# Service dog training



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

I am also training a diabetes alert dog. I trained my last dog to be a service dog, too.

When I was training Honey to be a service dog we worked on obedience for 3 hours a day, every day, for two years. Obedience is 95% of service dog work. This dog must obey you, even when a three-year-old is dropping french fries on the floor. Even when a teenager pretends to kick your dog. Even when an angry business owner is yelling at you. 

Start with obedience and socialization. Train to at least a CGC. CGCA is better. Then start working on task training. Diabetes alert training comes later, around age two. Although, Noelle has spontaneously alerted me to low blood sugar three times. She licks the inside of my elbow. Weird, but helpful. 

Next year we'll be working toward our CGC. This year, Noelle and I are working on our relationship, building trust, and love. Service dogs rocks.


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Very cool! I enjoy reading about the science behind diabetic alert dogs. Good luck to you both.


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## jburgi (Jul 3, 2016)

I am very very excited! I start my obedience training at 8 weeks and the DAD training at 12 weeks. Should be a wild adventure. But so worth it!


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

You could be a little young for this?


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Be careful not to put your new puppy in a hot house of training. Treat your puppy like a normal dog. Socialize, house breaking, learn to walk nicely on a leash, recalls, bonding exercises. Service dog work comes later, much later.

If you put this puppy in a hot house, it can backfire badly. The last thing you want to do is set up a relationship where you're frustrated because your puppy isn't "doing it right" with your training. 

Let your baby puppy be a baby. Noelle is 8-months-old and we haven't started serious training yet. She's got an excellent recall. We're working on walking on a loose leash at all times. We're working on stay. Noelle is still very much a puppy and she's eight-months-old. 

We'll get where we need to go, but sometimes the slow way is the fast way.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I agree - this seems a bit like starting a toddler on training to be an astro-physicist! By all means encourage scent games and other fun preparation, but the foundation skills for service dogs are excellent social skills (based on good socialisation as a pup), good obedience (which can start young, so long as you recognise a puppy's brief attention span and make all traning a fun, happy game) and a strong bond between you. I would consider at least the first year or two as helping your puppy to grow up into the best dog he can be, ready to start training as your service dog, rather than actively training him in those specific skills. He may get there earlier, but too high an expectation could be disappointing and frustrating for both of you. I love this approach to puppy education: Life Lessons For My Puppy - eileenanddogseileenanddogs


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I agree basics for puppies for this puppy first. Although puppies can be good at things like indicating scent discrimination it should look and feel like something playful for them when they are very young. Puppies are like baby humans. They can be lots of fun in one moment and wildly frustrating the next. They can seem to be brilliant and understand everything in an instant and then poop and pee all over the house in the next.

Javelin won't be a service dog, but like Lily he will be a working performance sport dog. I did show him to a rally novice title before he turned one, but mostly because I wanted him to get a title at PCA if possible. Now that they are moving to the midwest it will be a long time if ever before I go there again. He deserved his title, but I would hardly call his work stellar. He won't go back to the show ring until he is much older and really knows what he is doing.


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Isn't it common to start service dogs off young?


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

Liz said:


> Isn't it common to start service dogs off young?


Not That young.
Eric


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## sophie anne (Feb 17, 2015)

It is normal start service dogs young, with *normal puppy socialization and training*. Depending on the specific job they're going to do, *you incorporate skills games to prepare them* for the more intense, work-oriented training they will start—which usually isn't until after a year old, but more commonly begins around 2 years old for guide dogs. Alert dogs may be somewhat different, but the concept is the same: you need an incredibly well-rounded foundation dog before you start adding alerts or advanced skills.

Example: Guide dog puppies start wearing purse handle harnesses while still with their litter at <9 weeks old. They go to their first raiser knowing basic cues like their name, come, sit, and down. They learn loose leash walking and general socialization (think CGC/CGCA type skills) all the way until the age of 1.5-2 years, when they are then brought in for an additional six months of guide dog specific training. Some of the dogs that don't make the cut for the guide program become various other types of service dogs, because you can train a dog with a solid foundation to become almost anything.

Daily cuteness... guide dog pups wearing purse handle harnesses:


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Most of the working dog programs I'm familiar with - whether military or service - start in the first month of life. Granted, at this age it's not "work" - it's ~20 seconds of handling to stress the puppy in order to improve stress tolerance - but the programs start young. I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with beginning training at 8 weeks (in fact most people recommend starting obedience training as soon as a puppy comes home), as long as training duration and difficulty are minimal.

