Как всегда, оставляю заметки, которые прислала Кэролайн.

Все трехдневной давности.

Много и на английском. Поэтому  все под катом.

In both sessions we continued our work on indoor assistance skills – paw shake, play with toys (fetch and tug), hold, light, push.

In the session on Friday, Yepa flicked the switch on with her nose for the first time.

The session on Sunday was a review of Yepa’s progress so far, while demonstrating for (Friend) and her daughter Mara and friend, Libby, who raised funds for Yepa’s training through their Girl Scout troupe and through Beth’s medical practice. Yepa seemed to enjoy working in front of them and was not at all distracted by the presence of an audience.

First we explained the idea behind using clicker training for teaching assistance tasks, and the important of breaking tasks down into small steps and building up the skill gradually. Yepa hasn’t had any experience with this kind of training  her life as a show dog gave her other skills  so her progress has been relatively slow, but steady. It is important to be patient and only move on to the next step when she is ready. Building a strong foundation will make things go faster in the long run.

First Yepa demonstrated Touch (touching her nose to a target stick and a variety of objects), then applied this to the beginning steps of turning on a light switch, and pushing a button (using a child’s plastic toy with large bright moveable pieces). Next she showed the progress she has made with Hold (taking an object in her mouth) using a wooden spoon. Yepa had already progressed to taking the end of the spoon in her mouth, grabbing it with her teeth very gently twice and then dropping it. This session she progressed to taking it in the middle of the handle and holding it briefly before dropping it. Small steps forward like this bring lots of praise and celebration, building Yepa’s confidence and enthusiasm for the job. Yepa also showed how she is learning to touch an object (a fleece mat) with her paw. This is extra hard for her because she is very careful not to put her paws where she thinks she shouldn’t. She is learning to shake a paw and how to place her paw on an object (mat on the floor). Finally, Yepa showed how she negotiates entering and exiting Anton’s room and the building, moving forward in front of the wheelchair, turning back to the wheelchair, backing up while he comes through, and then positioning herself to move forward with him on a loose leash.

Last but not least, Yepa showed right from the beginning what a calm and friendly dog she is, and how much she enjoys people and loves to be touched and stroked. She snuggled up with each of the guests, getting as much contact as she could, and making the “purring” sound in her throat that she does when she is happy.