# Lucky's Service Dog Training Blog



## Sammy the spoo (Jul 7, 2016)

Thank you for starting this thread! I'll be looking forward to reading your progress!


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## chinchillafuzzy (Feb 11, 2017)

Yes thank you snow! I am really looking forward to following this process with lucky!


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

This is really neat, snow! I like your style, and I look forward to the video.


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

Way to go!! Keep us posted!


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

*Session 1*

Ahh finally! It took 1 hour to render and then another hour to upload to youtube. Apologies for the typos. I forgot to spell check it yesterday. I was mostly focused on video effect and commentaries. It is approximately 15 min because I wanted to show Lucky's current skill set in detail. This gives you a preliminary idea of his current skillset. I would like to measure his progress over time. Next time, I am going to make the video A LOT shorter. He does much better in the end than the beginning of the video.


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

The pet store is like taking your kid to Disney World and asking them to do math homework. It's super hard for the dog to concentrate, isn't it? What's your state's SDiT law? Illinois allows full public access from the start. If your state is like Illinois, try Target for outing number two. You get to practice cafe behavior in there, too.


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

That's the same Public Access Test that I did with Honey the wonder dog, and Noelle and I are working on, too. I like that it gives you solid things to practice, like the CGC does.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Click-N-Treat said:


> The pet store is like taking your kid to Disney World and asking them to do math homework. It's super hard for the dog to concentrate, isn't it? What's your state's SDiT law? Illinois allows full public access from the start. If your state is like Illinois, try Target for outing number two. You get to practice cafe behavior in there, too.



I love the Disney World and math analogy. I actually took Lucky to EPCOT for training once during the slow season last year. SDit laws are the same for FL as well but last weekend we took him to Petco and he pulled the #2 when it started to thunder. I had really wanted to take him to our grocery store because it is super close but DH does not want to be banned for life. LOL I have taken him to Ikea, Home Depot, and Joann's fabric but he has regressed so we are doing petstores again. I am going to put boots on him when we go training in the future. The floor is like lava here in the summer. A lot of our training is desensitization, which requires is about consistency and repetition.


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## Sammy the spoo (Jul 7, 2016)

Looking great there Lucky! Good job on so many points! Please forgive me while I learn more - why did you have DH do the exercises and not you? Would Lucky act different from being handled by your DH and from you?


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Sammy the spoo said:


> Looking great there Lucky! Good job on so many points! Please forgive me while I learn more - why did you have DH do the exercises and not you? Would Lucky act different from being handled by your DH and from you?


Lucky does act differently and it is an excellent good point. He responds much faster when it is me. I am less stingy about the treats and use my silly voice. DH hates cameras and is the only human being on the planet that uses his phone exclusively as a communication device. I have never seen him take a selfie and we are millennials.


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

One thing to practice with the controlled unload from a car is making sure you have that leash in your hand before Lucky jumps out of the car. I always assume there's a group of kids is running towards us, waiving dog toys and laughing. Also, people text while backing up their cars around here, so I'm on guard for that. Our car exit protocol is the dog waits in the car. I get the leash. I wait for sustained eye contact. I release the dog, watch for her tail, then close the door. I do not require a sit.

Rocket hot pavement is a real concern. Will Lucky wear boots? I just carry Noelle when the pavement is too hot. Or icy and covered in salt.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

#13. Dog taken by another person Bonus points for being a supportive husband too! What hearing tasks will Lucky help you with?


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Click-N-Treat said:


> One thing to practice with the controlled unload from a car is making sure you have that leash in your hand before Lucky jumps out of the car. I always assume there's a group of kids is running towards us, waiving dog toys and laughing. Also, people text while backing up their cars around here, so I'm on guard for that. Our car exit protocol is the dog waits in the car. I get the leash. I wait for sustained eye contact. I release the dog, watch for her tail, then close the door. I do not require a sit.
> 
> Rocket hot pavement is a real concern. Will Lucky wear boots? I just carry Noelle when the pavement is too hot. Or icy and covered in salt.




