February 8, 2012

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Puppy In Training TV – Ep 17 – Dogs At Disneyland

December 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Today we’re going to find out if Disneyland is the happiest place on earth for doggies too.

We took our guide dog puppy, Dublin to Downtown Disney when he was about 6 months old, but we usually don’t take our guide dog pups to the actual Disneyland park until they’re over 12 months old.  In fact we sometimes don’t take our puppy’s in training to Disneyland at all if we don’t think they’re ready for the hustle and bustle of people, activities, characters, sights, sounds, and smells of a theme park.

If you’re thinking about taking your puppy in training to Disneyland be prepared to turn right around and head home if you notice your puppy stressing out from all the activity.  You don’t want your pup to be frightened of the happiest place on earth.  Lucky for us we have a Disney Passport that gets us in and out of Disneyland and California Adventure Parks just about any day of the year.

So without further adieu check out this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV!

Episode 17 – Dogs At Disneyland

Here’s this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV.  If you’d like to sponsor an episode take a look at the Puppy In Training TV Sponsorship page.

Dogs At Disneyland Transcription

Can you tell where Dublin and I are? That’s right it’s the happiest place on earth! Disneyland. Welcome to this episode of Puppy In Training TV!

Guide Dog Puppy Training Starring DUBLIN
With Linus Aussie Shepherd Rescue
Also Colby The Human
And Stetson Career Changed Guide Dog

First stop at Disneyland navigating the parking structure to the tram.

Then Heading Down 4 flights of stairs

Next…we worked on weaving in and out of the poles on the way to the tram. A good exercise in heeling before entering the amusement park.

And now…boarding the tram.

Getting from the parking lot to Disneyland is an adventure in itself. After walking the parking structure, stairs, and weaving…our final leg is the tram ride. Dublin kept asking “are we there yet?”

Finally! Exit the tram and on to Disneyland! The happiest place on earth! And time to work on Dublin’s Puppy Training in Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy.

As we started our adventure down main street we noticed everything was setup for Halloween

I put Dublin in a sit-stay while we watched this horse and trolley go by.

That’s Gentry down there with Dublin. She’s going to be our tour guide at Disneyland today.

We started off our journey by walking through frontierland…past the Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyers Island…up the short flight of stairs and to one of our favorite spots the Haunted Mansion.

If you go to Disneyland during the holidays make sure you visit the Haunted Mansion. The entire ride gets revamped for the Nightmare Before Christmas.

We left the Haunted Mansion and right outside was Splash Mountain…Dublin looked up at me and said I want to go on that ride!

Sorry Bud…it looks like you’re a little to short for Splash Mountain. Maybe when you’re older.

How about we go on the Winnie the Pooh ride instead.

Alright…if you want a little more adventure then lets take the ferry to Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyers Island.

As you can see the ferry ride made Gentry a little overly excited.

Pirate’s lair was pretty cool. We saw some geese. Sat on the stage. Lots of stairs and uneven places for the pups to walk including this bouncy suspension bridge.

We also found a spot for the pups to pump for gold. You two have to work harder then that.

Dublin and Gentry said “Is this the gold we were pumping for” Make sure you two guard the gold! If not you go to the bone prison.

Dublin and Gentry Guide Dog Puppies

Dublin and Gentry Find Gold

It looks like Dublin and Gentry were snoozing on the job because they ended up in prison

Hey wait for us! Dublin wanted to ride the Mark Twain boat, but we were a little too late…plus I didn’t tell him, but you can’t catch that boat from tom sawyers island.

Instead we hopped back on the ferry and headed back to the mainland where the pirate band awaited us.

Back on the Disney mainland we visited the Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Roundup and saw some awesome pumpkin carvings.

Dublin and Gentry posed in front of this pumpkin head dude.

Then Dublin went over to the donkey, Pocahontas to say hello.

Disneyland is puppy in training friendly and has designated spots throughout the park for relieving your puppy…Good Busy Dublin!

After Dublin and Gentry both went potty we went over to Fantasy Land and visited the Snow White’s Scary Adventure, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, and one of our favorites Peter Pan’s Flights.

