Service Dog Training: The Walk and Talk

SSD Lucky explores a new object

Guest post by Becky Dombrowsky, SSD Lucky’s puppy raiser

SSD Lucky has now finished the first part of his service dog training—Early Socialization Class (ESC). During ESC, he and other puppies his age met every week for eight weeks to learn the basics of being a future service dog. They practiced cues like “sit,” “down,” recalls, loose leash walking, and many more. These weekly classes help give puppy raisers a strong support system as the puppies grow and learn quickly.

At the end of those eight weeks, SSD schedules a one-on-one meeting with the training staff called a “Walk and Talk.” Other programs accredited by Assistance Dogs International (ADI) also use Walk and Talks to assess their puppies in training. By using the same assessment tool, SSD is able to collaborate with other ADI programs about puppies in training and breeding. SSD Lucky did his first one around four months old. He’ll do another one later in his training.

Walk and Talks take place in a neutral space, ideally somewhere the dog is not familiar with. Lucky had his at Keystone Human Services’ main office in Harrisburg, PA. When we arrived, Lucky demonstrated how to safely exit a vehicle and he was given a chance to potty before entering the building. Inside, we met Lauren Holtz, the Puppy Development Coordinator, and a volunteer who was filming the session.

Lucky walks across new surfaces 

Lauren guided us through the building, giving us instructions as we went. Lucky was given the chance to explore the new space without guidance from me, which gave Lauren the opportunity to see what choices he makes on his own. These choices can be different than the choices he would make when working with a person. There’s no correct choice.

We then demonstrated basic cues like “sit” and “down” on the verbal and hand cues separately.

We practiced walking up and down stairs. Lucky does better going down stairs in a controlled manner than he does going up, so we are continuing to practice going up. Lauren reviewed the video with me after the Walk and Talk and explained that Lucky might be pulled ahead of me on the way up because I’m clicking slightly later than I should be. I’m marking his position when he’s slightly in front of me instead of directly next to me. When he walking on a loose leash, I will work to correct his position next to me. It was great to be able to see this on video.

Another big part of service dog work is walking on different surfaces, body handling, and maneuvering in tight spaces. One place to practice is in a public restroom setting. Service dogs should enter the stall first, turn around, and then back up next to the toilet. This is also a great place to practice self-control so he doesn’t sneak a drink!

Lucky sits exactly where he's supposed to

What does Lucky need to continue to work on? Good loose leash walking and proper positioning on the stairs, especially when going up. He also had a hard time settling in a crate at the end of the session. While we practice good crate behavior in different rooms at my house and at work, we need to continue to practice in different locations. This is a little more challenging to do since it requires me to have a crate with me, but I plan to practice at other people’s houses where they have crates. I also have a travel crate.

Want to help Lucky with his training? Donate to build a new training center for Susquehanna Service Dogs! Give here: https://crowdrise.com/susquehanna-capital-campaign

Puppy Swap for Success

Different raiser, different house, different routine—it’s a puppy swap! SSD Lucky spent a week with puppy raisers Revenda and Brian Bierley to broaden his experiences. These puppy swaps are an important part of Lucky’s early socialization, helping him learn to work with other people and settle in to a new environment. After all, he’ll one day live at our kennel during the week while he’s in advanced training, and then he’ll ultimately go live with his new partner.

Revenda chronicled Lucky’s time with them:

“When he arrived, SSD Lucky was extremely excited to find SSD Russet, a 16-month-old golden retriever, waiting to show him the ropes. Their first introduction was typical: a lot of circling and sniffing. Lucky quickly became Russet’s sidekick and they enjoyed a lot of playtime. On occasion, Lucky’s energy surpassed Russet’s patience, and Russet took refuge in a quiet corner of the house.

Lucky’s first outing occurred the second day of his puppy swap when he visited the Carlisle Library. The library is a great place to take young service dogs in training because it offers a wide array of opportunities to practice newly learned cues along with new experiences.

Lucky practiced down-stays in the book aisles and went under chairs and tables. We also found some unique surfaces for him to stand on, practiced walking on stairs, and every worked on his elevator skills. Lucky will practice these behaviors in many different environments as he continues his journey to become a service dog.

He did such a lovely job practicing his newly learned cues at the library that we added a short walk around town. We kept the walk short, but it gave him the opportunity to experience the noise of traffic, crossing a crosswalk, and walking up cement steps.

On Friday, he went swimming with Russet. They enjoyed romping around the pool, chasing each other, and retrieving toys from the pool. Lucky quickly found his inner water dog and is well on his way to becoming an accomplished swimmer.

