My Heart Is Breaking To Think This

[FindingMyself88]

Bristol may not be able to be a service dog. I've been home over an hour and am just now able to make myself get out of bed to write this. We went to the mall today and she was doing great! We have been training extra on focus and on sitting under chairs and under my legs. We had been there for like 2 hours, had seen several kids and we were doing fine. She has always been okay with kids, maybe a little curious but okay.

We were walking and all of a sudden out of nowhere the kid darts out of the store and runs straight at Bristol screaming. Her mom caught her RIGHT before she got to us, but it still scared Bristol and she jumped in front of me and barked. I calmed her down and we kept walking. I didn't think a whole lot of it. Well then we got in line at chick fil a for an ice cream cone and this kid behind us started screaming at her. Bristol lost focused and started whining and trying to get to the child, not in an aggressive way but just trying to get to the kid.

We finally leave and go to wal-mart. There a kid starts screaming at her and again she barks. We go to the pharmacy to get our medicine and by this point, I am stressed out and a little panicky, but trying to remain calm. Yet again another kid. This kid kept running around us. I was trying to maintain Bristol's attention with treats and was doing a good job. I would let her glance at him to know it was okay. I told the kid not to pet her, she was working. Well he just keeps trying to come closer and so I put my hand out. His mom calls him back, but doesn't enforce it when he doesn't. It's our turn at the counter so we go up and Im still focusing more on her than anything. Well the kid starts yelling and Bristol gets upset again and barks and tries to get to him. Again, not growling, but trying to get to him. The mom grabs him up and puts him in the buggy and then he starts really crying and screaming. Im managing to keep her relatively calm, but just barely. By this point I am on break down mode.

I go outside while my mom pays for groceries and just loose it. It is not Bristol's fault, it is completely mine. I don't know what to do. Could this just be a bad day for her? Or do I rationally need to consider washing her out of SD work? If I do this, I am just giving up. I can't bring myself to get rid of her, I am too attached. But on the same note, I don't want her job to stress her out. She loves being with me so it would be hard to end it.

@Justmehere What do you think? I am not thinking rationally right now.. anyone else's input who has service dogs is greatly appreciated too.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I think that this may just be a bad day for Bristol. Humans have bad days, and dogs do too! She is in training right now, and as such, she isn't going to be perfect. You did a great job at correcting her today. I know it is upsetting to think that she may not work out as a service dog, try to focus on all of the work you've done with her so far, and how well she has behaved in other situations.

I don't have a service dog. I think that she was perhaps confronted with a lot of kids in one day, and this sort of situation is new for her. She will likely need more training in order to be OK around kids, but I think its a bit too soon to make the determination that she can't be a service dog.

 

[Joan]

As an owner of a service dog...I think #1 Bristol is to be commended for stepping in front of you when the first kid came toward you. She was doing her job to protect you. I think you asked an awful lot of her going to so many stimulating places. I know that when my dog was being trained he would only go one, maybe 2 places a day. I say give her another chance.

 

[FindingMyself88]

Thank you @Solara and @Joan. I really hope you both are right. I plan on not going anywhere tomorrow, just both of us relaxing and going down to the field at our apartment and let her run around and play. I can't stand the thought of washing her out. She has helped me soooo much!

This wasn't her busiest day, but it was only her second time at the mall, so that could have been an issue. I jus't hope this one incident doesn't make her afraid of all kids from now on. I wish I knew someone with a 7-8 year old whom I could get to meet with her and pet her so she knows kids aren't bad. If parents would learn to control their kids… yeah not going down that rant road!

 

[Justmehere]

@FindingMyself88 - I agree with @Solara and @Joan. This sounds much more like a bad day rather than a sign that she won't be a good service dog.

Nothing about what you described makes me concerned. It's good that she wasn't aggressive or growling. It sounds like she just got spooked and exited by the kiddos around her, picked up on their high and unpredictable energy, and then she was a little overwhelmed. That's pretty normal for dogs-in-training the first handful of times they are around kids, especially in one day. Kids are so unpredictable, and it takes time for dogs to learn they don't need to react to that unpredictableness in little ones.

No one can say for sure that Bristol is going to be the right dog for service dog work. I do very confidently believe its way too early to rule her out as a service dog. And there is so much she is doing so well at... Don't give up!

The "public access" part of service dog training takes a lot of time. It typically takes at least 18 months for the dog to get to the point where they are absolutely "bullet proof" and don't react to things in the environment at all. Most dogs that get ruled out for service dog work are ruled out either right at the get go (Bristol has by far passed that test) or after at least 1 year of training. I've never seen it happen before at least a year of training unless it was a major health problem.

Owner-trainers of service dogs have a harder road and unique training challenges. The dogs can still be used for service dog work long before the 18 month mark, but there will be tough moments along the way like you had today. In time, the tough moments will become just quirky moments where she needs more training and attention. Eventually that will go away for most dogs too.

As bright and smart as Bristol is, screaming kids is amoung the biggest temptations for many dogs-in-training. With my own dog, the first time we were around excited kids, I thought she wanted to hunt them like they were rabbits or play with them like they were puppies! I was a bit concerned. I ended up sitting with her a long distance from kids were running down the halls at my church. Then eventually we got closer and closer... you get the idea. Now kids are kinda boring to her. They can be pulling on her tail and racing in circles and dropping toys on her and she will look interested, but won't react.

When training my own dog, especially the first year, there were a handful of days were I was absolutely convinced she would never make it and I was totally overwhelmed in the process. Now, I wonder why I ever thought of giving up.