After fun in Fantasyland headed over to Tomorrowland for the spooky Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. Sorry Dublin you’re too short for this one too.

It had been a long day so we started walking back down main street past the giant mickey pumpkinhead. Then headed out the exit back to the tram.

Dublin was pretty tired on the tram ride back so we hopped off and started our walk back through the parking lot for the car ride home.

As we walk off into the parking lot sunset we’d like to thank you for joining us for this episode of Puppy In Training TV.

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A special thanks to Denise and Gentry for showing us around Disneyland today

If you’d like to sponsor an episode of Puppy In Training TV visit PuppyInTraining.com

Our Final Thoughts On Dogs At Disneyland

Dublin was the second puppy in training we took to Disneyland and while he was a very good boy throughout the day his reactions and behavior were much different then our first guide dog pup, Stetson.  We took both pups on a few rides and Stetson really could care less what was going on around him and for the most part just lied down by my feet.  Dublin was more interested and wanted to peek out and watch all the activity going on.  Both pups did great and showed no anxiety in front of the crowds and different, sights, smells, and sounds.

While Disneyland may not be a puppy in trainings happiest place on earth I do think that our pups happiest place on earth is by the side of his owner/handler no matter where they may be.  Thanks to Disneyland for being such a puppy in training friendly park and thanks to Denise and Gentry for being our tour guides for the day.

Have any of you taken your pups in training to Disneyland or any theme park?  If so, tell us about your experience in the comment section below.

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Puppy In Training TV – Ep 16 – Guide Dog Pups Visit The Fire Station

December 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We’ve been raising guide dog puppies for the past 5 years and we had always heard about visiting the fire station, but after raising Stetson then Derby and now Dublin we had never visited fire fighters or a fire station until today!

Visiting fire fighters and a fire station is a great outing for our guide dog puppies.  You never know when they might run into a firefighter fitted with a full gas mask or perhaps the screaming sounds of the siren.  Today we had the opportunity to let our puppies see, hear, and smell everything at our local fire station.

Check out this weeks Puppy In Training TV episode:

Episode 16 – Guide Dog Pups Visit The Fire Station

Here’s this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV.  If you’d like to sponsor an episode take a look at the Puppy In Training TV Sponsorship page.

Guide Dogs Pups Visit The Fire Station Transcription

This week we got to visit the Orange County Fire station right in our backyard…Irvine, California! Joining us on today’s outing are Yuki, Archer, Miles, Chloe, Wriley, and of course the star of our show…Dublin. My name is Colby and welcome to Episode 16 of Puppy In Training TV.

Guide Dog Puppy Training Starring DUBLIN
With Linus Aussie Shepherd Rescue
Also Colby The Human
And Stetson Career Changed Guide Dog

We got to the fire station a little bit early so we made sure our pups “got busy” before we walked across the street to the fire station.

As soon as we saw the fire truck return we headed over for an exciting day working on puppy training with fire fighters.

We started off by introducing our puppies to a fire fighter fully suited wearing a gas mask. Can you hear that (pause)…He sounds a like darth vader…I was expecting to hear…Luke I am your father… Our pups all had a different reaction to this unusual looking human…the look, sounds, and smells didn’t bother Miles one bit. Dublin got excited to see the fire fighter like he was his new favorite toy. Chloe was a little bit hesitant of this strange looking thing.

After all the puppies observed, sniffed, and greeted the fire fighter in his gas mask they pulled the fire truck around to the back for more puppy training exercises.

Our entire group did some heeling exercises around the truck. Dublin was a little bit excited and was pulling more than he does on his regular walks.

After heeling around the fire truck we got all the dogs in sit-stays and down-stays and let them hear some of the crazy sounds that come from a fire truck….yay! no howling! all of our dogs did really well…while some became alert to the sirens none of our pups seemed fearful. After popping up to attention they all recovered very well.

By the way, who was in charge of making all that noise…looks like a future fire fighter!

After listening to the sirens Dublin and I posed in front of the big red fire truck for a glamour shot.

We were all hungry after a morning at the fire station so we headed down the street for a bite to eat.

