Before you label your dog as “Service Dog In Training” in public, find out what public access is, how to assess if your dog is ready and if not, how to lay the foundation at home and familiar locations to condition your dog to what he needs to be able to handle. Identify areas of weakness you need to work on before starting formal public access training. Is your young dog over-excited by odd sounds, movement, other people (toddlers, kids or people) or other dogs? Is he worried about being taken away from you by a stranger? You will learn confidence-building games you can play to systematically desensitize and calm your dog in these and other common public situations! Learn how to prepare for and train specific default behaviors for common situations and features found in public such as:
You will further generalize being non-reactive to unexpected sounds and moving machines found in retail locations, ignoring merchandise and crowds, and greeting people only on cue. Discover what body language to look for to determine if and to what degree your dog is stressed and how to respond appropriately to that stress to build his confidence and resilience to public situations. Text and over 120 video clips lay a strong base for any public access test! |
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Nailed It! Confidence Games for Owner-Trained Service Dogs