On the weekend, Lucky went on an outing with Russet. We took both dogs to Kohl’s, where Lucky (and Russet) practiced loose leash walking, down-stays, and “under.” This time, Lucky has the added distraction of working in close proximity to another service dog in training. This was a very successful outing, and Lucky was unfazed by Russet.

Toward the end of our time at Kohl’s, two small children asked to say hello to Lucky. He did a nice job keeping all four paws on the floor, even as his little tail was wagging a mile a minute.*

On Monday, Lucky went on one more outing with us before his scheduled return to his raiser. He was a rock star at T.J.Maxx. For a 3-month-old puppy, he showed off some impressive loose leash walking. I heard multiple people commenting on how well he was doing. We also took the opportunity to practice “under” and down-stays, as well.”

It sounds like Lucky gained some valuable experiences! He’ll continue to build skills like these over the next 15-18 months.

*Note: Even though the public is not supposed to pet service dogs, we train all of our dogs to be able to handle greetings. They’re trained to keep all four paws on the floor and stay focused on the person holding the leash. It’s all part of their training to ignore distractions.

Help build a new training center for our dogs in training! Donate here: https://www.crowdrise.com/susquehanna-capital-campaign  

Service Dog Training at the Elizabethtown Fair

Guest post by Becky Dombrowsky, puppy raiser and volunteer

One of the reasons I love raising a puppy is it encourages me to go out and experience new things. Last year, Matt and I moved from Harrisburg to Elizabethtown, PA to be closer to his job. In that time, we have explored some of the restaurants in the area, but that is about it. I was excited to learn that Etown has its own fair!

Matt and I had planned to attend on Thursday night with Lucky, but the weather was supposed to get into the 90s. Friday’s forecast was much cooler, so that was the better choice.   

Not having been to the fair before, I wasn't sure what to expect. Assuming there would be all sorts of smells and foods, I knew I needed to make sure to bring along good power treats to keep Lucky's attention. We packed dog food as usual, but I also had some other dog treats plus small pieces of hot dog. I like using hot dogs because the juice gets onto the kibble and turns the kibble also a higher value treat. Last I grabbed a travel bowl and water, and off we went.

We decided to pay $5 to park closer to the fair. I was amazed by all the people, rides, food, games, music, animals and smells! Since we didn't know our way around, we headed into the fair and started exploring. Click-treat, click-treat, click-treat. And then it started: "Excuse me, can I pet your puppy?" 

At this point, I can choose to say yes or no, based on Lucky’s behavior. I picked yes, and asked them to pet him behind his harness when all four feet are on the ground. Lucky practices a lot of greetings when he’s in the office with me, so I was confident he could be successful with the greeting. It went well, we took two steps, and someone else asked to pet him. I realized I had started down a rabbit hole and we had just became the most exciting thing at the fair. We continued with a couple more greetings; it was nice for Lucky to practice greetings with younger children. Greeting with little kids can be tough for a puppy because the kids are so much closer to the puppy than an adult. We then made a quick exit and headed for the food.

While Matt ate the amazing fair foods, Lucky and I found a seat and listened to the music coming from the stage. We worked on "down" and hanging out as the sun set.

From there, we decided to head over to the animal section. The fair had many farm animals, which Lucky had never seen before. First up was the sheep. Lucky wasn't so sure about him, and we worked up to being a couple feet away. 

Lucky did get startled with the sheep baa-ed at him. I decided to make this less stressful on both animals and picked Lucky up as we walked through the rest of the animal area to also meet a cow, baby ducks, and a goat. 

It’s important to remember the animals at the fair had limited space to move away if they weren't comfortable, so I did my best to keep Lucky’s exposures short.

On the way out of the fair, there were far less people and it made walking by all the games and rides a lot easier. 

I think the night was a success. I look forward to getting to build Lucky's confidence with different animals as he grows. 

Help Susquehanna Service Dogs train more dogs like SSD Lucky! Donate to build a new training center: https://crowdrise.com/susquehanna-capital-campaign 

SSD Lucky Had How Many New Experiences?

Wait! Don’t read this blog post if you haven’t already read yesterday’s post about SSD Lucky and his new experiences.

If you already read yesterday’s post, thank you! How many different experiences did you count from our tale of Lucky’s weekend?

Here are the ones we counted:

1. New house
2. Sleeping in the guest room
3. Crate located at the foot of the bed
4. Can’t see his raiser from his crate
5. Two other dogs in the house
6. Sounds from other dogs at night
7. Yard sale (This could probably fill up 12+ experiences alone!)
8. Down-stays on different surfaces
9. New children
10. New adults
11. Wooden deck
12. Down the wooden open riser stairs
13. Up the wooden open riser stairs
14. New backyard

Look for the next post about SSD Lucky in the coming weeks! 