Once we got to the University Town Center the farmers market was going on with a crowd of people.

We made our way through the crowds and stopped in at the Steelhead Brewing Company for some lunch and a break for our puppies.

Many thanks to the firefighters at the Orange County Fire Station in Irvine for working with us and our guide dog puppies. We’ll leave you with the whole crew posing for a picture. Thanks for joining us for this episode of Puppy In Training TV. We’ll see you next time!

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Our Final Thoughts On Guide Dogs Pups Visit The Fire Station

Puppy With Firefighter

Dublin Checking Out The FireFighter

Our Fire Station outing was awesome!  Getting the opportunity to visit a fire fighter in a gas mask was great for all our pups.  Dublin got excited and thought it was play time when he saw the Fire Fighter in mask.  Some pups were worried while others thought the gas mask was the best thing ever (Miles…).   Walking around the fire truck and and letting the pups listen to the siren were also a great experience.  Overall I was very pleased with Dublin’s reactions on this outing.  While he was a bit overly excited he calmed down and did very well.  And of course he did just fine lying quietly under the table during lunch.

If you’re interested in sponsoring an episode of Puppy In Training TV visit our sponsors page and fill out the form.  We’ll see you next time!

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Puppy In Training TV Ep13 – GDA Puppies And The March Of Dimes

September 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Just recently, Dublin, my guide dog puppy in training and I had the opportunity to work our guide dog booth at the March of Dimes – Race for Babies.  It’s a great opportunity for us to not only raise awareness about guide dogs and puppy raising, but also to expose Dublin to new situations and experiences.

Lucky for us the March of Dimes race was right up the street from us at Fashion Island in Newport Beach and many of our friends were there to help out including Yuki, Archer, Varrick, and Miles.

So without further adieu here’s this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV.

Episode 13 – GDA Puppies And The March Of Dimes

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GDA Puppies And The March Of Dimes Transcription

PuppyInTraining.com Logo and Website Address

YEP! That’s me and Dublin walking in super slow motion. Today we’re volunteering at the GDA booth at the March of Dimes – Race For Babies. I’m Colby and I’m with Dublin. Welcome to Episode 13 of Puppy In Training TV.

Guide Dog Puppy Training Starring DUBLIN
With Linus Aussie Shepherd Rescue
Also Colby The Human
And Stetson Career Changed Guide Dog

So now you know were at the March of Dimes Race for Babies you might be wondering what exactly is the March of Dimes. Well…their missionis to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. They carry out this mission through programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy.

There was a lot going on at this event and it was good training for Dublin. We walked around for a while and eventually found the GDA booth.

Dublin’s puppy friends Yuki, Miles, Varrick, and Archer were there helping out as well

There was lots of great information at our booth on Guide Dogs, Puppy Raising, and even a glasses that simulate the different types of blindness.

There was a lot going on in and around our booth. As you can see there was a giant inflatable slide for the kids. Tons of adults and kids running and walking by and many other informational booths up and down the street and there was even a band playing across the street.

When we first arrived Dublin decided to relax for a bit and gnaw on a bone, but it wasn’t before long that we saw a couple clowns come by.

One of the things we like to do with our pups is get them used to all different kinds of people including people dressed up in costume. It looks like Varrick was a little hesitant with this clown. Dublin seems to be the exact opposite and overly excited to meet this clown.

Can you guess who we saw next? None other then the one and only Captain Jack Sparrow! Awesome! another person in costume gave us another chance to socialize Dublin with a strange and new experiences. First Yuki…I think Dublin got a little jealous here.

We have been working on Dublin’s mouthy behavior. He licks and likes to put has mouth on your hands…not quite biting, but not very welcoming either. Training must be paying off because as you can see Dublin is not being mouthy at all with these kids and just rolled over and enjoyed the attention.

Near the end of the day we saw a giant check for over 1.3 million dollars go by…that’s pretty cool!

After a morning of fun with kids, clowns, and Captain Jack we packed up and headed home. I’m glad you joined us for this episode of Puppy In Training TV. I hope you enjoyed it and we’ll see you next time!

