Finally an Introduction!

Aha, just as you were all beginning to lose faith in me, a post appears! I do apologize for my absence these past few days but things have truly hit warp speed with school and I am scrambling to keep up! I would, however, like for you all to meet my wonderful new little guy, Vladimir! Vladdie is a beautiful eight month old goldie and is my first true opportunity to learn the training process. In retrospect, I am now beginning to understand that my time with Kate was a training session for ME; this time around, we are in the driver's seat and let me tell you just how different it truly is! Though the program here begins training at two weeks, Vladdie is still 100% puppy. He has the basics covered: sits, stays, downs, shakes, and speaks; however, he needs much more fine tuning on the more calculated tasks like retrieving, tugging, lights, and alerts. The hardest part at this age is identifying the limits of (and not exceeding) his attention span. It is an extremly fine line and so very crucial to his development as a service dog; overdoing a task past that limit can take months of recovery. We are working slowly and carefully, using lots of treats and oodles of praise. I am really impressed with the documentation that Dr. Bergin has provided in our training manuals and I know that you all will be as well. It will certainly be our program bible!
Other than intensive training sessions with the pups, this week was really focused on lectures. Dr. Anne Stark, the ADI in-house veterinarian led us through the basics of canine health, breeding, breed specific health issues, and most importantly developing a successful relationship between our clients, their placed service dogs, and a local vet. She was inundated with questions by the class and I cannot tell you as I sat there and listened how fortunate I was feeling to know that our program has Dr. Amanda!
This week also covered a lot of the business side of starting our programs. We had individual sessions on successful PR campaigns, effective marketing strategy, and most importantly FUNDRAISING, led directly by Dr. Bergin. I have a wealth of new information that I can't wait to share. Though I am loving the program, dogs, and humans, I am ready to get home and get started! But, first things first. This upcoming week will continue with various program related lecture topics, more puppy training, and ultimately preparation for client-dog placement which will begin the following week. Did I mention we have kennel cleaning duties before school as well? There is simply no rest for the weary around these parts. You all will have to remind me of this as we hire our trainer next year; we will certainly need someone who believes in the power of caffeine!
Hope that you all are having a happy holiday weekend.
~Sarah