Day #2

The people in these classes with me are remarkable. They are all here for different reasons and they are all so strong. Some are mothers of kids with autism or kids with physical handicaps, adults with physical handicaps and some that want to use the dog both as a service and facility dog. Hearing everyone’s stories and listening to what they go through on a daily basis is an honor and leaves me in awe. Watching some of them interact with dogs just brings tears to your eyes and leaves you with goose bumps. This is a life changing experience and I am so thankful to CCI for allowing me to be apart of it.

By the end of today I have trained with 9 dogs in total. We can call the dogs B1, B2, C, D, K1, K2, N, R and T. These letters are the first letter of the dogs name and it gives nothing away. Each litter of puppies is given a letter of the alphabet and each puppy must be given a name that starts with that letter.

•B2, C, K1, and R did not connect with me like the other dogs did. They were distracted too easily and/or didn’t like to be pet.

•B1 and K2 seemed to do well with me and listened to my commands while responding quickly to my corrections. One of these dogs has a difficult time jumping up into its kennel, which was a little worry some. I liked these dogs and they were adorable but I think other dogs worked better with me.

•D (small, adorable and has a young look about it), N (medium build and playful) and T (quite large with a wise look about it) all seemed to really take to me. They all listened to commands, paid no attention to the distraction that was around us and rarely had to be corrected. I would have no worries about getting any of these three dogs.

Before we finished class we had mini conferences with the instructors to talk about our individual needs of our dog. This is really important because, as I said above, one of the dogs did not like the physical affection/praise and another dog had difficulty jumping into its kennel. These are important because if the dog is going to be in the playroom the dog may get lots of physical affection and it needs to be okay with lots of hands on it. If the dog is going to be getting up on beds it would be beneficial to have them jump up/down. Otherwise I will have to lift the dog, oh imagine the back problems.

Tomorrow morning we will be given our pre-placement dog but they said that they may change the dog out throughout the training if they decide that the dog isn’t working (rare but it happens). I do have a favorite but I know the instructors have our best interest in mind. They said I may even get a dog that I haven’t worked with yet, so we shall see. I am extremely excited to see what tomorrow has to bring.

Tomorrow the instructors want us to step our game up with motivators, commands and energy… with that being said it is time for me to go to bed. I didn’t sleep well last night and we have a big day ahead of us. So good night everyone!!! More exciting news about the dogs tomorrow…

Thanks for reading!!!