Yesterday we (my Guide Dog Mobility Instructor and I) did our first training session with my guide dog with a person she knew with us for her to start to learn how to greet a human politely and for me to start to learn firstly to support Sadie in this, and secondly how to take over maintenance of this once we are further established with it.

Last week when I knew my trainer was due I had settled Sadie with a bone putting her on a benching line (like a long lead attached to the wall) so that she couldn’t jump all over the trainer when she arrived, which made a start on stopping Sadie being able to practice her unwanted greeting behaviours. This week, I left her free so our trainer could experience first hand the enthusiasm Sadie puts into her current style of greeting.

True to form, Sadie put on an admirable show of how high she can spring up in order to get a person’s attention, with her persisting normally until she gets the attention she craves, but this time our trainer had more persistence in giving Sadie absolutely no feedback or reaction to her greeting until she had all 4 paws on the floor. At that point, our GDMI clicked her clicker and verbally rewarded Sadie while getting a small piece of food for her. Sadie immediately sat (having learned previously that sit means reward) albeit with a very enthusiastic tail betraying her level of excitement, and as long as she maintained her sit, our trainer periodically clicked – starting immediately as Sadie’s bottom touched the floor, and then asking her to hold the sit for a few seconds longer and longer before she clicked and rewarding the sit.  It was then time to introduce my Dad into the training.  We put Sadie on a short lead, got a big bag of cooked chicken pieces ready ….and took a deep breath!

I had asked my Dad to wait outside in the car (yes, I know not the most polite of requests) until I went out for him, asking him to do exactly what our GDMI asked of him, which was to come into the living room, not look at Sadie and sit down in the chair beside the door.  He entered the living room and Sadie immediately scrambled to try and get to him. She scrambled harder and harder with her at one point on her back legs desperately trying to get to him but to no avail as our trainer held her secure.  As my Dad had entered the room, I had passed him and sat on the couch on the opposite side of the room.  As Sadie couldn’t get to my Dad, she then turned her attention to me, repeating her frantic behaviour. I found it really quite upsetting that Sadie was frantically trying to get to me but I couldn’t respond to her and had to ignore her pleas for attention and her confusion as to why we weren’t giving her what she wanted and also not telling her what we did want her to do.  Knowing Sadie as well as I do, I know my upset will only have made her desire to get to me even greater.  As she was not getting any response or attention from me whatsoever, she then turned towards our trainer, loosening her lead as she did so, which earned her a click, huge verbal praise and a piece of chicken.  Now Sadie realised she was being asked for an alternative behaviour other than scrambling towards me or my Dad, but wasn’t quite ready yet to give up on her attempts.  She quickly learned though that turning her attention away from me and my Dad back to the trainer earned her a click, more huge praise and more chicken. She was getting the hang of it but was still periodically looking to me for reassurance but I had to hold fast in my non-response (possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do) so that she was only getting attention from our trainer.  Once Sadie had her full attention on our trainer with each time she turned to her, loosening her lead, and/or gave a sit, she was rewarded with a click, praise and chicken. It was then time to take a half step at a time towards my Dad.  Sadie’s attention broke, quite naturally, a few times from our trainer to my Dad with scrambling periodically making a reappearance, but by stopping doing that and turning her attention back to our trainer, she soon learned that resulted in click, praise, chicken.  She eventually made it all the way to my Dad with only polite, calm behaviour (with each wanted behaviour being clicked, praised and rewarded with chicken) and was allowed to greet my Dad.

My trainer then asked me to go out into the hall with her and Sadie, fitted on another lead so she could take the brunt of any lunging that Sadie might do, and then it was my turn to walk towards my Dad, clicking, praising and rewarding each time Sadie turned her attention away from my Dad and to me. We managed to walk past him a few times, taking small steps and allowing Sadie time to give me the calm, focussed behaviour I was asking her for (and duly marking and rewarding these). We did allow Sadie to greet my Dad but only when she was showing consistently calm behaviour and I introduced a new cue phrase to her of “say hello” which will become my indication to Sadie that she is free to greet the person but only when she shows and maintains calm behaviour,  He then moved to the other side of the room and we walked towards him and then past him, with each and every time Sadie turning her full attention to me being clicked, praised and rewarded.  This was to teach Sadie that it’s far more rewarding to keep her attention on me than to try and greet anyone she knows. This will be vital once we are outside on our own and someone she knows is in the vicinity with Sadie maintaining focus on me rather than what she does just now, lunging towards them for attention.

The last exercise we did with Sadie was off lead, asking her to maintain her attention on me as I walked around the living room, out into the hall, back in again, past my Dad and trainer, into the kitchen etc. Each time Sadie made the choice to maintain her focus on me and where I was going, I clicked, praised and rewarded with chicken. I always gave her time to make that decision with her love of chicken winning every time.  This is actually something Sadie is familiar with doing as she often ends a free run by walking alongside me, with me periodically giving her a piece of her recall food to both reward her focus on me and maintain it.  After walking around a little, I sat down in the chair with my Dad and GDMI then gently calling Sadie towards them, but although Sadie did approach, she quickly turned back to me, and the instant she did so, I clicked, praised and rewarded. This is again to teach Sadie that keeping her attention on me when others deliberately try to distract her (the bane of every assistance dog owner’s life!) is better rewarded than a sneaky pat from a stranger (which Sadie actually dislikes, in common with the majority of pet dogs who don’t like strangers suddenly patting them).

My trainer then asked me to indicate to Sadie that training was finished, so I asked Sadie to find her teddy…a signal I use to her when we come back home from work or out on route from home.  A big play then ensued with Sadie parading around showing her beloved teddy to everyone.  We had a short discussion about how the training session had gone, making arrangements for the next one and my trainer left. Sadie immediately curled up at my feet and fell asleep. She’d worked hard and very much deserved her rest.

Someone once told me that my dog only loves me because I feed her. I choose to believe otherwise.  In this training session though it’s up for debate as to whether Sadie’s focus on me was solely because of our bond, or because I was the holder of the chicken. I know which option I favour.