From our trainer, Beverli, who had her second session with Wounded Warrior, Amber, and her SDIT, hound mix,“Holiday”. Amber suffers from Bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, and back problems.
Beverli writes:
“Today we began Holiday’s introduction to the Public Access Test rules and skills at Petsmart. We worked on “heel”, “leave it” when Holiday got distracted by smells or other people, and a calm, controlled “entry” into and out of different stores. We also worked on “sit-stay” and “down-stay”.
I brought my own Service Dog, Luke, to test Holiday’s distraction with other dogs. Holiday was focused on Amber, regardless of Luke’s location and proximity to him.
Amber and Holiday’s bond has grown since our last session. He responds quickly to basic “sit” and “down” responses, and this shows Amber’s diligence in working with him.
Holiday’s overall comfort and ease in public locations needs improvement. He needs work with socializing and experiencing many new places.
Homework for next session is to work on “touch” in public, and to work on Amber’s handling of Holiday in public in a calm manner.