That is an excellent point about having the leash. So far Lucky never comes out without me telling him. We went to the beach a few weeks ago and he hated the rolling waves and the 100 degree sand. He discovered new destinations isn't always good or fun. 

Haha he is the only dog I know that tolerates boots. Everyone just eats the strap until it falls off. I love the dog boot dance. Lucky is an exceedingly patient dog. He is kinda timid and have a hard time with eye contact, which is the only thing Kit beats him on. I am working on under by watching Donna Hill's amazing YouTube videos. How lucky are we to live in the era of YouTube. It must have been a lot harder to train service dogs 30 years ago. 

I found some excellent books that were really nice for SD training even if they aren't all SD books.



















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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Mfmst said:


> #13. Dog taken by another person Bonus points for being a supportive husband too! What hearing tasks will Lucky help you with?




My husband is awesome! I could not have done this without him. The one thing I really need Lucky to do is tell me direction of sound bc hearing aids cannot fix this if you are 100% deaf in one ear. 
In fact I've lived 29 years without my Cros hearing aids. A practical thing Lucky could do is locate my phone. I really struggle with finding my phone if I don't remember where I've put it. Another issue is with my parked my car. If I don't remember the parking location, I am totally screwed. I literally would have ask people where the panic alarm is coming from. Lol When I tell them I am deaf they think I am weird because I look 100% normal because I can hear most sounds just not locate them. Lucky and I can play fetch until my arm falls off but he doesn't like to give back interesting items. I hope one day he will do phone retrieval. 

PS: Folks one is never too young or old to get hearing aids. I feel like Daredevil with my hearing aids on. Lol I know there is a lot of stigma with needing one but it prevents a lot of confusion. 


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

You're doing great. Keep it up. I'm pretty sure there are hearing dog task videos on YouTube. What would we do without YouTube?


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## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

I love this thread snow, I only had time to watch some of the video but will watch the rest next time.


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## rj16 (Jan 30, 2017)

Great thread Snow! I'm amazed by what SDs do. It feels almost as if our imagination is the limit.


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## chinchillafuzzy (Feb 11, 2017)

Loved watching the video snow. The cute comments and "reality" of training a SD were really great! Looking forward to more!!


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

I just bought this today and it is an extra high value training treat. You can teach Lucky quantum mechanics with this treat [emoji4]


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

I love that you can teach quantum mechanics. Good job finding a super treat. Did I mention I love your leash for Lucky? Four Leaf Clovers, oh man so cute. I was actually going to name my dog Clover, but I got her in December so I changed it to Noelle.


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

Snow,
Keep this thread going. I so want to join in your journey. There is nothing like watching a dog blossom into a service dog.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Here is Session 2, which I am teaching Lucky under. Here is a much shorter video that took 2 min to render yay.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

I have two clickers: the traditional and the blue clicker. I always carry both but my default clicker is the blue one. 
Here is why I favor the blue one:
1. Ergonomic: The blue clicker's ergonomic design fits perfectly into my tiny hands whereas the traditional one is less comfortable to carry around. I appreciate the design after a really long training session.
2. Perfect pitch: This clicker isn't as loud and annoying as the traditional clicker. The people around you and your own ears would really appreciate this after a long session. 

Why would I ever use the traditional clicker?
1. When I am in a noisy area, the traditional clicker becomes very useful. So if I were outside during a windy day, I would switch to the rectangle clicker. 
2. For dogs who are more exuberant. Kit is way more responsive to the traditional clicker than the blue one. She is younger and easily distracted, and thus, the traditional clicker is perfect to get her attention.


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## Sammy the spoo (Jul 7, 2016)

Looks awesome snow! I am tempted to teach Sammy this too - looks like a useful skill!

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

I loved it! Go under is critical and you're doing a great job. Have fun with tables and benches, too. Have you practiced playing cafe? You can do this with a coffee table or your kitchen table. Go under the table, down/stay while you have a cup of coffee. Practice this for a few days and head to Starbucks. 

