We're Official!

We officially passed our "Public Access Test" on Friday morning. It was as though she knew I was a tad nervous about the test and was on her best 'command obeying' behavior. Pumpkin had to sit, heel, down, come, weave in and out of clothing racks, allow strangers to come & pet her, people stepping over her, not be rattled by carts, strollers, yells of kids, or distracted by various odors. That was just a few of the things Pumpkin had to deal with during the test. At one point while we were "heeling", I had to drop her leash to make sure she would stay with me and not run off. Another time I had to put her in a down, walk away, and call her to come to me. We had to go in and out doors, walk through the parking lot, and load up in the van. Then we had to sit in the food court for at least 20 minutes while she remained in a down position. Pumpkin took it in stride, feel asleep, and entertained everyone around us with her snoring. She is awesome!

After the test, we returned to 4 Paws for Ability to sign the "adoption" papers. We are family!
Legally, we are a 3 unit team: service dog, William, & adult handler. Ashley enjoys walking with us, too!

The extra set of eyes, the super sensitive nose, and her 4 paws are just what we needed to help keep William safe. We are officially official!

Day 8 of Training

Today we practiced searching and tracking for William both outdoors (temperature in the teens) and at the mall. Pumpkin was fantastic. Ed and I are learning to “read” her as she tracks for William. It is truly amazing to watch her work. Pumpkin loves tracking. She gets so excited when we connect the tracking leash to her service harness. Once that happens, in her mind, the game’s afoot!

Ed did get to practice a “real” track at the park this morning. Usually an adult goes out with William. Then Pumpkin “tracks” with a trainer, Ed, or I handling her lead. While at the park, William took off. Ed was pretty sure he went to the playground. Jeremy, who is 4 Paws Director of Training, said: “Let Pumpkin track him.” And off they went. Pumpkin was right on in all 4 of her tracks today.

At the mall we also practiced “tethering”. Instead of keeping a tight grip on William’s hand, he is tethered to Pumpkin and also has a child’s lead (short lead) he can hold. William was resistant to the tether at first. But, when we were leaving the mall, he insisted on having the tether and his own lead. How reassuring to us that Pumpkin is on the job taking care of “her boy” in many ways! And I will admit our stress level is going down.

Ashley constantly reminds us that Pumpkin goes with us everywhere. After 8 very full days of training, the family needs a little down time.