A wonderful update from Catherine, in VA, who is doing the basics with her pup, Baron, to prepare him to be a Service Dog someday with the guidance of SDE and trainer Shannon!

Hey Laurie!

I have GREAT news for you! Baron’s training is going so well and for being so young, he is so smart and talented. I truly believe he was born to be a service dog. His Sit is impeccable and he is doing Sit/Stay for longer and longer. He also is a master of Down, though we have not progressed to Down/Stay yet. He responds to his name and “here” every time, even when in distracting situations. We are working on heel, but he is improving more and more every day. Ignoring people is the hardest part for him since he just wants to be friends with everyone!! But he’s getting so much better each time we go out and about.

He came with me to CVS and the grocery store yesterday and did FANTASTICALLY. He stayed focused on me (and the wealth of treats in my hands haha) and walked beside me so nicely. Today, I took him to work with me and he stayed under my desk with a bone for 5 hours, quietly only whining when he needed to go outside at one point.

I am in shock, he is so great!!! At only 4 months old, he is doing so incredibly well!! We still have lots of work to do, but since he’s still a puppy, we keep the training sessions short and spend most of our time enjoying puppyhood!:

In the last photo, that was after the day at work lol he was exhausted on the car ride home!!

Have a great day!
Catherine”

WHAT A WONDERFUL JOB YOU TWO ARE DOING, CATHERINE! I DO BELIEVE, TOO, THAT BARON WILL GROW TO BE A WONDERFUL SERVICE DOG! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!! BARON IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOO ADORABLE!!!!