Sophie Anne - just saw your response. It seems like we don't have all the info about what exactly is being trained, and so I don't think we can jump to the conclusion that this program is too much. That's all I'm saying: we need more info.


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## sophie anne (Feb 17, 2015)

Liz said:


> Most of the working dog programs I'm familiar with - whether military or service - start in the first month of life. Granted, at this age it's not "work" - it's ~20 seconds of handling to stress the puppy in order to improve stress tolerance - but the programs start young. I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with beginning training at 8 weeks (in fact most people recommend starting obedience training as soon as a puppy comes home), as long as training duration and difficulty are minimal.
> 
> Sophie Anne - just saw your response. It seems like we don't have all the info about what exactly is being trained, and so I don't think we can jump to the conclusion that this program is too much. That's all I'm saying: we need more info.


I don't know whether this program is too much (wasn't commenting either way, just trying to give some context re: service dog training to the discussion).


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Gotcha.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Sophie Anne is right. The first year is spent doing normal puppy raising stuff. Second year, work toward CGC and CGCA. That's what I did with Honey the Wonder Dog. You want a well rounded dog that can handle change and challenges.

Service dogs work with the general public. The general public is clueless about dogs. Kids run screaming toward a working dog, or away, depending on the kid. The dog must not react one way or the other.

Teenagers, egged on by their stupid friends, do all kids of cruel and unpredictable things to service dogs. They will pretend to kick it. They will throw things at it. They will ride their bike right up to the dog and shove it. All of these things have happened to me with Honey. Pretending to kick the dog is probably the favorite activity of teens around here. 

Store owners will shout, "HEY! YOU CAN'T BRING THAT DOG IN HERE! YOU'RE NOT DISABLED!"

What you need is a stable dog who can deal with anything. If you start a puppy in that intense level of training, it will be come confused and frightened by the world. 

My plan with Noelle is STAR Puppy, CGC, CGCA, and then we'll work on service dog training. She has her STAR puppy. CGC training starts maybe at the end of the year, maybe next year. Right now, I am more concerned with creating a solid foundation we can build on, than task training.


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## sophie anne (Feb 17, 2015)

Click-N-Treat said:


> Sophie Anne is right. The first year is spent doing normal puppy raising stuff. Second year, work toward CGC and CGCA. That's what I did with Honey the Wonder Dog. You want a well rounded dog that can handle change and challenges.
> 
> Service dogs work with the general public. The general public is clueless about dogs. Kids run screaming toward a working dog, or away, depending on the kid. The dog must not react one way or the other.
> 
> ...


I know a lot of puppies (5 mos. and older after basic puppy class, but before CGC) that do really well in nosework. This might be an option if you or OP want to do something more related to eventual diabetes alerting, to develop their scent discrimination ability!

Link to video of puppy doing nosework. This goldendoodle pup is 6 months old!

... then again I know nothing about whether training other scent related work muddies the waters for eventual service dog work? My only experience is with foundation training for guide dogs and I admit ignorance to other types.


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## jburgi (Jul 3, 2016)

Hey guys, I feel like I was maybe too vague in what I will be doing...not to mention this is all VERY new to me, but let me clarify. So my regular trainer will be doing classes with me starting at 8 weeks, she has already had a hand in evaluating puppies to help me choose the right puppy for me. I will meet with her 2-3 times a month and do, beginner, intermediate, advanced, CGC, therapy, field trips, and service dog training. This is to get all of the obedience down and to get a good bond, and get us to the point we are able to comfortably go into stores and the like. The DAD training I am starting with the other trainer is starting at 12 weeks. This will start out just once a month, more to start training me, and help me with target scent training. As my puppy grows the training with become more and more intense and more often. But I don't expect it too get too intense until after my pup is either close to a year or over a year. He has trained many DAD service dogs in the past, so I trust his judgment. 
Thanks so much everyone!
-Jessica


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Thanks jburgi - I am sure you are going to have a lot of fun with your new companion, and am so glad to know you are not expecting too much too soon! It sounds as if you have two very good mentors to help you both along the way. Puppies can be overwhelming (see http://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/182666-puppy-reality.html), and having the support of someone who has seen it all before can help a lot when things get tough!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

jburgi thanks for clarifying the training plan for what you will be doing with your pup. It sounds like the people you will be working with are going to be very helpful and supportive.


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## sophie anne (Feb 17, 2015)

Thanks for clarifying! It sounds to me like you are definitely on the right track. I can't wait to follow you and your pup on your journey together. Boris looks adorable in your signature picture. Have fun!


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