moore for craft supplies. Lindsey was handling Hale that day, and at one point, she had to go back to a previous aisle. Instead of taking Hale with her, she put her in a down-stay and went to get the item she needed. Donna stayed behind Hale just in case. However, Hale didn't budge! She just watched the spot where she last saw Lindsey and didn't move until she came back and clicked and treated. Great job, Hale!

Two weeks ago, the dogs in the Northeast Puppy Raising Program went to the Wyoming Mall for an outing. Hale was very well behaved, even though all of her dog friends were along. Donna frequently takes Hale to the mall, especially at this time of year, because it's a great place to practice stairs, going under benches, greetings and getting on and off the elevator. Donna always makes sure they take the elevator at least once every time they go to the mall, which is wonderful. Service dogs need to be comfortable with both stairs and elevators. If the dog's partner uses a wheelchair or even if the elevator is simply the most convenient way to get from one place to the next, the dog must calmly enter and exit the elevator on cue.


As our puppy raisers quickly find out, having a puppy in training is an instant conversation starter! Donna took Hale to her 25-year class reunion and Hale did great! Donna set her up for success and they just sat at the table in the beginning so Hale wouldn't get overly excited. Once Hale seemed to settle in, Donna got up and mingled with her. Dinner was a buffet, and Donna went through the line with Hale. The dogs need to learn to ignore food whether it's on the floor on on a table right above their noses. To make sure the buffet was a success, Donna's husband carried Donna's plate so that Donna could focus on Hale as they went through the line. It was a good decision and it worked because Hale did quite well. She only tried to sniff the chicken, although she didn't get close to it.

Although service dogs in training are working, they do have their silly moments. Hale saw herself in a wall-to-wall mirror at the reunion and got so excited that there was another dog there! She didn't bark, but she kept bumping her image and trying to figure out how to get around the mirror so she could get to this other dog!

Recently, Donna took Hale with her to Wawa to get a cup of coffee. Donna dropped an empty cup by accident, but Hale was right there to pick it up! Several people saw Hale do this and Donna ended up having a great discussion about service dogs and how they can assist people. She used the empty cup several times to demonstrate how a dog can pick things up. While they were taking, Donna accidentally dropped her keys, but again, Hale picked them right up. The other people thought that was great! Donna does not use any cues for Hale to pick objects up because we will teach the dogs how to do that in a certain way once they're in advanced training. However, it's great that Hale doesn't seem bothered by having different types of objects in her mouth.

Later that same day, Donna and Hale went to the grocery store. Everything went smoothly until checkout. Donna put Hale in a down-stay and began checking out, when her treat pouch came undone and all of the treats scattered all over the floor! Hale jumped right up to help clean up the mess. She must have thought it was her lucky day! But when Donna cued her to "leave it" and then put her in a down-stay, Hale listened immediately. She stayed there and watched Donna pick up the food. She only got up once when the cashier came around to help, but when Donna re-cued her, she went right back into her down-stay.

Last week, the principal at the Votech school allowed Lindsey to bring Hale. Hale fit right in! She walked the hallways and didn't seem concerned about all of the students around her. In class, she tucked herself nicely under Lindsey's desk and settled down for a nap.

Hale's training is certainly coming along! With the holidays coming up, she will probably have quite a few new adventures as she continues to learn the skills of a service dog.

SSD Hale's Secret for a Good Play-Retrieve

The trick to a good play retrieve is a squeaky ball. Or at least that's what worked for SSD Hale.

All of our puppies in training learn how to play-retrieve, a skill that comes in useful later in their service dog training when they learn how to retrieve items for their future partner. For a while, Hale wasn't quite sure what to do when Donna tossed a toy for her to retrieve. Sometimes she just sat on the toy. Meg, our volunteer trainer in the Northeast Puppy Raising Program, suggested the squeaky ball, and now Hale has been making tremendous progress with her play-retrieve! First she started actually picking it up, then she started bringing it back to Donna and dropping it right at her feet. Last week, Max (Donna's husband) and Donna took Hale out to the unfenced part of their yard to practice. Max threw the ball hard, and Hale bounded right after it, time and again! She even put the ball directly into Donna's hand. Persistence was the key. Donna didn't give up trying to teach the play-retrieve, and she tried many different methods before finding the one that worked for Hale.

Hale has also been making good progress with the stairs. She used to bunny-hop down them, but now that her legs are a little longer, she walks down them. Right now, Donna is working to teach her self control on the last few stairs. Whether they're going up or down, Hale wants to jump off the last few stairs and pull Donna with her. Now, Hale is able to pause when Donna pauses, as well as speed up or slow down with her. Donna is still paying close attention to make sure that she doesn't go back to jumping off the stairs.

