We had our 2nd successful therapy dog training outing this weekend (you can read about the first here)! As we go through our year-long training with Paws of Purpose we are required to attend 4 monthly outings with the group and trainer. Usually there are 2-3 outings offered per month and we can attend 1 or all of them. Of course, the more we attend the quicker Eloise will adjust to being put in these uncomfortable situations. So chances are we’ll be attending them all!
Back to this weekend, the planned outing was to a Sunday afternoon IMAX movie. A dark theater, loud sounds, and a disorienting screen…we knew we needed Eloise to get in a little practice at the movies before the outing. So Saturday evening August, Eloise, and I went and saw Silver Linings Playbook, which was a really good movie. We opted for the handicap seats (don’t worry we weren’t taking them from anyone who was actually hanicap!) and it wasn’t the most relaxing movie-watching experience of my life. Let’s just say that I don’t recommend a movie with excessive door-bell ringing as the best choice for your dog’s first time. Thankfully the people around us were kind and did not complain about the occasional bark (at least they didn’t complain to our face).
Sunday afternoon we headed to the IMAX theather. Eloise was dressed in her Sunday finest.
There were 3 other dogs there going through training. I can only imagine what people walking by were thinking when they saw all the dogs hanging out in the middle of the mall.
And this is Daisy, who belongs to Tracy the head trainer. No joke, Daisy is the most obedient and well-behaved dog I’ve ever seen in my life. You’ll notice in the picture below that there’s no one holding her leash. She’s in the middle of the mall with tons of people walking by and no one keeping her from moving, and she didn’t budge an inch. I can only hope that Eloise is as well-behaved by the end of all this!
I don’t know if it was the practice the night before, the presence of 4 other well-behaved dogs, or the fact that I came prepared with Elly’s all-time favorite snack, cheese, but she did SO good during the movie. Gave me hope that we really can do this therapy thing with her.
And when we went grocery shopping after our outing we had multiple people come up, ask to pet Eloise, and tell us how happy they were to see and pet her. It really reaffirmed our desire to complete this training and I can’t wait to be able to take her into hospitals and court houses to interact with people who might need a little more love and happiness in their lives.
So amazing.
I’m so glad you’re getting the opportunity to train her so you can share her love with others. I did giggle about the occasional bark though. LOL I mean, I can’t say I blame her.
Haha, honestly I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to break her of barking when the doorbell rings!
This makes me want to do this. Prim is probably the only one who would behave well enough. I think Grandy used to tell me I should do this with Ebony cause she was such a good dog.
If you want to do it you should start by doing the training classes at the new Petco!
I just wanted to ask you to read up a little bit on the laws. Particularly the federal law. While I commend you for wanting to make your dog a therapy dog, you are breaking laws by taking your dog into the grocery store. Therapy dogs are not allowed public access without permission from the business owner. Service dog handlers and the disabled have had to fight for over 80 years to get the right to be able to be accompanied by their four legged helpers. It is a great disservice to the very people you are seeking to help with your dog to take it where it legally cannot go.
It takes 18-24 months to fully train a Service Dog to be able to help its handler and it is there specefically to help its handler. It is trained to do things the handler cannot do itself. A Therapy dog is there for the benefit of others and most of the time does not have a disabled handler.
Please look into the laws so that you are not harming others with your actions.
http://www.ada.gov/Service_Animals
http://www.servicedogcentral.org
Thank you very much for your comment and the links. I honestly had no idea we were breaking the law by taking her to public places as part of our “therapy certification” required us to do so. I meant absolutely no disservice to those who do require their dogs for assistance and I’m truly sorry. Since seeing these comments this morning we have discontinued our training with Paws of Purpose and are on the lookout for truly reputable services in San Antonio as our goal is still to have our dog provide comfort to those in need.
Thank you so very much! I am extremely pleased that you are working on this and doing the right thing! I wish you the best of luck with your girl and the years of work she will be able to do to help others in need