# Should I work on it or leave it? (therapy dog training ??)



## OUbrat79 (Jan 21, 2013)

As some of you know Ammo is working on being a Therapy Dog. He has been doing really good with his training and has gotten over some really big hurdles. He has been doing really good with his staying while I'm out of view. He has also seemed to over come his issue with other dogs, for the most part he ignores them. In a couple weeks we will probably try for his CGC title and then move on to getting him certified to be a TD. 

Ammo loves being loved on, that's the reason we are doing to TD thing. He goes to any place we can take him to get him used to being around a lot of people. He is great with it. When we walk past people he doesn't pay any attention to them. I can take him to Gander Mountain and let my toddler lead him through the store. He stays right with us and acts really good. I take every chance I can to get people to pet him. I ask almost every person who passes if they want to pet him. Some say no, but most say yes. He does get a little excited but never jumps and I can usually get him to sit. 

There is a few exceptions to that rule though. There have been a few times when he will pull me to a person. Usually it's with people that get really excited and talk in a high pitched squeally voice to him. He never charges them like he is going to jump on them, but he is a little harder to handle. A couple days ago we were at Gander Mountain and was loving all the attention. He had pulled a couple times but nothing major. At one point we came across an older couple who commented on how beautiful he was. Ammo looked up at the lady and then dragged me about 5 foot till he was standing in front of her. I could not get him to stop, he was very set on getting to this couple. He never pushed on them but he didn't stop till he was about an inch from them. I kind of laughed and told them he normally isn't this pushy, the lady had already started petting him. I could tell they were ok with him coming up to them without me asking so i let him stay there. They loved on him for about 5 minutes and then the lady looked up at me with tears in her eyes and told me that they had just lost their lab a couple days ago.

My issue is should I let him go up to people like that? He isn't always like that but I would hate for him to go up to someone who was scared of him. Should I just leave him to his own judgement on who to go up to and who to wait on, for them to come to him? I will say that he has never tried to approach someone who was scared of him. How do I break him from getting excited when people get excited and squeal at him? Since he is keeping all 4 feet on the ground and not being pushy is it ok for him to be a little excited about being loved on? Any thoughts?

Also if this is in the wrong spot feel free to move it.


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

should he use his own judgement? who's the boss here? he needs to listen to you. if he's pulling you then he's walking you and you're just following.

i cant believe the question is should i work on his pulling or let him pull. lol c'mon!


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

train him not to pull for any reason.
train him to heel on or off leash.
you could train him to heel on or off
leash on either side.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

No. In therapy work he might want to visit someone and that someone might be terrified of dogs and freak out. I don't know about anyone else, but when we go to the nursing home we walk slowly through the common area and he is right at my side, when someone approaches he automatically sits down, if they are in a chair he sits and puts his back to them so they aren't leaning or in his face,when I stop moving he sits down, and I watch around us to make sure he isn't getting rushed. As far as teaching those things I really didn't, he has had obedience classes and only had those for less then a month when he took the CGC and they recommended he get certified. He really just knows what to do, it comes naturally to him.


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

It would be nice to think that a Therapy Dog would instinctively know which people needs them most, and would draw you to them. But practically speaking, you need to have control of your dog at all times, and not pulling is part of it.


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## OUbrat79 (Jan 21, 2013)

Blanketback said:


> It would be nice to think that a Therapy Dog would instinctively know which people needs them most, and would draw you to them. But practically speaking, you need to have control of your dog at all times, and not pulling is part of it.


The only time I actually lost control of him was when he pulled me to the couple who had lost their lab. He has never pulled me like that before. 


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

I used to tell my darling TD to please try to read peoples' energy, and if they're giving off vibes that they don't like dogs, to try not to look at them and just walk past them  I'm not sure if it worked or not.


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## OUbrat79 (Jan 21, 2013)

Blanketback said:


> I used to tell my darling TD to please try to read peoples' energy, and if they're giving off vibes that they don't like dogs, to try not to look at them and just walk past them  I'm not sure if it worked or not.


A while back we came across the lady that was terrified of Ammo. We were at Lowe's and I wasn't sure how to respond. They lady had to go past him, about a 10 foot radius, to get leave the store. I told the lady he would be ok and ask Ammo to sit, which he did. He then looked over at the lady who was still standing there frozen with fear and he laid down as close to the shelf as he could with his back toward her. It was like he was trying to give her as much space as possible. After he laid down and stayed there for a while the woman did finally walk past him. He never even lifted his head off the ground to look at her. I really think he understood her fear. 


