Team Training Day 1 - May 2019

Hello All!

 It's that time again! Time for Team Training and Graduation! For those of you who are new here, Team Training is the two-week period where the kids and young adults with disabilities we serve are placed with their long-awaited assistance dogs.  During this time, there is a LOT to learn. handling a service dog requires a unique set of skills and knowledge, all of which our students must learn before they can graduate and become official service dog teams!

To kick things off, we gathered together in the classroom (graciously donated by Parkway Christain Center) and introduced ourselves. We temporarily had to move the party outside due to some technical difficulties, but everyone handled it like champs!

The students then had their first of several lectures. Today's was about the basic needs of dogs including their physical, emotional, and psychological needs, as well as how to effectively give commands to a dog.  This new knowledge was then put to the test when the students were challenged to get a dog to jump on to a low table. This may seem like a simple task, but as our students soon found out, there's a lot that goes into it! Unsurprisingly, everyone did great!

These next couple of weeks will be packed full of joy, tears, a little frustration, and a whole lot of adventures, so hold on tight and enjoy the ride. This, my friends, is only the beginning.