All dogs who are employed to aid us, humans, go through proper training. They could be deployed in the military, the local police force, and they can also be used to help the sick and disabled. No matter how simple or complicated their job can be, they all need to go through proper training.
When dogs are employed to do a job, their training goes way beyond the basic commands that we teach our pet dogs. Learning these commands is just the tip of the iceberg; they also need to be exposed to different environments, as early as their puppy years. Being familiar with their surroundings lessens the possibility of them getting spooked.
The Today Show followed a young pup who was training to become a service dog in the future. This black Labrador cutie is Charlie. He was being trained by Olivia Poff from America’s VetDogs. This non-profit group is focused on providing war veterans with their own service dogs for physical and psychological support.
After featuring on the show at the Rockefeller Center, Charlie and Olivia made their way home to Long Island. Clearly, their day was far from over. Olivia was kind enough to show everyone how she trained Charlie on a daily basis so that he can be an effective service dog in the future.
Olivia has several contraptions all around her house that helped her with the training process. She had this cube where different objects were dangling from. This exposes Charlie to the various sounds and textures of different materials as he bumps into them. She also has a small obstacle course in the backyard.
But this course wasn’t intended to test Charlie’s physical abilities, but rather help him become familiar with the different obstacles he may come across in the city. Olivia made sure that Charlie received treats to encourage his bravery in training. He was also exposed to wheelchairs and walkers as his future owner could be using these. At the end of their training session, Charlie was so tired that he had to take a nap early in the afternoon.
Credits: TODAY
