i am supposed to be working with anne on a grant... and i am...
except that this section i was supposed to write about the who's
training methods we use-- which as you all know are not the kind
in the book.... so instead of the usual daily doggie this can be a
draft of what i am to send her... for her to straighten out...
here goes.....
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danes are different...
the training methosd used at sdp are not in any book..yet. they evolved from carlene's years as 4-h leader who's club trained thier animals for an "end of summer circus" . that dog and pony show drew the atention of a boston photographer who needed a dog and horse for a tv commercial for the new tuft's university vet school.... an easy job for carlene's 4-H trained animals.... and animal episodes became new englands primere animal agency.
.. no longer just dogs and horses, but cows and cockroaches , word got out in the mass film bureau tha.t carlene would show up on time with the right animal and humainely pull of whatever was needed for"the shot"
she often borrowed a dog which was the right size .. shape.. and color, which meant trying to get the dog to do something the director had in mind... and then have him change his mind. in handling hundreds of dogs carlene found that once a dog learned to learn they were more malieable on a set. she noticed the danes ( and corgi's ) she borrowed often had that ability. there are 2 photo's that illustrate a danes ability to concentrate on getting the job done.. first is the white dog actually in the tree apparently frightened of the white cat at teh bottom.... second is george steady as a rock helping bella walk....while enduring a standing ovation as he was awarded the #1 service dog in the country. both perfect.
we have hundreds of examples of our service danes doing things for which they could never have been taught.
they are perfect as service dogs for those who need help walking.. they are not perfectif you are deaf and need a dog to alert you to the doorbell ringing. you would need a jack russell to wake up the dane who is sleeping on the couch.
we start our pups at about 3 weeks with spoon feeding deserts after they have had dinner-- so they are not starving. in teh group of the whole litter, they learn to wait their turn and respond when their name is called. by 6 weeks most have "IT" --- look and listen is teh foundation on all the rest of service dog training. altho our pups often go home for overnights with volunteers, we do not do "puppy raising" as we feel the bonding process would be too upsetting for a dog to live with a family for 18 months and then go somewhere else.
our whole project is based on what a dog wants-- baasically to be with their person 24/7/365-
they love working and stick thier heads in a harness with tail wagging. to that end, we need to teach them to be socially acceptable and to do a few basic things to help thier partner.-- after 6 months with their partner we hear stories how the dog is matching thier stride and they have found solutions to situations for which there can be no special training..
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to be continued
