Police K9s train for years before ever make it to the streets with their partners to take on 'the bad guys'. I can only imagine the satisfaction of when the K9 performs flawlessly for the first time in a real-life situation. The same principle goes for service dogs. Max's history isn't that of a typical service dog since he has officially been in training specifically for service work with me for just about 6 months now. I still consider him a Service Dog In-Training because we do still have hiccups and things that need to be worked on more, but he does help to mitigate my disability which is why he has Public Access Rights. You can train any dog with time and patience to be obedient, but Max's unique desire to truly please and take care of me nearly brought me to tears today.
Since I am just a week after surgery, I still need some help around the house. Max is my shadow- everywhere- and even in the bathroom. I got out of the shower and needed some help from my Mom. I did the typical- opened the door and yelled 0:) She didn't come though. I tried again, but no response. Before Max, my option would only be to continue yelling and wait.
There are tasks that I've trained Max on my own and there are others that his trainer has introduced to him. I think it is the mark of a great service dog when they find ways to help on their own.
I sat with Max and had him look at me and told him to "Find Mom". We'd never really practiced this. Find Ball? Heck yeah. Find a Toy? Sure. But never a person. I told him again, and opened the door, and out into the house he went. He was gone about 30 seconds, but then he came back- nothing. I gave him a pat on the head, and encouraging scratch, and told him again- "Max, Go Find Mom". He went back out and it turns out he realized that my mom and dad were out on the porch. Max went to the screen door and barked!
Side Note: In my life, when you see Max, you should see me. If Max shows up and I'm not with him, something's probably wrong.
My mom quickly got up and rushed in to help me. I could not believe it. Max has not been taught to bark on command. He has not been specifically taught to go find any specific person. He led her straight back to me. I needed help, and he put 1 and 1 together to make 2 and got me help. While today wasn't a life-or-death scenario by a long shot, he took on the role of being a lifeline and potential lifesaver for me. I was emotional and so proud; my mom was very thankful and impressed; and my dad was just floored at his intelligence. Max? He wanted to know where his lunch was. ;)
As if that wasn't more than enough- we also went to a packed Target where he was called a seeing-eye dog (LOL), hid stealthily under a clothing rack to stay out of the aisle as a cart passed within inches, and for one great mom- helped her teach her very young daughter about service dogs and how they are highly trained and there was no reason to fear him (even though Max was at least 3x her size). If that wasn't enough, we took advantage of Staples being empty, when we went in to run an errand, as a training opportunity, and the staff there was great.
Yeah, it was an amazing and very big day for Max and Me.
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