She also worked on stairs at Cabela's, and she finally noticed the real stuffed animals there. She was curious but not afraid. She also went school shopping with Donna and Lindsey. Because Hale is a young puppy, and school shopping can be stressful all by itself, Donna was prepared to take Hale home if she was having a difficult time. But Hale did great!

On Wednesday, Hale went to Red Robin for her first actual meal in a restaurant. Technically, Hale didn't eat the meal. Donna and her family did, while Hale stayed tucked away under the table. Even when a gentleman stopped to pet her, she only popped her head up and then looked right at Donna. Hale definitely knew when the burgers arrived at the table, but she still behaved nicely. Good job!

Hale also attended a Puppy Raiser Council meeting with Donna. SSD has a group of experienced puppy raisers, sitters, volunteer trainers and partners who support our staff and help us make decisions. Puppy Raiser Council members also act as mentors to our new raisers. Like any of our meetings, there are always 6 or 7 dogs hanging out under the table. Hale did very nicely during the meeting, even with all of the dogs nearby. Donna took a minute to get her settled at the beginning of the meeting, but after that, Hale was able to stay at the table. Although she was a little distracted by SSD Fire and she sniffed SSD Sonora, she showed good self control and turned right back to Donna when cued.

Hale also went to a ballgame and the Strasburg Rail Road with other SSD dogs, and she is starting to learn that she can't jump on and play with other dogs.

Whenever Donna takes Hale out in public, she meets new people and hears many comments. When one child saw Hale, he asked his mom, "Why is a dog in the store?" His mother replied, "Don't pet him. He's a rescue." Although Hale is not a rescue dog and rescue dogs wouldn't necessarily be allowed public access (unless, of course, they have been trained as service or guide dogs), we appreciate when people recognize that the dogs should not be petted. Our puppy raisers do a very important job for us besides actually raising puppies. They help educate people about service dogs so that people know that they shouldn't interfere with a working dog.

At home, Hale has discovered that the couch is a wonderful piece of furniture, and she was always hopping up on it. Because all SSD dogs must be trained to ask permission before getting on the furniture, Donna has been removing her from the couch every time she jumps up without permission. One time during this learning process, Hale bounded up on the couch and then hopped right up over it! However, she quickly caught on that she needed to "ask" first by putting her chin on the couch or sitting. When Hale asks, Donna sometimes invites her up. A funny thing happened though. Hale lives with two other dogs - Nubble and Gizzy - and whenever Hale or Nubble are given permission to jump on the couch, they always look to the other dog to make sure that dog also gives the okay.

When Hale was a little puppy, she slept in a crate at night. However, she has now progress to being able to sleep outside her crate. She either sleeps curled up with Donna or she joins Nubble in his crate.

Hale will be in Gettysburg this weekend for a Ghosts of Gettysburg tour with many of our other dogs in training. We'll have lots of photos next week of the outing!

SSD Hale's Progress

SSD Hale has been busy practicing lots of service dog behaviors. She has gone out in public to the grocery store, the mall, a tack shop, the bank and Pizza Hut, as well as a few nature walks and Fire Safety Day at Outdoor World in East Berlin, PA.

With all of this traveling, Hale has learned how to settle down nicely in the car. She no longer needs to be crated. Instead, she settles down nicely in the front or back seat.


Fire Safety Day included a BBQ fundraiser for SSD, and many of our demo dogs and dogs in training went. Hale met lots of older dogs, and she seemed to handler herself fairly well, although she did bark occasionally. There were lots of emergency vehicles on display, and Hale sat nicely by the Medivac. She wasn't even fazed when it started up and took off, although by that point, they were no longer right next to it.

Because Fire Safety Day was located close to the Dillsburg Canine Spa, Donna stopped to see whether Hale likes to swim. The answer - nope! She was content to just get her feet wet. She did retrieve a toy from the edge of the water and bring it to Donna. She also got to run around with a large golden retriever and another large dog. She had a great time running with them, taking a few breaks to run behind Donna's legs.

At the mall, Donna, Hale's puppy raiser, always takes time to work on stairs. Hale is very calm going up and down stairs, although she hops like a bunny on the way down. They also practiced entering the glass elevator. To safely enter the elevator, we train our dogs to wait while we block the door, then have the dog go on through on cue. By blocking the door, we ensure that the dog isn't going to get caught in the doors or that the doors don't close with the handler inside and the dog outside. Hale did well entering the elevator.

