Lacey’s first full day with us was mostly quiet. She played with some of her toys for a bit, she explored the house a bit more, and she had her first guided swim (in the tub, and with me holding her up). But mostly, she just vegged out. This is exactly what she needs for at least the first few days of her new life. The stress she had to deal with over the past week was tremendous, and she needs time to just kick back, relax, and settle in.
Today we are officially beginning her training. She has issues with the leash and the kennel, so we’re going to start with those. Over the course of the day, I’ll be changing things up for her by teaching her sit, down, and stay. It may seem like a lot to put on an 8-week-old puppy, but in actuality, it’s not that much. Each session is 5 to 7 minutes, every hour. As Lacey gets older and starts to master the lessons, the session times will increase to about 10 minutes every hour.
Frequent instruction teaches the puppy stamina, focus, and patience. As a Support Animal to an autistic child, Lacey must be patient and calm at all times, and she must be able to focus on him when she is out in public settings with him and his parents.
If anyone has any questions or insights, please feel free to leave a comment. As humans, we tend to get so close, emotionally, to our canine friends that we don’t always see a different, more effective way to achieve a training goal, and I am no different in that regard. I do try not to get attached, but honestly, I don’t think it can be avoided. You can’t live and work with an animal every day and not develop a bond with them.
Thanks for visiting. Have a great day!