Remember to potty Lucky first. I made that mistake my last time at a restaurant and Noelle had to pee and got antsy under the table. Whoops. No one is perfect, especially not me.

Also, when you are luring, remember to fade the treat. Use a pretend treat in your hand the third or fourth time so he's following your hand, not the snack. Then give two treats so following your hand is more rewarding than following a treat. I couldn't tell if you were doing that in the video. You probably already were.

Lucky, this is Noelle. I watcheded your video and I thinks you're doing awesome. I likes go under it feels safe to be close to my mom.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Thank you Noelle! I am a bit crafty and so if I don't see the treat, I won't do the work. I check in advance for the treat in the hand. I can also sniff which kind of treat it is. I am particularly picky when I have to give the item back to my mommy. I see it as a fair and honest transaction. haha I am a crafty fella! 

My favorite treat is liver but it gives me the runs all of the house. So now I have sweet potato treats and hot dogs. mmm... hot dogs. I drool all over mommy's hands but I like my sticky slobber. Mommy sometimes wears gloves. We are currently working on pick up and alarm alert. Thank you so much for watching my video! I will make more!



Update on those liver treats: It gave Kit diarrhea but everyone else is fine. I would test a tiny bit at a time in the future.


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

Snow,

Please break that, "you must have a treat or I will not perform for you" habit. It seems cute now, but I guarantee you it will bite you in the ass down the road. You want Lucky to alert you to sound that you do not hear. How is he going to do this if his interactions with you are treat dependent?

I hear a sound. Mom does not have a treat ready. Sorry, Mom, I'm not going to tell you. You're SOL!

Noelle alerts to low blood sugars without a treat and only gets a treat later. If she only performed for a treat I would be screwed. Alerts are treat independent, so you need to make sure Lucky works for you, not for food, starting today.

To break this habit, lower the value of the treat in your hand to something extremely boring like a kibble, but reward with something incredible from your treat pouch. Never give the low value treat in your hand.

Practice simple behaviors with a pretend treat. Something very basic like sit, but reward super high. Lucky needs to follow your leadership and your empty hand, not your snack. 

To teach a new behavior, of course luring works. But, you have to fade the treat early. Lure with a treat, lure with a treat, lure with a treat, lure with a pretend treat, but give two treats, so an empty hand is more valuable than a full one. Repeat the skill with a pretend treat, but give one, or three, or two, or five, or one. Become a human slot machine. One of the greatest powers on earth is random reinforcement.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

You are right! I really need to end the treat habit. He does sit pretty well without treats. I give him treats when he is learning a new skill. Once he gets used to the skill, I fade out the treat. 

The only one I haven't figured out is the retrieve. I have never been able to get him to bring anything back unless I give him something in exchange. If he doesn't see anything he will just keep it. I guess I just have to replace treat with praises once he gives consistently. 

Here is my third session! In this session, I am trying to train him to wake me up or alert me when he hears the alarm go off. You might want to turn down the volume due to the loud alarm. What I think a lot of training videos leave off is how learning a new trick is like going to the gym. It requires many reps and sets before a dog can grasp it. They are just like people. 






Video editing: Apologies about video quality consistency. I've been recording using multiple devices. A gorpo, phone, dslr and an actual camcorder. The camcorder produces much better results but is way less convenient. I've used my phone in this video and it does not have wide angle lenses.


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

Lucky is a smart dog! Picking up on that game quickly! Yay! So proud of both of you. He really enjoys that task. I'm impressed. How long did it take for him to associate the clock with the treat?

Also... where did you get the video intro? It makes me smile every time I see it.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

It makes me smile too! I purchased the animation at Envato marketplace for $17 and then edited it in Adobe After Effects. I would love to learn how to draw my own animation in Adobe Edge since I love drawing in Illustrator. I follow Simon's Cat on facebook. I would also love to do my own music too but I play the viola and piano terribly! I still have my instruments although I stopped playing at 14. I would love to pick things back up. I love all forms of art. Drawing, music, writing...etc. I learn new tricks on the Adobe Suite from Lynda.com, which our public library gives us free access to. Lynda is pretty cool because it provides all kinds of tutorials from photography to javascript programming. Their lessons are divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced. 


