Monday, July 25, 2011

Train-the-Trainer: Week 3

Cocoa is a superb shopper!
Yes, I know, I'm a day late with the update on week 3 of train-the-trainer.  It's just that, well, there is so. much. to. do.  We only have one week until the clients arrive for boot camp, so we are working ourselves and our dogs through the final push in preparation of the clients' arrival.  We started week 3 with our first public outing to the Danbury mall.  For many of my classmates, this was their first public outing with a dog and everybody was pretty nervous.  That being said, everybody did great.  Since then, we've been back to two different malls, gone to restaurants for lunch three times, visited the supermarket, and done numerous other public outings.  Having to go to the mall for work is taking a serious toll on my wallet!

Ben and Honey lift onto the bus
This week we also had the opportunity to meet former ECAD clients who were returning to take their public access test.  The public access test is taken every year to ensure that the client and dog are maintaining their training.  Meeting the clients, hearing about their first year with their service dog, and troubleshooting their issues was a phenomenal learning experience.  I think it really brought home Lu's point that every one of our dogs needs to be at 150% when we place them, because the client will only be able to maintain a fraction of that training.  The clients that we met with were mostly kids and their determination, independence, and soaring spirits were remarkable.  Personally, I have also been amazed by the parents of these kids, watching them balance their desires to give their kids independence with their protective instinct.

Wish us luck as we embark on the final week of training before we welcome our clients to ECAD next week! If you're feeling extra generous, wish us some caffeine, too, because our coffee pot quit on us this morning (no doubt from exhaustion).   
Joplin and Cocoa enjoy their Sunday by the pool.  Cocoa enjoyed it a bit more than she should have!

Garrison being gentlemanly as ever.

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