Expectations

I have some fairly strict standards of what I expect in a dog. This comes from doing obedience and hunting with bird dogs before starting to train my own service dogs. Our gun dogs, in particular, were expected to listen and obey because the stakes were high. If they ran off, they could die. If they tripped us while we were carrying loaded shotguns, we could die. Obedience dogs have to be precise, but it's much more of a game.

With my service dogs, it's a middle ground. I expect them to listen and obey, because if they choose wrong, I fall down and can hurt them or myself. However, it's not likely anyone will die, so it's not a "you must do this now, without question." I expect a bit of a pushback on somethings they don't enjoy, and hope they'll ignore me if I'm asking them to do things that will lead to me falling.

In return, I expect to motivate and reward them so they want to do the work. I hope that we present a picture of unity and teamwork, though there are times I intentionally let them dork out and have a mental breather- especially earlier in training.

I carry a treat pouch when I'm working Keeper, because I expect her to need a primary reward, and for her, food is the pinnacle of all that is good. There are times we go hours without my hand in the treat bag because praise and a short pet are enough, and there are more mentally strenuous days when I go through several cups of kibble in the course of our time at work.

Duncan was motivated by play far more than Keeper, so I used a different style of leash and we'd do a bit of tug if something went well, or I'd throw things for a retrieve. It is almost criminally easy to motivate a dog who loves to fetch when you drop things near constantly, and who thinks making people laugh is rewarding. These were still things he found intrinsically rewarding, but they were a bit more discrete than some of Keeper's non-food rewards.

I expected to get Duncan through a day of work without more than a tidbit or two, because his rewards were not so heavily pegged to "food is best." I basically had a dog who thought the whole day was a game of "She's going to drop it, I know she's going to drop it... HUZZAH! She dropped it. Lemme hand it back to her. ... She's going to drop it...."

I expect that Keeper will like petting as a reward, but that it is generally unwieldy to use in public, especially if we get into the full on belly rubs she really enjoys. I expect us to create a 'professional,' unobtrusive teamwork, which means that a lot of Keeper's bigger rewards- jumping up, licking, tackling, and being an absolute goof- rarely happen in a public setting, because I expect us to act like a service dog team, not like a pet goofing off. To make up for the buttoning down on fun, she gets food.

The fact that my fully trained service dogs did/do get food is an anathema to other service dog users, who expect their dogs to do the work because they were told to do the work. And there are some dogs out there who will do it because it's asked. I personally expect to have to pay my dogs- either in food or play- for the work they do. I do what I can to make the job interesting and fun for them.

In return, I expect them to keep me safe, stay out of other people's way, remain where I place them in a stay, and more. I treat them like partners and employees, love them deeply, and am grateful they do their jobs. I expect a lot, and hope I give them as much joy as possible.