A family with three little children got on after her, and Hale still did great! She looked at the children, looked out the window, and then focused all her attention on Donna. This is great progress for Hale. Children are a big distraction for her - she just wants to jump around with them! But she's learning that she can't play with all of the little kids she sees. She tries very hard to stay focused. Donna helps her out by staying focused as well and making sure she can't get to the end of the leash and reach the children.

They also practiced "up" and "under" with the benches at the mall. Hale needs some more practice with "under," but she loves the cue "up."

Leave it and loose leash walking are two of the most important and challenging skills for dogs to learn, and Hale has been doing very well at both. Lindsey, one of her puppy raisers, can put a big pile of kibble in front of Hale while Hale sits about eight inches away. Even when Lindsey adds pieces of meat to the pile, Hale just looks at her. Hale also keeps her self control when Lindsey tosses a piece of kibble past her!

She also walks nicely on a loose leash. Donna and Lindsey take Hale, Nubble (formerly SSD Nubble, but now a member of the family), and Gizzy for walks in the evening. Of the three of them, Hale is the best loose leash walker! Donna uses the evening walks to practice "leave it" with other objects, such as pine cones, worms, falling leaves, even Nubble. Yes, Nubble is sometimes a distraction for Hale because she loves to walk next to him and jump on him. Gradually, she is learning that it's not always proper to play with other dogs.

Hale has been learning how to play-retrieve - fun things like retrieving tennis balls and other toys. However, she's not really interested in it. Sometimes she runs right after the toy. Other times, she just looks back and forth between the toy and Donna. Sometimes she just sits on the toy and stares. From working on shaping skills, Donna has learned that when Hale gets frustrated, she starts offering any behavior, but then she just goes and sits on the object, whether it's a tennis ball, a bed, a box or her leash.

When Hale is practicing her skills at home, Nubble and Gizzy will sometimes be in the same room, depending on how many distractions Donna thinks Hale can handle. During these training sessions when all the dogs are present, a curious thing happens. The dogs sometimes compete with each other! When Donna is working on "stay," Nubble and Gizzy compete to see who could stay the longest. "I would see them eyeballing each other to see who is winning," says Donna. This competitive streak has been very useful for training Hale. Hale learned by watching the other two. If she broke the "stay" but the other two stayed put, they got treats and she didn't. But if she stayed, she got treats.

Donna used this same teaching method to work on proofing Hale's "stay." Service dogs often need to remain in a down-stay amid lots of distractions. When we train "stay," we also practice walking away from the dog, jumping around, clapping, stepping over the dog, etc. - all while the dog remains in a nice down- or sit-stay. At first, Donna couldn't do anything other than walk away from Hale. But then she put Nubble in a down-stay nearby and started walking around him and over him and clapping near him. After watching Nubble remain in a nice down-stay during all this commotion, Hale learned what she was supposed to do. Soon she was able to stay while Donna walked around her and over her. It's not perfect yet, but now she's off to a great start.

Hale still doesn't seem fond of going into a down. She usually takes her time giving a nice down with a hip roll, or else she stays in a "sphinx" down (crouched with her back legs still underneath her). She also paws the ground sometimes, and when she does give a nice down, she plops herself down very dramatically.

So far, Hale has encountered two objects that caused her some concern. The first was a fire hydrant. When she saw the hydrant across the street, she did not know what to make of it. Donna walked her over to it slowly while giving her treats. Once Hale realized that it was just a piece of metal, she was fine. (You may remember that Nubble was also unsure of fire hydrants the first time he saw them.) The other object was a child's stick horse that made galloping noises. The first time time she heard the noise, she jumped back. However, Donna was patient and gave her time to just sniff it when the horse was silent. Then Donna moved the horse away from Hale and turned it on. Hale just watched it. Donna gave her treats again, and then Hale walked toward the stick horse while it was making noises. In a little while, Donna could turn the horse on while Hale was close by and Hale didn't even care. Great job!

This Saturday, SSD and our dogs in training are going to ride the Strasburg Railroad. Hale will be coming, too! We will let you know what she thinks of her train ride.

Introducing SSD Hale

The American Heroes puppies have joined their puppy raisers, and SSD Clara Hale traveled to the Northeast group! She's being raised by Nubble's puppy raiser, Donna.

