Kati's Corner: Training in Highly Stimulating Environments

Our service dogs begin their training at eight weeks old. Right away they begin training in a variety of settings. The dogs need to remain calm and focused even in highly stimulating or unusual environments. In the video below you will see the puppy raisers training the dogs around a small farm. The smells and sounds of animals in front of them, children laughing and walking by, cars parking and families making their way to the festivities. The puppy raisers take them toward the animals, pause allowing them to look, then say "let's go!" and turn away. This is a way to teach the dogs to focus on their handler even with all the interesting sights, smells, and sounds.