More on Dog Training

On the April 24, I returned to Jamie's farm to assist in more dog training. Again all three of us were working with dogs for mobility training. I asked if there had been any more problems with the other trainer in town. Jamie said no, and that he has been in contact with me to talk about training as he was missing something in the training and wanted to learn more. He will be here this afternoon to learn from us and more about training.

Jamie said he would be training him and he did not want any problems from us. I said I hope you know what you are doing and don't end up with him taking your business away from you. I continued that is my first impression of this fellow and I did not like it. Tom spoke then and said that he hoped I was wrong, but he agreed with me. Jamie finally admitted that this was one fear he did have, but thought he would start and if the fellow started contacting his customers or dog suppliers, he would end the relationship quickly. With that statement, we relaxed and said we would cooperate within reason.

The six dogs we were working with all were ready for the good citizen test. Next Jamie introduced us to three new dogs (Saint Bernards) with no training and new to the farm as of yesterday. The breed was not one Tom or I had ever worked with, and we asked how old they were. Jamie said they were fifteen months of age and were litter mates. Two were male and one a female.

Jamie finally told us that the other trainer would be bringing his own dogs and we would be working with them and him. At that point, we stopped for lunch so that we would be ready when the other trainer arrived. While we were eating, Jamie handed out equipment for us to use. We knew the equipment, especially the clickers, and muzzles, and knew why we would be using them.

As we finished, the other trainer arrived with four dogs, all barking and noisy. When he started to unload the dogs, we stepped forward and started to put a muzzle in each dog. When he asked why we were doing this, Jamie said to start training and teaching them not to bark. Then after several days when we take the muzzle off, we use the clicker and a reward when they don't bark. The second clicker is used to teach them commands and give a reward when the do the command correctly.

The second trainer asked how long this went on and Jamie said until the dogs are trained and ready for the good citizen test. At that point, the second trainer admitted that he was not ready and could not spend that much time in training, especially with the size dogs he was working with since they seldom obeyed his commands and he doubted they would follow commands. Jamie asked why he was giving up. The person said that he had planned on training the dogs for people with diabetes and other diseases that needed companionship dogs that could help mitigate the stress of a chronic disease.

At that point, I said that the breeds he was working with would make very poor diabetes alert dogs or companion dogs for other diseases. When he asked why, I said they don't have the temperament or disposition to be the working dogs needed. When he asked what dogs fit this, I said most Labrador Retriever dogs and the Shepherd breed. The trainer admitted he did not have the funds for those dogs and did not have the time necessary. He said that he could sell the dogs he had and would be leaving the business. With that, he started loading the dogs and thanked Jamie for attempting to help him.

After he left, Jamie asked if the breeds I had mentioned worked for diabetes. I said yes, and I know of several breeders that sold them and organizations that trained them for diabetes patients. There are other breeds, but they are of similar temperament. When Jamie asked if it would be worth his time training these dogs, I said possibly. I did suggest that he consider dogs for people with PTSD first. Jamie said this was something he was considering and would need to investigate this also.

I commented that the training of dogs for PTSD was very similar to the training for mobility service dogs and would not require additional work. Plus, many of the dog breeds he was using worked well for people with PTSD. Yes, he could use a few smaller breeds and a couple of the largest breeds would be unacceptable except in a few cases. The size of the dog would depend on the customer and the amount of room in the residence and yard. Apartment living could require smaller dogs.

Jamie said he would do some investigation and let us know. He knew that the American Kennel Club good citizen test would apply to both and that the dogs for PTSD would need to be dependable and loyal. Jamie said that he had received two dogs back when he started that a couple of veterans could not handle or care for at the time. He said they were well trained and he had reviewed their training and then given the good citizen test which neither passed. A month later, they were tested again and passed. Both were German Shepherds and the training helped their disposition and friendliness. When the veterans paid them a last visit, they were both ready to take them back and with three days of work with the dogs, both asked what additional training they had needed. This caused them to stay an additional day and my friend taught them about the good citizen test and how to refresh their training.

Jamie said both dogs have recently passed and he has had requests for replacement dogs for the two individuals. Now he knew what needed to be done and he would have three dogs in a week and would like our help in their training.