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

If you want your dog to be a therapy dog they need to obey you and not approach people unless you give them permission. They should also not be pulling on the leash or dragging you towards people, they should be walking with you under control as you approach.

Therapy dog organizations and the hospitals/facilities where therapy dogs volunteer expect your dog to be under control at all times. If random hospital employees or other patients saw your dog dragging you towards someone or pulling on the leash, this would look very bad. They don't know that your dog doesn't normally act like this, they don't know if that person wanted your dog to visit, etc...all they know is your dog is not under control and is approaching someone without permission. Most therapy dog organizations also cover these things in their testing so it is something you should have under control before you take the test. Many will require your dog to be heeling at your side as you approach people.


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## EJQ (May 13, 2003)

I wish I could answer your concerns with a simple statement but I can’t. It can get very confusing, convoluted, backwards and upside down to say the least.

First and foremost you must be in command at all times regardless of the condition. That goes without saying.

It is important to realize that there is a difference between an ordinary dog and a trained therapy dog. In general therapy dogs have been trained to be “little ladies and gentlemen” who believe that everything that might otherwise be a negative or aggressive act towards them is actually a friendly gesture!

A few examples:
Eye contact – whenever they make eye contact in training and in everyday comings and goings they get a verbal and tactile reward as well as a possible food reward … _“Hey this staring back & forth is cool, I get a treat every time!”_
Petting and touching – petting on top of the head, touching ears, touching noses, touching tails; same thing, that’s all good stuff …
Walking into my space –_ “That’s cool I don’t mind; come on in!”_ Generally speaking if you are going to allow your dog to enter a person’s space they have to be trained to approach that person in a VERY calm and collected manner.

Well I’ve already blabbed on enough; it is impossible to cover all of the nuances of therapy training is a few paragraphs. I would be happy to answer any specific question that you might have, via a PM, as I’m sure any of us who are involved in therapy work would do.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

I think it's wonderful that Ammo loves to greet people that are showing interest in him. It's a nice quality in a TD. 

But I agree that he should not be allowed to drag you to them, or act too excited. 

If I were you I would be working on a "go say hi" command. Work first with people he knows that he does not get over excited about. Have him sit, tell him "go say hi" and when he gets to them, they give him a treat. Once he gets the treat, redirect him and walk away. This way he learned that you control his interactions. I would practice this a lot before taking in public. 

We all know he us friendly, but if my elderly relative was on the receiving end of his exhuberance I would not be happy. 


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## David Taggart (Nov 25, 2012)

> Ammo looked up at the lady and then dragged me about 5 foot till he was standing in front of her.


 He read her facial expression telling him she is in pain. Her soul was aching, because for the person who lost his/her dog is simply painful to see other people with dogs being happy.



> How do I break him from getting excited when people get excited and squeal at him?


 High pitched voice reminds of a physical pain, and your dog wants to investigate. Your dog shows quality of a rescue dog. Don't stop him doing it. And, if you will - it might result in something absolutely undesired. He doesn't know how to react, tell him how to react. Ignoring is not a reaction. I'd teach him singing a song in response. Could he whine by command? If not, train him to start making circles around you.
Please, don't worry that much about scared people. Though it is programmed in our brain, only very small children could be genuinly scared and get a real shock due to their hight and eye level in comparison of that to the dog. A phobia of a canin revealing itself in strong emotions considered to be a mental disorder in modern adult human, I'd study it closely if I were of your profession:Cynophobia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, it couldn't possibly be of your concern. A person who is scared genuinly may:
1. Get stoned and numb,cry with silent tears, get pale;
2. Run across the street to the opposite side;
3. Run into any open door to hide;
5. Laugh with nervous laughter;start praying;
But they never cry loud. People who are at risk of meeting grizzly in the wild should know that they must cry as loud as they can, because naturally they wouldn't. In majority of cases this sort of fear is a sheer simulation: a girlfriend in presence of her boyfriend, a group of girls seeking to gain a feminine image, a righteous man or a moral old bag, with her hands akimbo - sometimes are crying that they are scared to death.


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