From our wonderful trainer, Beverly, who had her first session with Dennis. Dennis has been in a wheelchair for many years, and just lost his dog, who was his dear companion. He wants to train his dog, Lily, to be a Service Dog to help with mobility and depression. Beverly writes:

“Dennis adopted Lily about 2 weeks ago, and they already have a wonderful bond. Lily is attentive and listens to commands fairly well, although she needs a bit more consistency to do the commands when asked the first time. That will come with time and further training as she is a very smart and attentive dog. She already knows “sit”, “down”, “stay”, and “leave it”.

It’s obvious how much Dennis loves dogs, as he is an avid rescuer and life-long animal lover. He is still very active even though he has been in a wheelchair for 45 years. Lily will be a great partner for him.
In speaking with Dennis and discussing how Lily acts in public, the only concern I have is that he says she barks a lot at strangers. We will meet at the NB Feed store next so I can evaluate this behavior and determine why she does it (fear, protection, etc) and collaborate with Dennis on a training plan for Lily.

Because Lily seems to be so well-behaved, I believe the training process will be fairly simple and not too long. They make a fantastic SD Team!”