You handled it all very well today. Good work to both you and Bristol. :hug:

 

[scout86]

I agree with everyone else. I think that's why they call it "training". I would think it would be hard to train your own dog as a service dog, especially if it's the first service dog you've trained. So, you probably need to cut both of you some slack.

I don't know much about dog training, especially service dog training. I would think that the best way to introduce her to weird stuff is in a controlled setting, a little at a time. She's young. Her "inner puppy" is going to be easily aroused. All that takes time. Are there any obedience classes in your area? Around here, there are some sponsored by the various communities that are fairly inexpensive. Something like that might be a place where she could learn to deal with distractions in a more controlled setting.

Parents controlling their kids is a nice thought! Not a realistic expectation, but a great idea!

Write it off to a bad day!

 

[nursenurse]

She was overwhelmed. Any animal in training needs a break, and she seems to have been put into an unknown position without those breaks. You did very well yourself, and she was behaving as a dog might. So now you know she doesn't understand how to deal with kids. Try to introduce her to small snippets of children for short periods of time, to teach her how to behave. In smaller quantities, she will learn, and neither of you will be overwhelmed. Don't give up on her. She will learn to adjust. a little at a time.

While I am no dog expert, I did train dogs for a period while I was in animal health technology. This incident does not make her or you a failure. Regroup, and plan how you can can introduce her a bit at a time to similar situations where you can concentrate on encouraging the behaviour you want.

Good luck :)

 

[FindingMyself88]

Thank you everyone. After reading your responses and calming down some, I am feeling a bit better about this. I really should've cut our day short after the mall. She just has done SO good in these few short months that I honestly forget she is in training sometimes. She has been around kids before and done fine, like I said a little curious but fine. In fact when we first got to the mall, we ended up in the elevator with a woman with 1 toddler in a walker and a 6-ish year old boy and she completely ignored them even in that confined space. I think the one girl rushing at her and that only being her second time at the mall really over stimulated her. Then after that it was kid back to back. At walmart we were going to the pharmacy to get away from the craziness and then the other kid appeared.

We are going back to my home town next weekend and there is the lady that helped me temperament test her and her 10 year old daughter. I trust and know this girl and she is not afraid of dogs in the least, plus Bristol has met her before. I am going to try to slowly let them meet and greet so Bristol knows kids are okay.

I am also going to continue to work on keeping her focus on me and ask the trainer I'm working with for her barrier issues for some impulse control training games. I think her barrier frustration may have played into this too, as she wasn't allowed to get to the kids.

Thank you all again, I needed the advice and the support. I honestly love her so much and she has helped me beyond words. Before I got her, I couldn't go anywhere alone without tremendous anxiety and was developing agoraphobia. She has helped me with that. She is laying beside me now wanting to play tug of war so I think I am going to oblige her in that :)

 

[Jezanna]

As some one who has trained low level obedience and agility dogs you made the mistake almost all new trainers make. Going too fast too soon. I did it in the obedience ring in front of a couple hundred people. It happens. Embarrassing as heck but a lesson I haven't forgotten . Always watch your dogs for signsof stress, make sure your dog is very reliable with sit stay heel and down. Last and most important is it usually human error at not properly proofing their dog. Google Internet for spotting stress in dogs. Set dog up to succeed never to fail. Leave situation if dog is stressed and go back to least stressfull event such as being 30 feet from a kid. I need to currently take my own advise, lol. Happy training!

 

[FindingMyself88]

Thank you @Jezanna it is a mistake I plan not to make again.

I gave her the weekend off, just to play around the house and we went to the little grassy area at our apartment and I put her on her 30ft leash so she could run and play. Today we made one short trip to wal-mart. She did much better and it helped me to mark Thursday off to just a bad day! She did watch the kids with extra interest, but didn't whine or lunge like she did the other day. Anytime we saw a kid, I allowed her to look at them for a second then got her to look at me and gave her treats. I tried to make sure we kept a good distance where kids were not liable to just run up, but also close enough that she could see them.

At the pharmacy (again) I put her in a down stay under my feet because there was a little girl in line running around. I made my mom stand in line so that I could remain sitting with her under me. This is something new we are learning to get under me, but I found it put her out of the direct attention of the girl, and it provided her some comfort I think being so close to me.

On the way out there was this one boy, a good 7 or 8 years old doing cartwheels (again, where are the parents?!) and I found she got tense. I got out of the way and had her sit down while he walked out, giving her treats as she remained calm. Once he was gone, we continued on out.

So now we are home and she is curled up beside me with her favorite chew bone as a treat :). Me and my parents are going out to eat tonight at Olive Garden. Originally before Thursday we were going to take her, but I've decided that wal-mart was enough of an adventure today. We have done fast food restaurants before, but nothing this fancy and time consuming.

Thanks to all of you again for the support. She really is my best friend and I don't know what I would do without her. Last night I was extremely triggered due to something on the news. I ended up curled up behind my closet door with Bristol all night. She stayed right beside me the whole time, checking on me and grounding me when needed. I would not have the freedom I have again if it wasn't for her!

 

[Jezanna]

You sound like a excellent trainer! Give yourself a pat on the back for recognizing when your dog has had enough. It's human nature I think to push the dogs a little too far. There is a excellent book on dog calming signals, can't recall name but you could google why it's beneficial to know them. I'm scattered these days after nightmare issues. But again , glad your doing well.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I think you and Bristol were so overexposed to too many wild and out of control kids today. Keep at it.