Saturday, September 19, 2009

From Dunkin, Service Dog in Training


Hi, I'm Dunkin and I'm a GOOD DOG. I live in a kennel with 20 other guys like me and I'm learning how be a Service Dog which is a GOOD BOY who knows how to help people. This morning five of us came in the truck with Yuka for that long ride down to Mercy First.

I'm so excited. This is my school! Our trainers are called at-risk teenagers. I don't know waht that means BUT I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! i CAN'T WAIT...but I'm waiting because I'm GOOD DUNKIN!

Who are these people? Where are my teenagers... and what is that older dog doing here???? I'll just wait and see what happens. Oh, this is fun. They have no idea what to do with me. Yuka is talking to them. Let's see if I can walk the human...WHOOPS! She learned how to correct me. They learn fast. I'll just bide my time and...THERE'S A COOKIE RIGHT BY MY NOSE!!!! Wait for it..wait for it...She said LEAVE IT, but if I catch her at the right moment, I think I can get it. Here I go, she's not looking ...Just a minute more...another inch and I've got...OH NO, WHERE DID THAT NOISE COME FROM??? My human is calling me, she'll protect me. Oh, that's nice. She said GOOD LEAVE IT! I'm so happy.

They gave me another human to train. This one uses a wheelchair. Service Dogs know all about wheelchairs. If we're really GOOD DOGS we get to help people like this one. Sometimes the person with a disability uses crutches or canes. other times, they don't have any of those things but we have to do special things for them to help them out.

This one has everything backwards. HEEL you foolish human! I'm supposed to be on your LEFT. Oh wait. I remember - SIDE means I go on your RIGHT. How silly of me to forget something that simple. I guess it's because my teenagers have been away on vacation for a while.

She seems to know what she's doing. She seems pretty confident for someone who can't use a choke collar. She said DUNKIN, SIT but I'm going to wait and see if she really means OH NO SHE'S IN MY FACE. I didn't know people wh used wheelchairs could get so big. I'm sitting and I'm a GOOD DUNKIN! Whew Yuka is talking to the humans now, saying something about controlling space and being above a dog. That's what the alphas do. I think I get it. These new humans are to be our alphas. That's good because I wouldn't know what to do if I had to be the alpha.

No comments: