Pick Task: Italian Greyhound Service Dog Training - pick up personal items for a disability

Pick Task: Italian Greyhound Training to be a Service Dog - pick up personal items for a human with a disability Celeste is one of our Italian Greyhounds here at Dainty Acres, she is in training currently as both an AKC show dog and a service dog. It takes years to develop a good service dog, so we start all the pups the moment they are born. We raise only Italian Greyhounds because they are especially suited for the mobility disabilities and the disabilities that require help retrieving personal items. A service dog is required to be well behaved in public and be trained to perform a task that aids the human with their disability. "Task" is the magic word that differentiates a service dog from an emotional support dog or a therapy dog. A service dog performs a task that is unique and special to the human with a disability. Here in this video Celeste is learning to pick up personal items that are out of reach for her human, and the task is being labeled as the "Pick Task". This breed is nimble and agile like a cat. But smart and easy to train like a dog. They are perfect for mobility challenged humans because of their size, intelligence and loyalty. They are not an aggressive breed, and they tend to be a little silly and shy. They are perfect for mobility tasks like retrieving personal items from under the couch or on the kitchen counter because of their cat-like qualities and their canine sense of smell. Pick Task: This girl has been working on this task for a month now, today in this video, I am asking her to link a couple activities together. She has learned the following activities: Activity 1: the first activity is for her to pick up a toy in her mouth. We started with just touching it, and I rewarded her for any form of contact with that toy. Even if she stepped on it by mistake. I want to catch her in the act, and say "Yes!" "Good!" and reward with a treat each time. Activity 2: The second activity is to recognize the word "pick" as a verbal sign. Each time she touches the toy, I say "Pick". She usually drops it to look at me, but that is OK, she has a lot to figure out. I reward her with each touch of the toy, and I don't reward a no touch. I just gaze off into the distance and wait for her to figure it out. Activity 3: carry the toy in her mouth. I want her to ultimately bring the toy to me when I say "Pick". I am waiting to catch her in the act of carrying the toy. I don't care which direction she is taking the toy. I want it in her mouth and moving with it. Reward with a "Yes!", "Good!" and a couple treats. Activity 4: bring the toy to me when I say Pick. When activities 1, 2 and 3 get linked together, then we work on rewarding only when the toy is brought over to me. At Activity 4, I do not reward for the random running around with it like I did at Activity 3. The treats and the praise come when she brings it to me. I don't care if she drops it at my feet, I am only connecting the dots in her head at this point. I want her to realize that when she picks up the toy and brings it toward me, she gets a reward. Activity 5: put the toy in my hand. Once Activities 1, 2, 3 and 4 are all reached, then I limit my reward to just when the toy makes it to my hand. This requires more sitting and staring into the distance as I wait for her to do it right. Don't be afraid to end a lesson without a success. Don't reward just for the sake of rewarding. When you say "Yes!" and "Good!" or give treats, it needs to be for an activity she was asked to do. She is connecting dots, and if you give her false intel, she will only get confused. So just quit asking and walk away if you don't get what you asked for. Every dog I've ever had in training has eventually done things wrong on purpose. This is a test. Dogs are learning by trial and error, "If I do this, Then I get a reward." "When I did that, I didn't get a reward." So don't be afraid to cut the training short, come at it again in an hour, and let the dog make mistakes. You can laugh and be silly when they do it wrong, but just don't reward. Oh, and keep the training sessions to 3 minutes or less. Pick it up 5-10 times a day. Repetition is what gets them to nail this! Still not getting it? then go back to Activity 4. May even take it back to Activity 3, but don't be afraid to sit there staring out into infinity. Let the dog work it out. Not all dogs will be service dogs, but all dogs are pets. Out of every litter, I may have one that is cut out for it. It takes me 8 months to get the dog trained for just the basic service dog activities. Then it takes 4 years to get a dog trained for a specific disability task. It is a lot of work, but so worth the time and investment when you have an Italian Greyhound companion who can travel and be an exceptional helper and service dog. #ServiceDogs #ItalianGreyhounds #ItalianGreyhoundServiceDogs #TrainingServiceDogs #DaintyAcresItalianGreyhounds #AirportCarryOnDogCarrier