That was Lucky's second alarm training session. He is quite good at picking things up and being consistent once he learns it. He did forget two commands from our tricks class 1. back up 2. bow. If I don't practice with him, he tends to forget. I would love for him to find my car one day but I think the panic button would freak him out.

ETA: I am looking for a place to train where I can set off the car alarm every few min. We tried an abandoned parking garage but it is very echoy and he tried to lead me away than towards.


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

"We tried an abandoned parking garage but it is very echoy and he tried to lead me away than towards."

Lucky is not stupid. That was pretty funny, actually. Seemed like a wise choice when you think about it. Loud noise, let's go... THIS WAY MOM! Follow meeee!

Hmmm, where would you train that sound? Hmm. 

Yeah, I can see that the neighbors would hate having you trigger that beeping over and over. Does your trainer have any ideas? Hmm. I'm stumped.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

We aren't supposed to be at that point yet with the car. Our program director said to train three sounds to alert to: door knock/bell, alarm clock, cell phone. I just went ahead and tried the car one on my own. I wanted him to find the cell phone and retrieve but the program director said the dog is supposed to lead you to the origin of the sound. 

One interesting thing I've noticed while training Lucky for alarm alert is that he can read my facial expressions even a blink. Service dogs are supposed to listen to commands coming from the handler but hearing dogs alert for sounds without any commands being given. I had to pretend I was completely asleep and he failed twice before figuring it out.


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

For a hearing dog, retrieves aren't disability related tasks. Retrieves are cute tricks, but not directly related to disability unless you have a mobility impairment, too. I have not started Noelle on anything myasthenia gravis related. I figure I can expand her skill set later. 

I think our dogs can read our faces as well. Wait until you get to the telepathic stage with your SD. You'll think what you want your dog to do, and he does it without you saying a word. Honey and I were telepathic. I would think, oh, she'd better go around that slow moving grocery cart on the right side, and she'd do it. Amazing. Keep training. You're doing great.


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## chinchillafuzzy (Feb 11, 2017)

Very cute new video! Love this thread, I am learning so much!! I agree about the facial expressions. I read a book earlier this year called The Genius of Dogs, and it was absolutely fascinating. It talked about how dogs can read human expressions better than any other animals, and what their strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to social behaviors, etc.


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

I remember watching a video on Netflix about dogs that talked about some of the emerging science. Amazing creatures that we underestimate all the time.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Session 4: Phone Alert
Session 5 : Door Alert

I've sent the sound videos over to his program. I was so proud that he learned these two tasks very quickly as I have noted in the other thread. He is such an easy and fun dog to train. I need to stop gloating. 

Lucky needs to work on his confidence and I just signed him up for an agility class.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

New update: Lucky hates weird surfaces (ie manholes and any unstable surface of any kind) and tunnels. When he was a puppy, he's stepped on a wobble board and had fell. This incident scared him for life. He has since hated all things agility. We decided to work on his confidence and signed him up for four agility sessions. The trainer relegated him in the puppy class because we could not make him go through a tunnel. *Sigh* This trainer also has hearing issues and is a pretty loud shouter so Lucky approached her slowly with caution. I didn't want to brag about his abilities but only if she knew how talented he was when he wasn't afraid. Hopefully, the agility class will help him get over his fears.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

snow0160 said:


> New update: Lucky hates weird surfaces (ie manholes and any unstable surface of any kind) and tunnels. When he was a puppy, he's stepped on a wobble board and had fell. This incident scared him for life. He has since hated all things agility. We decided to work on his confidence and signed him up for four agility sessions. The trainer relegated him in the puppy class because we could not make him go through a tunnel. *Sigh* This trainer also has hearing issues and is a pretty loud shouter so Lucky approached her slowly with caution. I didn't want to brag about his abilities but only if she knew how talented he was when he wasn't afraid. Hopefully, the agility class will help him get over his fears.


