Saturday was grocery shopping day. Alice was on duty as doing full grocery shopping session are very hard on my feet and ankles. Michael was head cart pusher while Alice and I grabbed stuff off the shelves.
I live in a small town outside of Richmond and I must admit that my town is very progressive in terms of service dogs. The grocery store I go to is great. We got some curious kids and people but nothing too bad. It also helps that Alice has that "country girl" look to her being a hound. It is always nice to have a roughest of back-woods type just beam at Alice.
I usually get asked what Alice does to help me and the first answer I have is shopping. The physical act of squatting down to a low shelf is incredibly painful and borderline dangerous to me. Alice gets in front of me and I can push off and balance on her. Her pain notification thing was rather amusing on saturday, we walked in the store and she alerted quickly twice then looked at me with an expression that clearly said "Uh mum, what are you doing? You are already in pain...."
While out the real indicator of her training is how she is on lead, it is nearly dragging the floor. When you train your own service dog that should be your goal. You should be able to be confident that if you drop the lead that your dog will not run, no matter what. I think I can firmly say that except if there is a rabbit nearby but where would I be where I rabbit walks by if it isn't my own yard? Tension on the lead means tension going straight to the dog. If you are nervous about taking your dog out as a service dog then chew some gum or breath mint. Nervousness is transmitted directly from handler to dog from the lead and your breath. Mask it the best way you can. For me it is very important that I am completely at ease as Alice is very in-tune to me. She can sense when I am nervous, stressed, tired, irritated, need cheering up, etc.
Another good piece of advise is work on subtle word commands. Alice knows step, stand, hold, steady, feet, check and head up.
Step - take a step to an indicated place
Stand - stand still in a show stack
Hold - hold in a certain position
Steady - brace and don't move
Feet - lift feet up to a counter
Check - Alice will do a pain check
Head up - lift head off the floor (very important command for scent hounds)
As always if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
Also, if you haven't contributed to the HCA's Service Dog Drive please do so, no amount is too small.
