A great big huge success

"Just" a dog

 

This morning I couldn’t cool down. I thought it must be 80 degrees in the house. Much to my surprise, it was only 70. I suppose I had just a little anxiety about the Public Access Test that Tater and I would be taking in just a couple short hours. My biggest concern was the part of the test where you have to unload your service dog from the vehicle while another dog is being walked by, and keep your dog in control. Tater has only been training for 8 weeks now. And, because of his size, most people with or without dogs tend to cross to the opposite side of the street when they see us coming. Very convenient for walking your dog, but not helpful when trying to get your dog “socialized” with other dogs. Tater loves other dog, but he would like to sniff them and play with them. Once he meets them, he is calm every time he sees the dogs that he has already met.

Anyway, on to the test. I cut up a few hot dogs and put them in the treat bag to use during the test as his rewards. I really think Tater would learn how to do back flips if he could have hot dogs as a reward. Tater loves hot dogs. We get to the store that we are meeting our amazing trainer at to begin our test. She got out her dog to walk past us as I was getting Tater to go in the store. He wanted to see the dog, he wanted to smell the dog, he wanted to play with the dog. He was excited. However, he didn’t bark, growl, or try pulling away from me. He just would not keep his butt on the ground. After the trainer put her dog away, we proceeded into the store.

We chatted as Tater walked beside me where he should be. One of the things we were talking about was something that she thought I should teach Tater to do now that he is picking up my keys for me when I drop them. What was the suggested task you may ask? If I drop the leash while walking, have him pick it up. I agreed that would be a great task. We walked through the store with Tater doing everything he was asked to do. He was not afraid of other people or shopping carts going by. He did not try to run away. He sat, followed the stay command as I walked away from him with his leash on the ground and didn’t budge until I called him to me. We even did this with me leaving to another aisle. Hubby tells me Tater was looking under the shelf and could see my feet so he knew I was there. Smart puppy (he’s a 7 year old, grey muzzled old man with the heart of a 2 year old puppy).

Tater quickly and enthusiastically did every task asked of him and soon he had passed the public access test with flying colors. When the trainer asked if I had anything I wanted to show her, I said Yes! and dropped my keys. I asked Tater to pick them up and he did. Then I did it a few more times just to show that he knew what I was saying. I decided to try the leash idea, and threw the leash down on the ground and asked him to pick it up. He leaned right over, picked the leash up by the handle, and placed it in my hand. We did this a couple of times as well. We also tried it with my hubby’s wallet; he fumbled with it a little and eventually (after 2 tries) got it in my hand. I have to work on his control with handing me things. He gets very excited and likes to throw things to my hand.

We were able to get several people to pet him and I was able to show off his command following ability. Varying: sit, stand, down, sit, stand etc. He was doing doggy calisthenics in the back of the store with an audience. When we were almost done, we stopped in the restaurant located in the front of the store for a little restaurant test. While sitting at a table, Tater was laying on the floor beside us. I had to drop some delicious looking black forest ham on the floor by him and tell him to leave it. He did it of course!

 



Tater grinning for the camera after
 passing his Public Access Test
An official Service dog!

 

I now feel confident to take my dog in public with me. When I am feeling dizzy in a store, he will be there to catch me. If (or should I say when, because it is inevitable) I drop something, Tater will be there to pick it up for me no matter what I drop. I now have the training to keep my dog under control and happily working beside me. The dog that I wasn’t sure would be around much longer has so much youth and vitality left in him. He now has a sense of purpose. He adores his job and me. The feeling is mutual.

Life with M.S. doesn't have to be hard. With the help of my sweet dog, things are going to get a little easier.