Giles returns in Guest Blog number 2

I have returned to share the progress and some tales of a training Assistance Dog. Firstly, teen angst affects most dogs and I'm now in full swing of it. I have matured into something my handler calls a fully intact Doofus, and I sometimes forget my manners and found the joy of marking. This might sound bad but this is only like 5% of the times and normally during my unvested rest.

I had a few months of playing up and needing to go right back to basics to learn my manners and settle in public. I was more interested in the new smells and marking but with gentle training and working with my handler daily I'm getting back and even better then where I started.

AND this is the first point about Assistance Dogs I wanted to have written. Training dogs takes TIME, Dogs for Good have their dogs in training for 2 years before they are paired, this isn't a given time scale either. Different breeds, temperaments, experiences and skill levels can all effect how long it takes a dog to be "Trained".

Which brings us onto the Second point. The word "trained" is a odd one cause there are certain things most the Assistance Dog Community can agree upon that are must be 100% trained, like house broken and walking nicely, but they also agree that us dogs are always learning and finding new things to adjust to. Basic manners and good behaviours are a must! Then tasks to help is a second, then trying to learn how to cope with the new things are the last step. This is super simplified. I Know my tasks that help and I'm rock solid at home or super familiar areas but I'm still learning how to transfer that into the unfamiliar.

Wither its a trainer from an organisation or like us owner training, time, patience and maybe share our motto

"We do not aim for Perfection, just Improvement"

In short as long as your making progress even sidewise and one back two forward then take the win and if you hit a wall, ask for help over or around it. That's it for now folks! Frenchie kiss.

Giles