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Final Thoughts On GDA Puppies And The March Of Dimes

This was the first year we attended the March of Dimes event and it was a great experience for Dublin.  Even though Dublin was a little excited to meet both the clown and Captain Jack Sparrow I was pleasantly surprised that he didn’t show any fear or hesitation.  On top of meeting people in costume Dublin was absolutely excellent with all the little kids around him.  Again, I was surprised because I thought he’d revert back to his mouthy behavior, but I guess puppy training is paying off as he relaxed and just enjoyed the moment.

I hope you enjoyed Episode 13 GDA Puppies And The March of Dimes!

How’s your puppy training coming along? Have you been working on puppy socialization with your pup?

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Puppy In Training TV – Ep10 – Puppy Training In The Snow And Bass Pro Shop

May 10, 2011 By 3 Comments

Shortly after one of the last snow storms of the season Dublin and I headed out to the local mountains to work on puppy training in the snow and to check out the Bass Pro Shop.

Dublin is my third Guide Dog Puppy In Training, but the first to have the opportunity to visit the snow.  In the past we either never thought about visiting the snow or just did not have the time to make the drive up into the mountains.  However, puppy training in the snow is important for a guide dog puppy as you never know if your pup will be working in cold climates where it’s icy and snowy most of the winter or milder weather like we have here in Orange County, California.

Today’s episode of Puppy In Training TV covers our visit to the Bass Pro Shop, a very dog friendly store for people who love the outdoors.  In the same day we also visited our local mountains so Dublin could get used to walking around in the snow.

So without further adieu.  Lets get started with this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV!

Puppy In Training TV – Ep10 – Puppy Training In The Snow And Bass Pro Shop

If you’re interested in sponsoring an episode of Puppy In Training TV visit our sponsorship page.

Puppy Training In The Snow And Bass Pro Shop Transcription

As usual here’s this weeks transcription of Puppy In Training TV:

Hey Everyone, I’m Colby, this is Dublin.  We’re about to head off to the snow today to visit the Bass Pro Shop and also to let Dublin see the snow for the first time. Welcome to the latest edition of Puppy In Training TV.

Guide Dog Puppy Training Starring DUBLIN
With Linus Aussie Shepherd Rescue
Also Colby The Human
And Stetson Career Changed Guide Dog

We took a little drive to the mountains over the weekend and made a stop at the Bass Pro Shop to work on Dublin’s puppy training.

If you haven’t been to the Bass Pro Shop, it’s a giant store for people who love the outdoors and they’re very dog friendly.  We got to check out the giant catfish in the aqurium and a little girl came up to pet Dublin.  Dublin has had difficulty with meeting new people, but did an excellent job today staying calm while the little girl patted his head.

We got to work on getting in and out of a glass elevator which is a different experience then a regular elevator.

We also had a chance to work on walking up and down the wood stairs.

Dublin worked on his sit stay while we checked out the view from the second floor.

We walked across the bridge then Dublin checked out the fish in the little pond.

After checking out pretty much everything in the store we posed outside the store for a picture.

We also had the opportunity to let Dublin see the snow for the first time.

The cold ground didn’t seem to bother Dublin’s paws. Although he went a little crazy when he first touched the fresh powder, but quickly resumed his heel position. It reminded me of our train ride to San Clemente and Dublin’s first walk along the sand. I guess the texture changes get him a bit excited.

Dublin got to check out the little stream and some beautiful scenery.

During our hike we caught some snowboarders coming down the hill. I let Dublin sit back and watch while they slid down the mountain.

Finally at the end of the day we posed for a group shot. We had a great day at the bass pro shop and romping through the snow. Dublin’s first snow experience was great fun and he got used to behaving even with the lure of fresh powder. Thanks for joining us for this episode of Puppy In Training TV …we’ll see you next time!

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Final Thoughts On The Bass Pro Shop And Puppy Training In The Snow

Going in and out of any public store is great experience for Dublin.  It gives him a chance to work on being calm in front of different people and environments.  The Bass Pro Shop was a great place to visit with Dublin.  As you saw in Dublin’s puppy training video he had the opportunity to ride up and down a glass elevator, see giant catfish in an aquarium, and he was exposed to many other different sights and smells.  He did a great job on the day and even surprised me by not being mouthy with the little girl that came up to pet him.

