pet connection

I have come to the conclusion that Archer is pretty much bomb-proof.

He was well-socialized before we adopted him at five months of age, and we continued his socialization after that. But after his first week of therapy dog class, Paul and I concentrated on more socialization. In the past week, Archer went to the hardware store twice, the garden center twice and the coffee shop several times. Plus we walked along the beach, walked around Oceanside Harbor and went to the park over Memorial Day weekend. Plus, the artillery was booming at Camp Pendleton all weekend. So when I say he’s bomb-proof, I mean that!

The second week of therapy dog class began with a review of the basic obedience commands needed for the therapy dog evaluation. We practiced sit, down, stay, heel and come. Commands didn’t need to be as perfect as they would need to be for obedience competition, but the dog has to demonstrate that he will do them willingly. Archer doesn’t have any problems with the basic commands so we were fine with that exercise.

The next exercise consisted of practicing social skills. An instructor walked up to each potential therapy dog and owner, and shook hands with the owner, initiating conversation, “Hi, my name is Kate. How are you?” After a few minutes of talk, Kate then asked if she could pet the dog. Although this is very similar to the Canine Good Citizen exercise, the petting is much more thorough. Kate touched all four paws, both ears, rubbed her hands over the dog’s head, and on the body. The idea of the exercise is to make sure the dog will not jump up when the owner is greeted and that the dog is comfortable being touched all over.

Although several of the dogs disliked having their paws touched (and will need to work on that), Archer’s only problem was minor — he got a couple of good licks in to Kate while she was handling him. Kisses are fine but not too many as some people he will visit in the future may not like sloppy doggy kisses.

The instructors then brought out two wheelchairs, a couple of walkers, some canes, crutches and noise-makers. The noise makers included a cane of compressed air that hissed. They then walked the medical equipment around to each dog, rattled the equipment, tipped it over, and shook it. The noise makers were then used. The dogs were encouraged to investigate but were not allowed to show fear or panic. As I said, Archer is bomb-proof.

A friend of ours at Kindred Spirits, Buddy, came in to talk to the class. Buddy is in a powered wheelchair and talked to the class about wheelchair etiquette. He explained that to a person in a chair, especially someone who has been in a chair for a long time, the chair is an extension of themselves. Leaning on the chair, sitting on the armrest, or other wise invading the person’s space is rude. He said that most people also appreciate it when you approach someone in a chair, to do so from the sides or front. Talking to someone in a chair from the rear is very uncomfortable for most people. He said it’s not necessary to lower yourself to the same height to talk to someone in a chair — people in a chair are used to looking up — but if you can sit in a chair near them, that is obviously more comfortable.

Buddy also gave us some pointers about visiting with the dogs. He said that’s it’s always a good idea to ask the person in the chair if their brake is on before approaching with the dog. That will make sure no doggy toes get run over. He also said to never place a dog in the person’s lap (or allow a dog to place his paws in the lap) without asking permission. Many people have fragile skin, poor muscle control, little in the way of muscles or even fragile bones.  Instead, he said, place the small dog in a chair next to the wheelchair, hold the tiny dog, or just have the larger dog stand next to the wheelchair.

After thanking Buddy for his tips, the trainers introduced what Kindred Spirits’ calls the “Go say hi” command. When visiting people, the people being visited want to feel like the dog wants to see them. And that’s what therapy dog work is all about. Yet at the same time, the dog must be under control. If dog owners tell their dog, “Sweetie, stand. Stay.” That sounds (to the person being visited) as if the dog is being forced to do this.

To make sure the people being visited are comfortable with what the dogs are doing, Kindred Spirits teaches a command called, “Go say hi,” which really means, “Put yourself close to the person, stand, and stay.” So I as I walked Archer up to the side of a wheelchair, I told him, “Go say hi!” as I positioned him next to the chair. He was standing parrallel to the chair, with his head just forward of the person’s knee. This made his back easily reached and protected his head from too much thumping, rough petting, or pokes in the eye. As he stood nicely I praised him, “Good to go say hi!” We practiced this on both sides of the chair.

After the entire class got to practice this with the wheelchairs and walkers, we were told that our homework this week was to teach and practice, “Go say hi!” We could practice it with someone sitting in a dining room chair or even the recliner. The key was teaching the dog to stand and stay right next to the chair.

After the second week of class, I’m stoked. Archer is bright, quick, friendly and well-socialized. His tongue is a bit too quick with the sloppy kisses but that’s minor. But I also know there is no such thing as a perfect dog; I’m waiting for the shoe to drop! We’ll see what happens next week.

Image: Kate, a Kindred Spirits intructor, examines therapy dog in training Sailor while owner Mary Moore looks on.