Guild Assistance Dog Partners

Have you ever watched a service dog performing their job in public? Have you ever noticed that not much seems to phase a seasoned service dog or interrupt its concentration? Whatever the obstacle they just seem to take it in stride. Whether it’s crowds of people, loud noises, bridges high above the street, glass elevators, or grates located in the middle of the sidewalk these incredible dogs keep performing their duties.

It doesn’t happen that way over night. In fact, it takes lots and lots of practice overcoming obstacles that might generate fear in even the best dogs. Exposure to unusual sights, sounds, and smells from the time they are born turn these dogs into steady helpers that take pride in the work they do. Overcoming fear teaches service dogs to trust their handlers and in turn teaches their handlers to trust their dogs.

On January 24, 2010 that is exactly what the students at GAP Dogs were working on. It was an exercise that required each dog to move beyond its comfort zone. One by one the dogs put their faith in their handlers as they followed the request to walk over a surface they were unsure of. This task would help to build the trust that is vital between each service dog and their handler.

On this day plastic crates lined the wall of a long hallway and each dog was asked to walk on the crates with its handler by its side. As the dogs became more comfortable with this task the crates were turned over making the task a little more difficult. The teams then walked along a wall that was lined with bubble wrap which provided a different texture and some noise to go along with it. A few of the dogs were afraid of the popping noise and decided to avoid the bubble wrap the second time around. These dogs were not forced to comply as this would only result in trust issues later on. Instead their handler spent some extra time patiently encouraging them to try again. By the end of class most of the dogs were feeling very comfortable walking across the bubble wrap and for those who were not, they will always have the chance to try again next time.