Dublin had no problems walking through the snow.  Our first guide dog puppy, Stetson had sensitive paws and would always do the puppy dance anytime we walked on the black top even if it was only a mild 70 degrees outside.  Lucky for us Dublin’s paws are more resistant to the elements and he does awesome walking on hot and cold surfaces.  However, as you can see in the video he seems to get a bit excited when the texture changes under his feet.  He jumped around when he first stepped into fresh powder and did the same thing on our Puppy Training trip to San Clemente in episode 7.  We will probably not have the opportunity to work in the snow again with Dublin, but we will most likely make another trip to the beach to see how he reacts to the sand.

Overall, it was a great day in Wrightwood.  Dublin did really well and he’s improving with each passing day.  As we’ve mentioned in the past one of his weak areas is meet and greets with new people, but today he did wonderful and remained calm when meeting people as seen in this weeks puppy training video.  Good job Dublin!

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Golden Retriever Puppy Socialization

May 6, 2011 By 6 Comments

We do a lot with our guide dog puppies in training including working on good house manners and puppy socialization.  Today’s video is a great demonstration on both socializing your puppy with other pets in your house, in this case a cat, as well as working on teaching your puppy good house manners.

In the past we’ve enjoyed showing pictures and clips of puppies vs cats, cat vs dog, and puppy vs kitty, but it’s been a while since our last funny or entertaining piece of media…until today.  Yep, that’s right today we wanted to bring a little bit of joy into your life with a great YouTube video that’s been floating around the internet for almost five years and has received over eleven million views!  Chances are you, yourself have already seen it, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy seeing it once again.

Golden Retriever Puppies vs Cat

Check out these eleven Golden Retriever puppies investigating the family cat.

I like how the puppies back off when the cat meows.  Also, another oh too cute moment is when the little Golden backs away from the cat stepping on top of his sibling lying on the floor…too cute!

Puppy Socialization

There is a lesson to be learned from this adorable video.  One of the things we always try to do with our guide dog puppies in training is socialize them with different animals and a very important animal our pups should always get used to are cats.  Could you imagine if the moment a fully trained, working guide dog saw a cat he had the impulse to chase it?  That is unacceptable behavior for a guide dog (and probably for most pet dogs as well).

Unfortunately, we don’t have any cats to help train our guide dog puppies in training.  However, my parents have a very docile cat that is perfect for working with our dogs.  We make sure our puppies in training visit my parents cat and work on socialization and acceptable behavior around other animals.  The cat in the video would be a perfect candidate for working with guide dog puppy socialization.

Socialization is one of the most important parts of puppy training for not only guide dog puppies, but for regular pet dogs and pups as well.  Make sure that you have a puppy socialization plan in place before brining home your next puppy.

What do you do to work on socializing your puppy or dog?  We’d love to hear your thoughts and puppy socialization techniques you use when training your puppy.

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Puppy In Training TV – Ep8 – The Getty Museum

March 3, 2011 By 5 Comments

Every time we drive up to visit the Guide Dogs of America campus just past Westwood where the hills begin we always see a tram slowly driving up the hill to the Getty Museum.  Over the past four years I’ve often thought the Getty would be a great place to work on guide dog puppy training.  Earlier this year we finally took the plunge, packed up our puppy outing bag, and headed out to the Getty Museum for a day of fun, art, great views, and puppy training.

Puppy In Training TV – Ep8 – The Getty Museum

Here’s this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV.  If you’d like to sponsor an episode take a look at the Puppy In Training TV Sponsorship page.

The Getty Museum

As always we like to put a transcription together for those of you who can’t watch the video.  So, here’s this weeks transcription of Puppy In Training TV!

Shhh…don’t tell Dublin, but we’re going to the Getty Museum today.  I’m Colby welcome to episode 8 of Puppy In Training TV.