Can You Count All of SSD Lucky's New Experiences?

Meet SSD Lucky! He’s two months old today, and we’re going to be following him throughout his training to become a service dog. He’s part of our Fortune Litter, born on May 21.

Lucky is being raised by Becky Dombrowsky, one of our long-time raisers. He’s the eighth dog she has raised. Do you know any of these dogs?

• SSD Scotia, one of our former breeders
• SSD Bridge, currently working as a balance dog
• SSD Jade, one of our demonstration dogs
• Raptor, a beloved pet
• Larson, currently working as a detection dog with the United Nations
• Lincoln, a beloved pet
• SSD Larry, currently in advanced training

Lucky lives with Becky, her husband, Scotia, and four cats. (Yes, you can raise a puppy if you have other animals in your family!) On weekends, Larry returns from advanced training, adding another dog to the mix. Growing up with other animals is a wonderful experience for our puppies in training since we never know if their future partner will have pets.

But that’s a potential topic for the future. Today we’re going to talk about early puppy experiences.

The goal is to expose the puppies to 12 new things every day. These new things can be sights, sounds, smells, surfaces, places to potty, objects, and more. The key, though, is to make sure each experience is a positive one so the puppy builds up memories of lots of positive experiences they can draw on throughout the rest of their training.

Lucky had a busy weekend! How many different experiences can you count?

Over the weekend, Lucky went with Becky and her husband to her parents’ house for a neighborhood yard sale. They spent the night, staying in the guest room. Lucky slept in his crate, which is where he usually sleeps. However, unlike at home, Lucky’s crate was at the foot of the bed and he couldn’t see Becky. There were two other Labradors in the house, and Lucky could hear them move around the house at night, even though he couldn’t see them.

During the yard sale, Lucky practiced long down-stays, an important skill for service dogs to perfect in all environments. Since many new people stopped by the yard sale, he also worked on calm greetings with kids and adults of all ages. (Even though people aren’t supposed to pet service dogs, we still make sure our dogs learn how to properly greet people. We’ll talk about that in a future blog post.)

Perhaps Lucky’s biggest new experience happened in the backyard. Becky’s parents have a deck with wooden open riser stairs. Little Lucky calmly trotted down the stairs to the grass without a problem. Going back up was a different story. The backs of the stair were open and looked completely different. He wasn’t sure he could go back up. “From my point of view, it looked easy,” said Becky. “But from his view, it didn’t look safe or even possible to get back up on the deck.”

She let Lucky explore the stairs without any pressure to climb them, and as he got more comfortable, he walked up two steps! “We’ll continue to expose him to stairs like this as he gets older,” said Becky.

How many experiences did you count? Let us know in the comments. We’ll post the ones we counted tomorrow afternoon.  

All of these new experiences are helping to prepare Lucky to be a service dog. By law, he’ll be able to accompany his partner anywhere that’s open to the public, so he needs to be able to calmly handle and even enjoy being in many different environments.

Look for more posts about SSD Lucky in the future!

Help us build a new training center for our puppies like Lucky! Donate today: https://crowdrise.com/susquehanna-capital-campaign

How to Train a Long Down-Stay

Originally published in our newsletter, Independence Unleashed, April-June 2016

A long down-stay is one of the behaviors that many dogs struggle with when they enter Advanced Training. Yet this seemingly simple behavior is extremely important for working service dogs. Their partners will use this behavior all the time. A long down-stay is one of the behaviors that helps a service dog become invisible in public. When they go to a restaurant, the dog will be in a long down-stay under the table. Movie theater? Long down-stay. Office or school? Long down-stay. Airplane or public transportation? Long down-stay. As you can see, a dog cannot be placed as a service dog until they have mastered this behavior.

Service dogs must be able to hold a quiet down-stay for a long time, without needing to be re-cued and without barking or whining.

How do you train it?

The key to training a long down-stay is to never treat the dog during the stay. When puppies are very young, you can cue them to “down,” give them a treat (but no click), and then cue them to “stay.” Then they don’t get another treat until you let them know the behavior is over by clicking and treating.

For older puppies, you should simply cue them to “down” and “stay” without giving them a treat. They get the treat at the end of the behavior, when the down-stay is over. Only then do you click and treat.

What if the dog gets up?

If the dog stands up before you let them know the down-stay was over, you can re-cue them to “down” and “stay.” But don’t give them a treat! It’s extremely important that you do NOT give them a treat when they lie back down. Why? If you treat them to lie back down, the puppy learns that when they stand up, they’ll be given something to do and get another treat. And since these are smart dogs, they’ll just keep standing up so they can get another treat for lying back down.

