“Riff” In Training

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“Riff” In Training

Published by

Tammie Rogers

on

January 17, 2025

MOUNTING CHALLENGING SURFACES

REFRAIN FROM TRIGGERING ON THE HANDLER’S MOVEMENTS

RIDING A MOVING CART

Asking future Service Dogs to perform behaviors that may initially be challenging, fear-inducing or question the dog’s trust in his handler are all very critical for the dog’s development.
Here, Riff is asked to load onto and remain atop of a noisy, less than stable-feeling cart in order to develop trust in his handler, physical aptitude and self-confidence.
Initially, Riff did not want to step up onto the cart. Rather than make a big deal about his hesitancy, we lifted him onto the cart and commanded to “down” which is a behavior he’s quite familiar doing. For a few minutes we expected him to remain down on the cart, while nothing else was said or requested of him. Then, he was calmly asked to step off the cart.
A few seconds later, he was circled around and asked to load onto the cart. He did so without hesitation.
Sometimes, an animal just needs to experience that a situation which is new and possibly scary, isn’t all that. I learned this technique (of putting the dog atop a table where you want him to jump or in a space that he is reluctant to enter as examples) many years ago when I owned sheep (for the purpose of training and competing with herding-working Border Collies.) Sheep can be very spooky creatures of habit. In some herding trials, the dogs need to herd 3 to 5 sheep into a free standing pen in the middle of an open field. Sheep don’t want to do such a thing. Just sayin’ When the dog is inexperienced and the sheep are inexperienced, one of them needs to get some experience. I would put up a few 16′ cattle panels leading into the small, free standing pen where they would be more easily channeled into it. Then, I’d close the gate and go inside for lunch while the sheep hung out in the pen without anything upsetting to trigger them. After lunch, I’d go out to the field and let the sheep out of the pen. Then, I’d take a relatively ‘green’ (inexperienced) dog out to work. Even when that dog made some errors or bobbled the approach to the pen, the sheep were far more comfortable going into it, as they had experienced it wasn’t such a bad place to be.
With dogs, it’s the same way. Rather than over pressuring them and forcing them while they are in the state of confusion or fear, or WORSE coddling them and allowing them to resist the handler’s commands because you don’t want to made them unhappy or afraid – we just give the dog some basic information about what we expect by lifting it the first time onto a scale or table or in this case a noisy, unstable cart. Nine times out of ten, the next time we approach that request (as long as it’s within a minute or so of the “here’s what we want” experience), the dog complies as if he’d done the behavior all his life. And, if the dog already has been trained to follow the human, no food bribery is necessary and the dog demonstrates a high level of self-confidence right off the bat.

OVERCOMING FEAR

The clips in this video were shot shortly before those found in the preceding video, showing Riff riding a car. When we first asked Riff to load onto the cart, because it has uneven wheels for carrying heavy loads, it surely felt very unstable. I suspect it was a bit scary for Riff to step onto it. We worked through Riff’s reluctance by asking him to do behaviors that he knew very well (examples: follow the handler and lie down when told.) With each repeated request, Riff’s confidence grew, but he still seemed uneasy. It was then that we used a method that is described in the text under the previous video. We lifted Riff onto the cart and let him lie there quietly for a few minutes.
You will see the results of that process in this video.

Whether you choose to have us train your dog as your future Service Dog or choose to apply for one of our dogs like Riff, part of the process includes comprehensive Handler Instruction so that you know how to work through problems that might arise a week or even years after you begin your partnership with you Service Dog. We are dedicated to making you an exceptional leader for your SD, which ultimately makes you a much better, all around dog owner and can even enhance your relationships with other people!
You can’t be the best handler nor can you succeed in train a dog with anger, disappointment, frustration or a lack of self-confidence or the dog won’t believe in your leadership. Many people get irritated when the dog doesn’t perform up to their expectations IMMEDIATELY. That’s just unfair. If you are patient and project the energy that you believe the dog can and will succeed, he usually will. That’s why I often say that having a Service Dog can be as much therapeutic as it is assistive. To get the most out of your dog, you need to be the best possible handler and leader for him.