(Titles Roll): Puppy In Training TV Starring Dublin. With Linus Aussie Mix Rescue. Also Colby The Human. And Stetson Career Changed Guide Dog. Episode 6 – Los Caballeros Tennis And Puppy Training.

Here’s a great aerial shot of the Getty Museum…On our way to Guide Dogs of America we always see the tram driving up to the Getty and everytime I see that Tram I think…”Wow! the Getty would be a great training experience for Dublin”

So today we decided to visit the Getty Museum and let Dublin taste his first experience of real art.  After we parked the car our first stop was waiting for the aforementioned tram which would take us up the hill.  Riding the tram wasn’t too different then riding on the bus.  And as I expected Dublin had no problem and just relaxed at my feet.

We had to walk up a long flight of stairs to get to the entrance.  We’ve worked on stairs since the beginning and Dublin is very good about maintaining his heel.

As you can see the theme for the day was Imagining the Past in France.  Although I don’t think Dublin really cared I would have preferred seeing something a little more famous like Van Gogh or Davincci.  There are tons of elevators and stairs to go up and down so we made sure Dublin had a chance to do both.

The Getty Musuem is located on the top of a hill and from the second story you get some spectacular views which we all -including Dublin- had the opportunity to enjoy.  We found this unusual fountain making some interesting noise.  We walked over and I asked Dublin for a firm Sit-Stay and he obliged.

Nearby there was a a pretty cool garden area so I had Dublin do a Down-Stay while I shot video and by the way did I mention there are some great views at the Getty?  Here’s another shot of Dublin working on a down-stay surrounded by some sculptures.  As we mentioned before there are lots of stairs and here’s dublin doing a great heel.

We would have gotten more shots inside the museum, but a lot of the art at the Getty is sensitive to photography so we made sure and asked for permission to take these shots.  As you can see Dublin is being a good boy with his sits, his downs, and earlier his heels.

We grabbed a late lunch at the restaurant and Dublin was a good boy and laid down quietly under the table.   Finally at the end of the day we had the opportunity once again to wait for the tram.  Then ride it back down the hill to our parked car.

Dublin did excellent at the Getty Museum and was well-behaved throughout the day.  He got to see beautiful art, work on walking stairs, elevators, and got to take in some of the awesome views from the Getty Museum.  Thank you for watching this episode of Puppy In Training TV.  We hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of the Getty Museum and we’ll see you next time!

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Final Thoughts On Our Visit To The Getty Museum

This was not only Dublin’s first time at the Getty, but mine as well.  The Getty Museum was a great outing and not too stressful at all for Dublin.  We went on a Friday and the museum was not too busy so we didn’t have to worry about navigating through crowds.  Dublin had the opportunity to ride a tram which was very similar to riding the bus, walk up and down long flights of stairs, work on sit and down stays, ride the elevator, take in views from high elevations, and enjoy lunch underneath the table (he didn’t get to eat lunch, but we, the humans got to enjoy our meal.

A few pointers:

  1. Admission was free, but we had to pay for parking.  The parking attendant told us dogs weren’t allowed, but when I showed him Dublin’s jacket he said “That’s a horse of a different color…come on in!”  Actually he just said that Dublin was fine since he was a service dog in training.  He then radioed up letting them know a service dog was present.
  2. When walking around the guards were very friendly, but we did notice several radio back that a service dog was in the building.
  3. The cafe’s were closed on the Friday we went up and only the restaurant was open besides the little snack carts.
  4. They close relatively early during the week at 5:30pm, but stay open later on Saturdays.  They are closed on Mondays.
  5. There’s lots to do so don’t forget your puppy outing bag.

I hope these pointers help you out if you plan to visit the Getty Museum with your puppy in training.

Have you taken your puppy to the Getty Museum?  If so, I’d love to hear your story!  Tell us about it in the comment section below!

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3 Tips On How To Train Your Dog Like A Guide Dog

August 14, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Aren’t you amazed when you see a Guide Dog in public! They have to be some of the most well-behaved dogs I’ve ever seen. A guide dog has to ignore all the distractions going on around him and concentrate on his job of leading his handler safely to his destination. Have you ever asked yourself: How does a Guide Dog become so well behaved? I have, and that’s one of the many reasons I decided to volunteer as a Guide Dog puppy raiser.