If a dog knows that they’ll only get a treat at the end of the long down-stay, they’ll learn to settle much better. The ideal long down-stay results in the puppy completely relaxing with their head down.

Where and when should you practice?

A great place to start teaching your puppy is in your own home! You can start at the kitchen table. Put them on a leash during dinner and cue them to “down” and “stay.” That way, if they bark or whine, they won’t interrupt anyone but you. Plus, you won’t be tempted to treat them to make them be quiet. Once your puppy can handle a long down-stay at your kitchen table (or anywhere in your house), you can try other places.

Please remember, though, that the length of your dog’s down-stay will depend on their age. A 10-week-old puppy may not be able to do a 30 minute down-stay (unless they’re sleeping).

With consistent practice, your dog will be able to settle into a relaxed, long down-stay and become practically invisible when they’re out in public.

Service Dogs in Training Visit Harrisburg International Airport

Fifty of our service dogs in training now know how to fly on a plane!

On December 3, we took our puppies in training to HarrisburgInternational Airport for a training outing. After parking in long-term parking, the dogs and their raisers took the shuttle to the terminal. Once in the terminal, the dogs practiced loose leash walking around the other travelers, as well as taking elevators and stairs.

Navigating stairs and elevators are important skills for service dogs. The dogs need to walk right next to their handler on the stairs. The dog should take the stairs one at a time and not charge to the top or bottom. This skill becomes especially important when a service dog is working with a child or someone with mobility issues. If the dog were to charge ahead, they could injure their partner.

Elevators are equally important. To correctly enter an elevator, the dog must wait while their handler blocks the doors with their body to prevent the doors from closing and hitting the dog. The handler then cues the dog to “go on through.” Once the dog is complete inside, the handler follows the dog into the elevator. We usually encourage our puppy raisers to move their puppy in training to one of the back corners of the elevator to keep the dog out of the way and reduce the risk of the puppy trying to dash out of the elevator doors when the open. Getting off the elevator is a similar process, with the handler once again blocking the door.

Each of our puppies in training had the opportunity to go through airport security and practice getting patted down by a TSA agent. By law, service dogs cannot be separated from their partner, nor can any of their equipment (leash, harness, etc.) be removed. The dogs can be patted down, which can be very exciting for the dogs. Our puppies in training practiced staying focused on their raisers while the TSA agent patted them down.

In the past our outings to the airport usually ended after walking through security. But this time, we got to practice boarding a plane! Thanks to American Airlines, our puppies in training learned how to navigate the aisles of the plane and curl up beneath the seat in front of their raisers. This is such an important skill for our puppies to practice because service dogs can travel in the cabin with the partners. However, they are required to ride in small space at their partner’s feet or under the seat in front of them. This can be challenging for a dog who has never done it before.

Other tips for preparing your service dog for traveling by plane:

Avoid giving the dog food or water before traveling

Give them lots of playtime and exercise to tire them out

Bring something for them to chew on, which will keep them occupied if it’s a long flight

Check out this video from HIA about our adventure!

Thank you to Harrisburg International Airport, the TSA agents, and American Airlines for giving our dogs in training this valuable experience! They’ll be ready to fly with their future partners someday!

The Importance of a Good "Leave It"

The snow from the massive snow storm is starting to melt, but it can still be slippery out there. Floors and stairs inside can also become slick from snow that gets tracked inside on your shoes. While you’re out with your puppy in training during this time of year, one cue can mean the difference between staying on your feet and falling to the ground.

 

That cue is “leave it.”

 

SSD Elwood’s puppy raiser, Kelly Slabonik, knows the value of a good “leave it.” As she and Elwood were walking down the stairs at work, clicking and treating, one of Elwood’s treats fell out of his mouth and rolled down the stairs. Kelly immediately said, “Leave it.”

 

Instead of lunging down the stairs and possibly taking Kelly down with him, Elwood continued to walk calmly by her side. When they reached the step with the treat, he waiting while Kelly picked it up.

 

No one fell down the stairs. No one got hurt.

 

And Elwood got a jackpot of treats to reinforce his excellent behavior!

 

All of our puppies in training start learning “leave it” soon after they join their puppy raisers. It’s one of the more difficult behaviors for a dog to learn and needs to be reinforced constantly.

 

We start training “leave it” by holding a piece of dog food in a closed hand in front of the puppy. We click and treat when the puppy ignores the closed hand and makes eye contact with their raiser. Once the puppy is consistently doing this behavior, we make it harder by holding the food in an open hand, again clicking and treating when the puppy ignores the food.

