I need help with teaching my 5 month old service dog

He is listening to most of the commands I give him at home but when we r out he listens to all of them I don't know what to do to get it n his head that he has to do it all the time iam proofing all the time w him every where we go making sure he knows what he can can't do but it's like when we get home the work time mode switch just turns off n I need for him to keep it on

 

Hi Jessica, are you saying you're expecting your puppy to be in work mode all the time? This isn't reasonable for an adult dog, and definitely not for a puppy. Even the Guide Dogs aren't "at work" 24/7.

 

Yes I have epilepsy so he knows when iam going to have a seizure so yes he has to be n work more all the the time cuz he is a service dog

 

I'm working with several puppies at the moment who, hopefully, will become service dogs. At the moment though you don't have a service dog, you have a 5 month old puppy who's training needs are to help him live comfortably in today's modern society so that he matures into a balanced adult. That he is indicating when a seizure is imminent at a young age is a bonus. It is totally unreasonable though to expect a 5 month old puppy, or even an adult dog, to be 'working' 24hrs a day.

 

He needs his down time and play time just like you do.

My Guide Dog pup is five months old and I do half an hour of work each day in shops etc etc plus four 5 to 10 minute training sessions indoors, that’s it. The rest is play and sleep. Three days a week he has a free run, his work then is walking nicely until he’s let off lead


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Play is a wonderful learning tool for puppies. And sleep is so important to aid growth and the 'learning' process after training

 

I live in a HUD apt so I can not let him off his lead but I do understand what u r saying

 

Hi and welcome! I agree with all the advice you've gotten so far. I lost my assistance dog nearly two years ago and am now searching for a puppy. I know that once I have that little 8 week old bundle, I have probably 1.5-2 years before I have a dog who will stand a chance of passing his ADI certification and 3-4 years before I have a dog who is as solid as my dog Brogan was before he passed. That's just life. Just like you don't expect a 5 year old to attend university, you can't expect a puppy to be a service dog in a matter of only a few months old. Part of it is teaching behaviours, but a HUGE part of it is simply maturity and life experience.

I agree 100% with @Boogie 's recommendation for a training schedule. The short sessions throughout the day plus socialization and built in rest and fun time are the key to keeping everyone happy.

 

Like I said I understand that n I can work on that w him

 

But he wants his play time at home all day long he doesn't want to work when I tell him it work time so what do I do

 

Have you attended puppy classes with him? If you find a good trainer who uses positive reinforcement and no punishment, you might find it helps you learn what motivates him and how to train calmness at home.

Are you working with a trainer to help you train him as a service dog?

As others have said, he's still only a baby, you can't expect too much of him - he wants to play because he is a puppy and that's what they do. He doesn't know he's going to be a service dog. You can't tell him it's work time, and expect him to understand, unless you've trained a cue for this.

For example, you could say "it's work time", give him a treat, ask him to sit, give him a treat and then give him a release cue like "all done". If you play this a couple of times a day, and slowly build up the number of behaviours you ask for in each session, he will learn your cues for starting and ending work are.

If you could explain in more detail what you have already trained him, how you have trained him, and what his daily schedule is like, we could give you some more advice.

 

Puppies play and will happily play all day. Puppies learn through training (and sessions should always be fun and short) and play and he currently has no idea what you mean by it being 'work time'. You need to train him a specific task and then add a cue so he understands what you are asking him to do. 'Let's work' in my house means let's do some training and is always met with enthusiam.
As at @lucky_dog says, if you could provide some information we may be able to help more

 

He needs to first learn what "work time" means. Words alone don't have any meaning until you teach him the meaning. All he's hearing is "blah, blah, blah".

You can figure out what works best for you, but for my little training sessions (5 minutes for 3-5 times a day) the cue for my dog was me putting the treat bag on my waist and grabbing the clicker. Training time was over when I said "Good job" for the final behaviour, lots of praise/pets and then said "All done" and took off the treat bag. Then he learned those words and routine as they got repeated over and over. Even within the training session, it's important for them to know when they are "released" from a behaviour. Some people mark with "all done", "OK, etc. You just pick what works for you. The important thing is a definite beginning and end, end on a positive, and make it fun, fun, fun. The dog shouldn't think, "Oh drat, now I have to go to work." The dog should think, "Oh yeah, here comes the special fun treats and praise time with my human!".