Babykins also has a thing about surfaces and unstable surfaces. Not tunnels - that she had no problem with. We had to repeat the basic beginner's class 3 times - that's 6 months of working on getting her used to and comfortable with movement/wobble board and textures. Lots of jackpots and going very slow with only positive training. Babykins is very sensitive so I always have to be slow and careful. Like Lucky, one bad experience is enough to deeply scare her off. She has made great progress and is now slowly adjusting to the teeter totter. The wobble board is now something she loves. 

She now loves the A frame and dog walk both in their competition position. Starting out she refused to walk on that texture, week after week, after week. They also have vibrations which was another obstacle.

I was close to giving up agility. I only started it because my daughter runs her dog and when we visit she loves to run Babykins. She did love the other apparatus and the activity of running around following me. I'm glad I persevered because I see a change outside in normal activities. Instead of being concerned and trying to avoid drainage grates in the park where we walk, now she just jumps over them with confidence. There is no hesitation on different surfaces. 

While we were held back because of the teeter/wobble board - we worked independently with help from the teacher to move forward with other agility training. I mention this in case you decide to move forward with training Lucky. 

Also when we started the tunnel - the trainer had a yellow tunnel and it was scrunched up so it was very short. Is that what your trainer did? In the next session it was full length. Then other sessions they were dark green or blue and twisted in a C or S shape which are potentially scarier for dogs.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Your post is super helpful because i had hoped it build his confidence with proofing during public access. I think it will be a long ride and we might be stuck in beginner for some time. Lucky would not go into a really short tunnel. In fact, he was hesitant about taking the treat from it. Our instructor gave us the short tunnel to practice at home. We got Lucky to paw at the teeter totter yesterday which kinda impressed me because he hated the tunnel. We are also making the rectangle pipe for him to learn about positioning. I am going to stick it out because I think if he got past his fears, he would excel at agility. Skylar, thank you very much for your inspiration and hopefully Lucky will be like babykin.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

snow0160 said:


> Your post is super helpful because i had hoped it build his confidence with proofing during public access. I think it will be a long ride and we might be stuck in beginner for some time. Lucky would not go into a really short tunnel. In fact, he was hesitant about taking the treat from it. Our instructor gave us the short tunnel to practice at home. We got Lucky to paw at the teeter totter yesterday which kinda impressed me because he hated the tunnel. We are also making the rectangle pipe for him to learn about positioning. I am going to stick it out because I think if he got past his fears, he would excel at agility. Skylar, thank you very much for your inspiration and hopefully Lucky will be like babykin.


You would think that Babykin had never been anywhere before I took her to agility with her fear of texture and movement ........... however I put a lot of effort and time into training her for the CGC, CGCA and TDI. She was originally held back and sent to her co-breeder to be trained for conformation - they did an excellent job on socialization that I'm thankful for. This dog has been everywhere except inside grocery stores and restaurants. I've taken her inside shopping malls, stores, parks, crowded fairs, arts festivals, elevators and we've traveled with her. I'm treating her in many ways like a potential service dog because you never know when you might need one. Plus when I got her I had no idea that I would be interested in dog sports - this kind of resiliency is important for that too - be able to go to strange places and perform as required. I definitely think it will be helpful for Lucky to gain confidence, resiliency and be a partner to you as a service dog.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

*Problems of training an intelligent dog*

I've always wondered why border collies aren't used more as service dogs and now I know. It is hard to train very intelligent dogs because you have to outsmart them, which is harder than I had thought. Lucky is very good at gaming the system. He will do just enough to do what he wants. 