 

We continue to make the behavior harder by putting the food in different places, such as on the floor, on a coffee table, or on a chair. We use different types of food and objects. The dogs practice walking past food on the floor, table, etc., both on and off leash. And then we work on ignoring food that falls to the ground in front of them.

 

We also train our dogs not to lunge after treats that fall out of their mouth. Dropped treats are lost treats. This is especially important for when the dog is working with their partner. We don’t want the dog to injure their partner because they were chasing after a treat.

 

Do you have a “leave it” story about your service dog or dog in training? Feel free to share it in the comments!

Happy National Cat Day!

Garfunkel enjoys a beautiful day at the kennel.

Happy National Cat Day! Yes, you read that right. Today, we’re celebrating cats! Specifically, we would like to celebrate two cats—Garfunkel and Vader. These two black cats live at the kennel and help us train our service dogs.

We make sure that all of our service dogs are okay around cats. While the dogs are in training, we never know who they’re going to be partnered with. We don’t know if that person will have cats or if they have friends or family who have cats. Plus, it’s always possible to come into contact with cats outside, and the dogs need to be able to ignore them and stay focused on their partner.

Every dog in our program meets Garfunkel and Vader at some point. In fact, it’s common for one or both of them to greet you when you arrive at the kennel. (They’ve also been known to stow away in people’s cars if they leave the windows open!) Many of our puppies in training see the cats when they arrive for puppy classes or when they have playdates in our fields.

We have also recruited Garfunkel and Vader to help the dogs practice recalls. In puppy class, we play our version of golf. The puppy raiser puts their dog in a down-stay or sit in one marked square, then walks 10 meters away to a second box. The raiser then calls their dog to come. Sounds pretty simple, but then we add some distractions, like kibble, tennis balls, or one of the cats. Garfunkel or Vader will be in a crate between the dog and their puppy raiser, and the dog must trot right over to their raiser without stopping to investigate the cat.

We also deliberately introduce the dogs to the cats during their one year evaluation to see how they do.  

So our cats play a big role in our dogs’ training to help them become successful service dogs. And that’s why we’re celebrating cats today!

How to Clicker Train Your Velociraptor

*This post may contain mild spoilers for the movie Jurassic World. But we promise it’s nothing that will ruin the movie for you.

The Internet has been full of movie clips and memes of Chris Pratt’s Jurassic World character Owen wrangling four velociraptors. If you haven’t seen any of the trailers, you can watch one here. The first 35 seconds show Owen interacting with the velociraptors.

The cool thing that you don’t see in the trailers, though, is that Owen trained these dinosaurs using clicker training. That’s really exciting! Clicker training is a positive reinforcement method of training where a desired behavior is marked and rewarded. This type of training can play a role in the bond between an animal and the trainer, creating “a relationship based on respect” as Owen says in the movie.

All of our service dogs are trained using clicker training. We start then when they’re very young. Our dogs go to puppy raisers when they’re eight weeks old, and our raisers start by clicking and treating the puppies just for making eye contact (“attention”). The pups learn that every time they hear the click, they get a yummy treat, so of course they want to repeat the behavior that caused the click.

The wonderful thing about clicker training is that it’s a very clear form of communication. The click clearly marks a behavior, so the dog knows exactly when they’re doing the right thing. The treat then rewards them for it, so the dog is much more inclined to repeat the behavior and even build on it. Using this method, we can easily train a dog to do more complex behaviors, like turning on a light switch, picking up an item, or opening a door. Because the dog is having fun and being rewarded, they often learn quickly.

Plus, the dogs love it! After a while, when our puppy raisers don their clicker and treat pouch, the dogs come running!

Watch the video of SSD Aunt Laura learning how to “heel.” Listen for the click. Revenda, her puppy raiser, clicks every time Laura moves her back legs into the correct position at Revenda’s side. Notice that with each click, Laura gets a treat.

Since this video was taken, Laura has mastered “heel” (swinging into place on her handler’s left side) and “side” (swinging into place at her handler’s right side). You can tell from the video that Laura is enjoying herself. Her tail is wagging and she’s engaged with her raiser.

Now, we know that the clicker training portrayed in Jurassic World is a far cry from what it should actually look like. But we understand that choices undoubtedly had to be made for cinematic effect.  We’re still happy to see this positive training method get a few moments on the big screen.

So we want to know. What behaviors have you taught your “velociraptor” using clicker training? 

Five Tips for a Successful Farm Show Visit

It’s Farm Show time! The Pennsylvania Farm Show starts on Saturday, January 10. If you’re from Central PA, you’ve probably been counting down the days till you could get a milkshake from the PA Farm Show.