Donna and Lindsey picked up Hale from the kennel last Friday. Although Hale cried the entire ride home, just like her brothers and sisters did for their puppy raisers, she settled in well enough at home to sleep through the night. She must have tired herself out because she only woke up once to to go outside and "get busy." In fact, she has been sleeping through the night every night and she tends to wake up around 7 a.m., which is great. "That means that I am that much more able to be attentive to her," says Donna, "because I'm not exhausted from lack of sleep."

That first night, Hale met Gizzy, the family dog, and Nubble, who has come back to live with Donna and her family. They gated off the living room so that Gizzy and Nubble could greet her through the gate, and the dogs spent the rest of the evening that way. In the morning, Donna took Nubble and Hale outside to greet each other, and it went very well! Then Gizzy and Hale met each other, and it went much better than Donna was expecting. Soon, all three of them were doing wonderfully together.

Nubble absolutely loves Hale. He lets her climb all over him and chew on him. They play tug of war, and Nubble is very gentle with her. They even play with the same bone! Gizzy is also enjoying having someone her own size to play with, and all three dogs race around together. Yesterday, Donna put some ice cubes on the floor and the three dogs, plus Donna's brother's dog Rocky, ran around chasing the ice.

Hale and Nubble are best buds.

Nubble tries to escape to his crate when Hale plays too rough for him. It doesn't always work.

Hale likes drinking out of the hose, but she's not too keen on getting in the water yet.

Hale has already visited many public places already, although Donna is sticking to businesses without carpeting until she's more confident with Hale's housebreaking. So far, Hale has visited Pizza Hut, where Donna works, and Lowe's. Lindsey carried her into Wawa, and she took a very short trip to Redner's grocery store. Donna is keeping the trips very short, which is good because it sets Hale up for success.

Hale went to her first puppy class with the Northeast group and met SSD Ben, Cassie, Fred (a black, standard poodle puppy), Phoenix and Lewey. Hale and Lewey are just about the same size and they get along well. They went to a dog demo at Toybhanna Community Days on Saturday, and she met SSD Slate and SSD Sky, who are both in advanced training. Donna plans to expose her to as many different dogs as she can so she is comfortable being around strange dogs. Donna and Hale worked on greetings at Tobyhanna Community Days, and while Hale has a good start on them, Donna plans to regularly practice greetings. Hale is very much a puppy, and she does have a feisty streak.

Hale and Lewey take a break together at Tobyhanna Community Days.

Hale met all of Donna's cats. She is Baby's (the cat) size, and Baby already walks with her and lets her climb all over her. Hale is quite calm around cats, but she also doesn't seem to fear anything. One time a car door slammed, and instead of jumping away from the noise, she jumped toward it. She will also just walk right up to Donna's goats without even blinking.

She is learning very quickly. As long as Donna holds her attention, Hale soaks up new behaviors and cues like a sponge. She already sits nicely for her food. It did take her a few meals for her to figure out that she won't get her food if she barks at Donna or swipes at her or the food bowl with her paws. She caught Donna by surprise the first time she pawed at the food bowl, and she knocked the bowl right out of Donna's hands! But after that, Donna worked with her and now she sits nicely.

Most of the cues we teach our dogs involve both a verbal cue and a hand signal. Donna has noticed that Hale will sit with the hand signal, but if she gives the hand signal too far above Hale's head, she gets bored and loses interest. She's learning "down," but she tends to dig with her paws as she moves into a down. When Hale can't figure out what Donna is asking, she jumps at her and barks or puppy growls. Although the behavior is cute, Donna isn't letting her continue it. Behaviors such as jumping on people and barking are very cute coming from a puppy, but if that behavior is allowed to continue, soon it'll be a 60 pound dog jumping and barking - which is not nearly as cute and can actually be dangerous. We train our dogs to keep all four paws on the ground (unless cued otherwise).

Hale definitely knows her name, and she enjoys practicing recalls. She is also learning "stand," she loves doing "up" (putting her front paws on an object on cue) and she knows "off" (getting off furniture or other objects). Donna is working on hand targeting, and Hale will touch her nose gently to Donna's hand without trying to chew on it. She also takes her treats very nicely without being sharky (using her teeth excessively). So far, Hale doesn't really chew on things that she's not supposed to. This time, Donna is keeping lots of rope and chew toys and bones around so Hale always has an appropriate item to chew on. At first, she thought the clicker was also a fun thing to chew on, but now she has realized that it's not a toy.

Hale helps with some interior decorating.

Each dog has their own personality and temperament, and Donna has noticed that Hale and Nubble are very different dogs. "Both are great in their own way but they're definitely very different," she says.

We can't wait to learn more about SSD Hale and her progress with her puppy raisers!