Kodi and I have run into a bit of a Service Dog training snag.Kodi has experienced a number of stressful occurrences since we've started walking in the community. He's been charged at or attacked by other dogs four times, he's had children grab his tail when we're out walking and had groups of people surround him trying to pet and reach at him, people barking at him, etc.
Kodi has also been very sensitive to loud noises. He's not too bad with thunder, but fireworks going off right over the house terrify him. He's sensitive to backfires as well.
His training has been great inside the house. He's able to do most tasks without being given a command and we're always working on new commands, such as "hold", "release", "drop it" and "tug door".
He's getting much better about not vocalizing at the bank, sitting or laying down next to my chair when I stop to chat with someone and not jumping up on people who come into the house. He's very affectionate and wants to give kisses, so we are always working on deterring him from 'molesting' visitors and he's improving.
I recently consulted a service dog training organization for some helpful hints and tips as to how I can overcome some of Kodi's fears. They were very helpful in giving me some training ideas.
Because Kodi is stressed in certain public situations, I have a lot of trouble getting him to even 'pick up' dropped items when we are away from the house. They suggested working on it outside when I knew I would have the time to 'out wait' Kodi. I was to give him the command and if he refused, simply give the command again, remain calm and assertive, and just keep giving the command until he did as he was asked.
Yesterday, when our walk started it was cool, overcast and breezy. So, when we came home I decided to try this suggestion. I went to the door and got my keys out of my bag. I dropped the keys and asked him to pick them up. I used the verbal command and hand signal we've been incorporating, over and over, giving him time in between commands to respond.
Kodi sat there, looking at the birds flying over, the people walking by, me, the porch, the keys, the door, etc. He whimpered and shifted around, trying to lay down, sitting up, going closer to the door, but he would not pick up the keys.
We sat there for between an hour and a half and two hours. I offered him a cold drink twice, which he accepted. Finally he was crying, fidgeting and I was hot and sweaty, so we came inside.
Once inside, I dropped the keys to see if he would pick them up. He refused. I took off his vest and leash, put his things away and when I came back into the living room, he picked up the keys and put them on my lap, he picked up the throw pillow that had fallen and handed it to me.
I realized that I trained him inside, with nothing but his collar on. I don't think he's ever completed a task with his vest on and certainly only once maybe, with his leash on.
I felt horrible for putting him and myself through that on the porch.
I decided we will start with his vest on, and relearn these skills, then add his leash when we see how well he does with the vest on. Once we have done so, THEN we will move our training outside.
Kodi is extremely intelligent and intuitive, but in this case, he seems to have learned the skills in one environment, with certain circumstances in place and associates the skills with those circumstances.
He's 21 months old this month. We, as a team, are a work in progress... so we keep working. There is always improvement in some area with Kodi, so there is no reason for feeling badly or as if we've failed. I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished as a team.