This is the largest indoor agricultural exhibit in the United States, and between the animals, produce, competitive exhibits, and vendors, and of course, the butter sculpture, there’s lots to see. And then there’s the food!

The Farm Show is a great experience for our service dogs in training. We usually take our advanced training dogs at least once. Because there are so many smells, crowds, and food on the floor, it’s a very challenging outing. Here are five tips to help you and your service dog in training have a successful trip.

Bring Amazing Power Treats

The Farm Show is chock full of things to distract your dog. You’re going to be competing with animals, food, and crowds of people for your dog’s attention. Make sure you pull out all the stops and bring amazing power treats. If your usual power treats are hotdogs, consider bringing something even better, like hamburger, chicken, or leftover steak. You want your dog to say “Wow, I want more of that!” so they stay focused on you instead of trying to vacuum the Food Court floor.

Plan a Short Visit

The Farm Show is a very challenging outing. While you might want to spend a few hours walking around to see everything, your dog may only be able to handle 30 minutes. Plan to keep your visit short and only stay as long as your dog is being successful.

Be Aware of the Other Animals’ Reactions

It’s a great experience for your dog to walk through the exhibits of horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens. However, these other animals might not be happy being around your dog. Please keep an eye on the other animals’ reactions to your dog, and if they seem distressed, remove your dog, even if your dog is being perfectly calm.

Don’t Be Afraid to Say No

The Farm Show is usually crowded, and many people will want to pet your dog. Don’t be afraid to say no if your dog can’t handle a greeting at that time or if you just want to keep your dog focused on you. Of course, the Farm Show is also a good opportunity to practice greetings if you think your dog will be successful.

Don’t Expect Perfection

We said it earlier, but we’ll say it again. The Farm Show is a hard outing. Your dog will not be perfect. Be patient and celebrate the small successes your dog has.

Do you have other tips for navigating the Farm Show with your service dog in training? Leave them in the comments.

Have fun and enjoy your Farm Show milkshake!

Gold Star Behavior: Heel

All of our puppy raisers teach their service dogs in training 26 behaviors. However, there are a few that we consider “gold star” behaviors. These are the behaviors that we would love for all of our dogs to know by the time they come to the kennel for advanced training. These gold star behaviors are “lap,” “visit,” “heel,” “back,” and loose leash walking.

Right now, all of our puppies in training are working on “heel” in puppy class. When the behavior is finished, the dog should swing his hind legs around until he’s standing parallel against his handler’s left side.

We have a very specific way of training “heel.” All of our dogs start learning the behavior on a heel box, which is a one foot square box about six inches high. The dogs put their front feet on the box, which then acts as an anchor for the dog’s front paws while they learn to move their back legs counter clockwise. Once the dog puts his front paws on the box, the handler starts stepping counter clockwise around the box, clicking and treating the dog for moving their hind legs. Gradually, we hold the click until the dog has taken several steps. Eventually, the dog will pivot the entire way around the box until they’re in the heel position at their handler’s left side.

Watch SSD Laura move her back legs all the way around the box. Note that at this point, we’re not using any cues.

The behavior isn’t finished yet. Now we take the box away and start the process all over again with a board or piece of paper on the floor instead of the box. SSD Laura’s puppy raisers used a square board. Watch how Laura continues to move her back legs around the board.

Finally, it’s time to remove the board or paper. At this point we can add the cue “heel,” if the dog is moving into the heel position consistently. Look at how Laura snaps into the heel position regardless of how her puppy raiser moves.

As you’ve probably guessed, it takes time for the dogs to learn “heel,” since there are so many steps. Dogs that come into advanced training already knowing “heel” will be able to start learning other behaviors sooner than dogs that still need to work on the behavior.

We’ve seen lots of dogs in puppy class who are on their way to finishing this gold star behavior!

Creative Behavior Challenge: Can Dogs Paint?

We have some budding artists in our Northeast Puppy Raising Program, and they all have four paws. SSD Olympia and the other service dogs in training in our Northeast group are learning how to draw and paint, and it’s all part of their service dog training.

Our Northeast Puppy Raising Program has been meeting in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday evenings for over six years. Classes are taught by Meg Irizarry, who has been a force-free dog trainer for more than two decades. She provides guidance and shares her knowledge and expertise with our puppy raisers. The Northeast group goes on many outings to places like mini-golf, the movies, a dairy farm, grocery stores, casinos, and even bowling. They also make a yearly outing to the airport, where the service dogs in training experience airport security.