I’m always looking for tips and pointers on how to better train my dogs and puppies. Recently while browsing Google Reader I came across an article that could have been written specifically for the Puppy In Training blog. Here’s the full article: To train your dog, take a lesson from guide dogs.

It’s a great article and has 3 main tips on how to train your dog like a guide dog. That’s basically what we’re doing here at Puppy In Training. That is giving you points on how a guide dog puppy raiser raises his puppy.

Here are the 3 main tips I got out of the article:

1. Socialization

Socialization starts with volunteer puppy raisers who make sure that puppies become accustomed to a wide range of situations in and out of the home. Constant contact with people teaches puppies “that their life revolves around a human,” which is critical to a successful dog-handler team.

As a puppy raiser this is one of the most important parts of our job. I usually mention that as puppy raisers we give our puppies socialization and basic obedience before our puppies begin formal training. For me, socialization is one of my favorite parts. We get to take our puppies in to restaurants, movie theaters, malls, grocery stores, the public beach (GDA puppies aren’t allowed on the dog beach), basically anywhere the public goes our dogs go to. Of course this helps the puppies get accustomed to many different situations they might encounter as a working guide dog.

It’s important to note that if you have a small puppy then certain situations may not be age appropriate. Very young puppies are much more sensitive and may get extremely scared when introduced into a potentially scary (for the puppy) situation. An example for a guide dog puppy raiser would be bringing your puppy to Disneyland. This can be a very stressful trip for your puppy as there are many people and lots of noises and smells that could be scary for a puppy.

Not everyone has the luxury of raising a guide dog puppy. You can still socialize and expose your puppies to many different situations. When I started Linus (he was an adopted shelter puppy) on his puppy training we were told to make sure we socialize him with different people — adults, children, elderly, different ethnicities. We were also told to bring him into different situations — outside the grocery store, at the park, parking lots, walks around the neighborhood, different homes, outdoor malls etc.

When I was raising Linus we were told to try taking him to the front of a grocery store and ask people walking in and out to give him treat. The idea was to make his outings a positive experience. And that will bring us to our next tip…

2. Positive Reinforcement

For training specific behaviors, food rewards are now standard. It’s the clearest way to communicate to a dog that he’s done the right thing.

We train our GDA puppies through positive reinforcement. However, food rewards are not an option for a Guide Dogs of America puppy in training. GDA puppies get extreme amounts of praise for their reward.

Why don’t we use food rewards for praise? It can be a distraction for a working Guide Dog. As I mentioned earlier a Guide Dog will be with their handler in almost every situation and cannot be distracted. If a Guide Dog is in a restaurant the dog must not be distracted by the food in the restaurant. Using food as a reward can make it much more difficult for a guide dog to ignore the food in situations such as restaurants.

3. Training = Lifelong Learning

…it’s crucial to remember that training a dog isn’t like programming a machine; you don’t just do it once and it’s done.

I’ve always had the mindset of lifelong learning for my dogs and myself. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have enough hours in my day, but when I take my dogs on a walk I always work on a few training exercises. Stetson and Derby still waits for his bowl of food until I say “OK”. Linus, Stetson, and Derby all have to follow a command before receiving any kind of treat. The list goes on and on for their lifelong learning.

My routine with Stetson (first GDA puppy) and now Derby (GDA puppy #2) is to work on training 3 times a day during my work day. It’s great because it gives me a break to walk around and get some fresh air.

These dogs have to make decisions on their own, which can easily escalate into thinking they don’t have to listen. So it’s strongly recommended that handlers do a few minutes every day of basic obedience commands with their dog, to remind them who’s in charge – a good idea for all of us whose dogs don’t always listen.

As I mentioned earlier this is a wonderful article bringing up three important points when raising your dog or puppy. Check out the entire article…it also talks about “Intelligent Disobedience” which is a very important behavior a Guide Dog must learn. Here’s the full article: To train your dog, take a lesson from guide dogs.

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