For instance, we were working on our agility homework today. I was told to make a rectangle out of pvc pipes to teach him "place". Lucky hates anything that moves from under him and this is our 4th session since Wednesday. He is supposed to go in and sit inside the rectangle. I used the highest value treats, which for him is natural balance sausages and hot dogs. He HATES touching this pipe with a great deal of passion. It is like hot lava to him! LOL. So what he did was reluctantly put his two front paws in it. I've used treat lures to get all four feet in and he put his back feet outside the rectangle but on tippy toes and snatched the treat. I have never seen a dog on his toes. I am not kidding. He will raise up his hind feet and stretch his body to grab the treat on the opposite side and runs away. It was at this point that I figured out he hates touching the actual pipes and had no problem stepping inside it. 

My next goal was to get him to touch the pipe with his paws. There was no way he was going to do it so I figured I could trick him into doing it by having him paw my hands and then moving the hands slowly next to the pipe so he has to make contact with the pipe. It helps that he has big feet. What happened was, he pawed my hands and accidentally pawed the pipe, freaked out, and realized my game and was not happy. He gave me the most annoyed look. I wasn't ready to give up and insisted that he touched the pipe. What Lucky did to compromise is only use his nails to touch the pipe while lying down to get better control. I wish caught our training session on camera because his adaptations really amazed me. It was only a tiny portion of his front toe nail. LOL

In conclusion, Lucky is a dog that likes to observe and assess the value of a task. Sometimes he makes a very cynical calculation about whether the task is worth the reward I am offering and what is the least he can do to get it. This requires a bit more patience than training my other dogs, who are more direct thinkers. I am not calling them stupid but they are definitely less calculating and more eager to please because they primarily think with their stomachs. They tend to learn and pick up new tricks faster than Lucky but have a harder time with more complicated tasks. 

After training Lucky one on one, I decided to see how it would be to teach the same thing to my pug Nibbler and Maremma puppy Kit. It took under 5 min to learn the "place" command. I also wanted to see if Lucky would get encouraged by their progress but he did not come nor did he care. He sat sulking on the sofa and fell asleep.


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## Sammy the spoo (Jul 7, 2016)

I have to smile at Lucky's thought process. It's not a bad thing to be cautious . Sammy doesn't mind water, but he avoids puddles when walking. He makes a point of walking around it. I can hear him thinking "Why would I get my feet wet when I can just walk around it?"

For the tunnel, I liked Skylar's process of starting with a really short tunnel, increasing the length, bending the shape etc. I also had a thought. How does Lucky feel about going though a hula hoop? It's a similar shape, but Sammy needed a few sessions before he consistently went through it. Or see if Lucky will go through the PVC "place" tool when held up vertically. I saw in your video that Lucky doesn't have an issue going under people's legs, so I'm assuming that getting into a smaller place is not a problem. 

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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Haha Sammy doesn't like puddles. Kit also hates puddles and will not pee in the rain. I thought this is ironic because she grew up outside ( first 8 weeks) and her parents are outdoor dogs. Lucky doesn't mind puddles and plows right in and then plops down on my sofa. So glad that I finally ordered the grey covers. 

It is a very smart idea about the hula hoops. We tried that for our pet tricks class but he won't do it. 

Our instructor gave us a tunnel to bring home. It is the kind would can fold up and has fancy buckles. I trained him with it folded up and he will not approach. We were told to bring it home and to feed him next to it so he starts building positive association. He still does not like this thing but will eat next to it. My cat however was quick to sit in. It is his new home. He found a new place to stay safe from Lucky's butt sniffing behavior.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

*Important things I've learned*

Had I done this over again I would have done a few things differently. 
1. I would have done task training after public access. It is easier to task train dogs than counter conditioning to different environments. 
2. Allow your dog to be a dog. When the vest is on, Lucky is very well behaved and he knows he has work to do. When it is off, he is just like every other dog and he will misbehave. He knows no vest is fun/relaxation time. 
3. Counter conditioning will take a long time. It depends a lot on the dog's temperament. This is probably the most difficult part of service dog training. By counter conditioning, I mean exposure to things he does not like. He has an issue stepping on surfaces that move very easily. To work on this, I've enrolled him in an agility class.


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