Every year for fun and to improve the raisers’ training skills, Meg assigns a Creative Behavior Challenge. For this challenge, the raisers need to devise their own training plans and present the finished multi-step behaviors to the class. Skilled service dogs must be able to perform multi-step tasks, so we teach them how to “chain” behaviors together.

One year, Meg asked each raiser to use their imagination in creating a task involving orange cones. For instance, Susan taught SSD Slate to play soccer. He nosed a ball between two cones. Score! Sarah S. taught SSD Sky to recognize a picture of an orange triangle and then match it with an orange cone. Building on that skill, Sky also matched a picture of a green square with a green felt box and a picture of a red circle with a red ball. Pretty impressive! (Word around the hydrants is that Sky is now reading 101 Dalmations!)

Deb taught SSD Zane to put a cone on a puddle of spilled water to make sure no one slipped and got hurt. SSD Graham learned how to put plastic rings on a cone, thanks to Sarah K. Knowing Graham, he probably keeps his toy box organized, too.

Another year, Meg asked the raisers to choreograph a canine freestyle dance routine. SSD Nubble danced to “I Can See Clearly Now” with raisers Donna and Lindsey. Nubble was definitely the best dancer of the three, mostly because he is so adorable.

Last year’s challenge involved a secret phrase for each pup. Each raiser taught their dog a task demonstrating the phrase. The class then tried to guess the phrase based on the task performed. Sarah and SSD McKinley’s phrase was “tragedy/comedy.” McKinley “played dead” and then jumped up at the last minute to make everyone laugh. Donna’s phrase was “in/out,” so she taught SSD Roo to ring a doorbell to enter the classroom. After the challenge, this skill came in handy at home. Roo would ring a doorbell installed at nose height for permission to come inside. This was more pleasant than barking to be let in.

This year, we have our canine artists. In the spring, Meg handed out non-toxic markers and paper. The task was “Drawing for Dogs 101.” To accomplish this challenge with SSD Olympia, Donna devised a series of steps. First, Olympia targeted (touched) the paper with her nose. Then she targeted the paper with the marker in her mouth. Donna’s plan was to have Olympia draw a triangle, but Olympia gets very excited while training and consequently drew in a more abstract style.

Donna also found that Olympia tended to water down the markers with her saliva, so she decided to teach her how to use paint. This required additional steps to target the paint palette, as well as some experimentation to find the best painting tool. A sponge brush ended up working best. Olympia continues to enjoy creating works of art and her raiser says that Olympia hopes to cushion her retirement savings with the proceeds from her paintings!

What do you think of Olympia’s masterpieces?

All the raisers in the Northeast group are looking forward to next year, when Meg will surely ask them to rise to the challenge again. 

26 Cues

When our puppy raisers are handed one of our puppies, they become responsible for training that dog for the first 12-18 months of his life. Puppy raisers teach the dogs the basic service dog cues and good house manners, as well as take the dogs out in public to gain as many experiences as possible. But what are these basic cues? For a service dog, the basics involve a little more than “sit” and “stay.”

Our puppy raisers are responsible for teaching their puppy 26 cues. We cover 10 of these cues in puppy class. The other 16 are detailed in the puppy manual that each puppy raiser receives, and raisers can always ask one of our trainers or veteran puppy raisers for help with a cue. We’re always happy to help!

Here are the 26 cues that form the foundation of every Susquehanna Service Dog:

All the way up

The dog puts all four paws on an object.

Back

The dog walks 5-7 steps backward. Dogs that don’t know “back” will be limited in their placement. For example, a dog that doesn’t know “back” can’t open a door and therefore can’t be placed with someone in a wheelchair.

Car

“Car” cues the dog to jump into the car. The dogs need to practice getting in and out of cars, vans, SUVs, trucks, etc., and they should be able to get in through any door, including the trunk in a van or SUV.

Recalls (come)

A good recall can save a dog’s life. Our dogs practice recalls inside and outside in many different situations and environments.

Comfort trainer

Depending on their placement, a dog may wear a comfort trainer. For example, all of our balance dogs wear comfort trainers to give their partners more control over the dog. We want to make it as easy as possible for our partners to dress their dog for work, so we train our dogs to put their snout through the comfort trainer and hold it there while their partner secures it.

Down

The dog lies down and rolls their hip.

Easy

“Easy” cues the dog to take treats nicely. This is especially important if the dog is going to be placed with a child.

Fix

The dog untangles himself from the leash.

Get busy

The dog potties on cue, on any surface on and off leash. Again, this is an important cue. We never know where a dog is going to be placed. A dog living in the city won’t necessarily have the luxury of a nice patch of grass, so they’ll need to be comfortable going on concrete or asphalt.

