Lake’s Growing Into a Wonderful Assistance Dog!
Lake’s growing into a wonderful assistance dog. His training is advancing beautifully. It’s hard to believe he’s almost 10 months old already. Lake has moved on to our next Genesis puppy raiser family and is keeping very busy. The Burger family includes Lake in every errand and outing and he loves every minute. His ongoing training requires daily reinforcement of behaviors he has already mastered, such as sit, stay and come.
Highly socialized by our breeder and her family at Cloud9 Goldens, Lake’s personality just shines through to everyone he meets. He is exuberant to meet people and the most difficult part of training is teaching him that he can’t just run to everyone he meets. The command must be given to him by his handler and then he’s allowed to make an appropriate greeting to a newcomer. You might be thinking why is this important? An assistance dog’s number one focus must always be to ensure that his/her partner receives total concentration for any service that might be required. If the assistance dog is encouraged to gleefully greet each person he encounters he might cause his handler to lose balance, to fall and potentially suffer an injury. If you should encounter an assistance dog in your travels, please ask for permission and wait for approval BEFORE you attempt to pet the animal.
There are times the handlers will say no to your request and you shouldn’t take it personally. People with disabilities like to run quick errands just like folks without disabilities do. An assistance dog team will more than likely not always have the time to stop and chat with you – especially if you are a stranger to them. Lake is currently learning this integral component of the training process and it can be quite frustrating for everyone. Jennifer Bielen, our trainer extraordinaire remains ever-patient and gentle in teaching Lake to be consistent in this behavior. The Burger’s work diligently with him every day to reinforce behaviors and practice new ones. Please enjoy this brief video clip of a successful interaction with a newcomer. Lake Making a Friend
Lake’s journey is far from over. His socialization skills will continue to be honed as he is introduced to unfamiliar places, situations and people. He is enjoying living with a very active and busy family and he is thriving! Keep checking back for future updates on Lake’s progress.
