Oct - Dec. 2002
- Has been learning the cue "Move," which means to move out of the way
- Cues for getting dressed and undressed (with his Helping Paws pack and gentle leader)
- Following his guidestick for longer periods of time
- Laying/sitting while his trainer moves a short distance away from him
- Waiting to give objects until cued with "Give"
- Turning his light (rocker) switch on and off
- Moving to stand to the side of the trainer
- Lifting his right paw (This is the basis for learning to shake / hold right paw up.)
- Moving from a laying or sitting position into a stand position
- He now knows the cue "Rollover" - thinks it's a great game!
- He's been wearing his gentle leader for longer periods of time, up to 30-40 minutes while he has distractions. He's still getting used to the feel of it.
- The cue "over," which means to step over the object in the way
- Walking backwords in a straight line
- The cue "shake," which means to lift his right paw.
- The cue "my lap," which means he puts his front paws up on your lap until you tell him "off." (Unsurprisingly he loves this one!)
- He's been learning to stand directly in front or in back of the trainer.
- Turning light switch on - he is working hard to learn to turn it off, which is harder.
- He knows the cue "push," which means to push the rocker switch on or off, or to close a cupboard door for example. He targets a Post-it note (that we tape to the cupboard door so he knows where to push).
- He's starting to learn "fix it," which is for untangling his leash. He lifts the paw where he feels a pull from the leash where it's wrapped around his foot.
- He can retrieve on the cue "get it," then bring the object on the cue "bring," and give it to the trainer on the cue "give." He's also learning the specific cues "get your leash" and "get your pack."
- He wears his gentle leader and Helping Paws pack for several hours at a time now.
- Learning the behavior (no cues yet) for affection behaviors, including snuggle (put head on shoulder), rest your head (lay head down), and kiss (one lick to the cheek)
- He's become a great retriever. He will pick up almost everything we ask him to, from a full can of tomato paste, to a spoon, to a sock, to a wrench.
In his work life, we've been adding verbal cues to some learned behaviors...
- Walking backwards on cue ("back")
- Turning on/off a light switch on cue ("light")
- He is now pushing cupboard doors and drawers shut pretty well.. he's just starting to get a hang of how to use his nose to push hard enough to shut a drawer.
- Standing in front of the trainer on cue ("front")
- Using the cues for affection behaviors - put head on shoulder ("snuggle"), lay head down ("rest your head"), and give a kiss ("kiss")
- Going under a table ("under") and staying there while people are eating - this is still just for very short amounts of time
- We are still working quite a bit on "get your pack" and "get your leash"
- Staying in a drop position while trainer leaves the room
- Lifting his left paw (will be for the cue "paw")
- Stepping up onto something, such as a stool (will be for the cue "step")
- The cue "put," to put something he retrieved onto a surface or into a container
- The cue "take it," to take something you hand him
- The cue "heel" to stand on trainer's left side
- The cue "front" to stand in front of trainer
- We're starting to teach him to "go to bed" (go lay on his blanket/bed) when there's a knock. This will be for when someone knocks on the door. He'll also learn to do this when the doorbell rings.
- The cue "paw" to lift his left paw (He's getting good at this, although still confusing it with "shake" sometimes!)
- Walking backwards in the cue "back" when in the side position
- Carrying a toy or other object while walking alongside trainer
- He's learning the behavior for tugging (example: tugging off a mitten)
- The cue "Go find ___"
- The cue "go ahead" (to go ahead of the trainer through a doorway instead of waiting)
- Walking up one step at a time (cue is "step"), then waiting for the person to get up the step
- The cue "brace" (brace himself for pressure put on him when standing
- Cue "across" (stand in front of you, sideways... for use, for example, if you were at a store checkout and you wanted him to stand between you and the checkout counter)
- Using his paw to hit a large button (This will eventually become the behavior for pushing on those large, metal buttons near doors to open them.)
July was a busy month. Milo visited the Courage Center during class, and was in the Hopkins Raspberry Festival Parade. He's been going into more stores now, and also went to work with Sara twice (for about 2-3 hours at a time). He did really well greeting new people and laying quietly on his carpet under the desk. Next time I bring him I will make sure to get a pic of him working!
Milo has been going into public more and more. He even went grocery shopping the other day. Satuday (August 16) he's "working" and doing a demo at the Helping Paws booth at the Cleary Dog Days in Prior Lake. He'll also be the State Fair at the end of the month.
- The cue "around" (turn around 180 degrees)
- The cue "rise" to rise up on a surface, such as a wall or table and keeping his paws still and quiet.
- Combining known behaviors, such as rising to a surface with something in his mouth, or taking something in his mouth while in a rise position; also combining rise with light (turning on/off switch)
- Learning to pull and hold on a tug, which will eventually be attached to doors to pulling/holding them open
- We're continuing to work on "rise" on the wall. He does it well, keeping his paws still, but we're working on keeping paws still while turning on/off the light switch.
- Picking up leg (by holding pant leg) -- This will become the behavior for putting someone's leg back up on a wheelchair's foot rest.
Other than these things, we've been working hard on some things he already knows. For example, he's made great leaps and bounds at standing really close in public, such as when we're checking out at a register.
This month we start Big Dog class. Milo's puppy class is joining the older HP dogs. We will be working with a new teacher in class, too.
Click here to see some pictures of Milo learning and working hard. He is a really handome boy, and is also turning out to be one of the bigger dogs in his class. We can't believe he is already one year old!