Get dressed

This is another cue that’s helpful for partners who have limited mobility. On cue, the dog puts his head through the harness and stands still while it’s buckled.

Go on through

The dog goes through an opening, turns around, and looks that the handler, without pulling to the end of the leash. “Go on through” can be used to go through doorways, maneuver through aisles or other tight spaces, or even simply have the dog turn around in an open space.

Go to bed

We have found that many of our partners use the “go to bed” cue. “Go to bed” means the dog goes to a designated bed or towel, lies down, and stays there until released. Our facility dogs perform this cue a lot when they’re not needed with the students. It also lets the dog know that it’s time to relax.

Heel

On the cue “heel,” the dog moves to stand on the handler’s left side. “Heel” takes a long time to train because there are so many steps to it. We train it using a box. The dog puts her front paws on the box and we click and treat her for moving her back feet around the box.

Kennel

The dog walks into her crate and stays there, regardless of whether the door is open. The dog should be able to do this whether or not the handler is in the room. All of our dogs are crate trained, and while the dog is in the crate, she should be quiet and relaxed, even if there are other activities going on around her.

Lap

Every single dog that we place learns this behavior, and it’s a favorite among our partners. On cue, the dog rests her front legs in the handler’s lap. The dog should be able to do this from either side. Lap can be used to give pressure to relieve anxiety, or as a way to a dog to deliver an item to someone in a wheelchair. It’s also a great way for handlers to pay attention to their dog.

Leave it

“Leave it” is a behavior that never ends. We are always working on it with our dogs. A good “leave it,” like a good recall, can save a dog’s life. We start training this cue by holding a piece of kibble in a closed fist and clicking the dog for looking away from the fist. Eventually, the dog should be able to walk by anything interesting on the floor, tables, chairs, etc. and ignore it. We encourage our puppy raisers to continue practicing all of the steps, even if their dog has a solid “leave it.” In Team Training, we show our partners how to work on “leave it” from the very beginning steps, and it’s always easier to have a dog that remembers it.

Let’s go

The dog begins to walk next to her handler.

Name

At Susquehanna Service Dogs, the dog’s name is a rewardable cue. Whenever our puppy raisers say their dog’s name, the dog should look at them and they should be rewarded for it. This is why we don’t train a “look at me” type cue. The dog’s name is the cue to look at their handler.

Off

“Off” should only be used if a dog has put their paws on something they’re allowed to be on. For example, if you invite them up on the couch and now you want them back on the floor, you would say “off.” You could also use it to ask your dog to leave your lap. “Off” should not be used if the dog is doing something they shouldn’t be doing. For example, if they put their paws up on the counter. In that case, you would simply take their collar and guide them off the counter without a cue.

Okay

“Okay” is the word that releases a dog from a behavior. For example, we use it to tell a dog they can come out of their crate, and we use it to release a dog to eat.

Paw

The dog puts their paw in your hand. This can be a useful cue for nail clipping and grooming.

Side

“Side” is the opposite of “heel.” The dog moves to stand next to their handler on the right side. We teach it the same way we teach “heel.”

Sit

“Sit” is probably one of the most basic cues. It’s also one of the easiest cues to forget to practice once a dog learns it. However, it’s important to continue practicing solid sits so that the dog actually does a “sit” rather than sliding right into a “down.”

Stay

“Stay” tells the dog to remain exactly where they are. The dog should be able to perform this behavior in a sit, down, and stand. There are two types of stays. One is a cued “stay” where the dog stays alert to his handler. The other is a relaxed stay that may or may not have been cued. The handler is busy doing something else, and the dog just relaxes in a down and maybe even falls asleep.

Stand

The dog stands with no movement. The dog shouldn’t stand and then sit, or stand and move around. To get a solid stand, delay the click after giving the cue. The dog will most likely stay still until they hear the click. Then simply delay the click longer each time so you’re actually clicking for the standing and waiting in that position.

Under

The dog goes under an object, such as a bench, table, or chair. Even big dogs can fit until low benches and chairs. “Under” gets the dog out of the way of other people that may be passing by. It keeps people from tripping over the dog, and it protects the dog from being stepped on.

Up

The dog puts two paws on an object. It can be hard for a dog to distinguish between “up” and “all the way up,” so it may be helpful to practice “up” against a wall and just have the dog put their feet against the wall.

Visit

Visit is another favorite of our partners. Every single one of our dogs learns this behavior. On cue, the dog puts her head in the handler’s lap or hand. 

When our dogs enter advanced training already knowing all of these cues, they can jump right into the more advanced cues they’ll need to assist their future partners.