As a fully-trained dog, we also had working cues. For example, I had an 8 way leash (also known in the US as a German lead). When I wore it over my shoulder (hands free) it meant he was working and needed to shadow my steps precisely (no sniffing, greeting other dogs or people). If I held the same leash in my hand, that meant he could sniff and have a wee and generally be more relaxed. For complete "go crazy and act like a normal dog", it was leash snapped off and "go play" command.

No service or guide dog is "on duty" 24 hours a day. It's important that they have time simply to be dogs and have fun. And also to understand that they ARE dogs, not perfect machines. I sometimes had way too high expectations for my dog and would worry if he was not "perfect" in public.

A really good experience for me was meeting a working guide dog and seeing her at home when she was off duty. Normally you only see them in public working, where (frankly) they look pretty darn perfect. But this girl, who was still quite young (2 years) was a bit of a delinquent at home - zoomies, stealing shoes, munching on plants in the garden. Yet her human assured me that she was an amazing guide dog. It blew my ideas out of the water that "real" guide dogs are 100% perfect and made me less stressed that my own dog needed to be 100% perfect too. I don't know if this was a typical guide dog (@Boogie 's the expert there) but it was a good lesson for me to chill out a bit. And to be very proud of my older, calmer, more civilised at home boy.

 

Absolutely. I've had the pleasure to know several 'working' dogs from different spheres and when working they are 100% focussed on the job but also receive frequent breaks as in the case of say sniffer dogs who do a search and then receive a reward (frequently a ball game or tug) before going back into work mode. When not working they are also 100% normal dogs who like to chill, play, do zoomies or try and destroy the garden . They are adult dogs who have been trained over many, many months and are not expected to work 24hrs a day

 

Yes he is learning search/rescue for me only he has learned to snif my dirty clothes n when he turns his head away I know he is done smelling them he has learned to retrieve his toys as away to retrieve me when the time comes to start retrieving me he is learning my sign language not def people's sign language he is not crate trained he sleeps with me at all times that way if I have an epilepsy spell he can get help asap he knows how to pull the alarm n my home for help he is learning to retrieve my phone open my front door outside for help on the day's I have Dr. appts he does great he listens to every command I give him n does it right away but at home it a different story it like I can't get his attention n I don't know what to do @luck_dog @Jojo83

 

Hi Jessica, I agree with everything that has been said. Is your puppy going to wear an "Medical Dog" or "Assistance Dog" jacket when you are out and about? If so I would do all of his training tasks in the jacket so that he associates jacket with work. Hopefully, in time he will learn to work automatically when he has it on and when not he can be a normal puppy. My dog Hattie is a Pets as Therapy Dog, not the same I know, but when I put her jacket on and tell her we are going to "work" she is ready and does her stuff It's the same for Guide Dogs, when they get the jacket and harness on they are ready to guide their owner. x

 

He sounds like he is already doing amazingly well for his age - he has already learned a lot! It does seem that he can follow commands and learn at home if he's already doing the at-home tasks you mentioned. It may just be a question of attention span - no dog (especially a puppy) can be "on" all the time.

Maybe consider going back to basics with short "watch me" practice sessions while at home? That would build a good foundation that you can use for anything else later.

 

It does sound as if he is doing amazingly well for his age @Jessica Daniels with what he is able to do but he can't be in work mode for 24hrs a day. He needs down time when he is just a normal puppy. If he is not listening at home it's more than possible it's because he simply can't concentrate any longer. My advice would be to slow down on the training and begin to simpky enjoy life with your puppy before he turns into a more independent adolescent. I do appreciate that you want your puppy to become your service dog but he is a puppy with much growing up to do. This may sund rather harsh but the relationship you build with your pup isn't just about your needs but those of the puppy as well

 

Yes he will be wearing a vest when he is working I have ordered it n it is on its way just waiting for it to get here

 

I know it is n it's not harsh at all I want everyones opinion and honesty up front not someone beating around the bush that's y I asked for help he gets his toys n treats from Barkbox so I never have to worry bout him running out I pay $29.00 a year plus free shipping n handling n if he destroys his toys he gets a replacement for free so he does get his play time when we r at him n his nap time to iam just having trouble w proofing him w dogs, cats, n work time at home my command for dogs,cats,poeple is (leave it)
Command for go to work is (work time)
Command for him to listen to me ( touch his ear n say (LISTEN)repeat one more time)