The Need for Constant Training and Reinforcement

One thing I did not realize, before getting my own service dog, was that even when you get a fully trained service dog, there is a need for constant training and reinforcement.  Most of the time, it's not that difficult to do.  It's necessary, though.

Last night, I was tidying up and I wanted to put my gym shoes away in the closet.  I didn't want to bend over to pick them up, though.  My back has been bothering me more than usual lately, maybe because I had to stop taking the turmeric I normally take every day to help reduce inflammation in preparation for my biopsy.  So I pointed at a shoe and told Isaac to "Get it."

Isaac normally loves picking things up for me.  This time, though, he acted like he had no idea what I wanted him to get.  He picked up his Kong, which was nearby, and gave that to me instead.  I pointed back at the shoe and repeated, "Get it."  He gave me the confused look and lay down.  I bent over so that I was almost touching the shoe and told him again to "Get it."  He looked around for something else to pick up for me.

I finally picked up one shoe myself, then tried to get him to pick up the other.  It wasn't working.  He seemed confused and I was getting frustrated.  "Why aren't you helping me?" I asked.  Isaac rubbed against my legs, wagging his tail.  I put the shoes away and sat down to think about it.

It occurred to me that I do not usually ask Isaac to pick up my shoes.  Once in a while, when he is in the mood to retrieve, he will bring me a shoe.  He will bring me all sorts of things I haven't asked for, and I always tell him, "Not now."  Maybe he has the idea that shoes are things he isn't supposed to pick up.

So I got up and got some doggie treats.  I picked up a dish towel in the kitchen and dropped it.  Almost before I could give the command, Isaac pounced on hit and picked it up for me.  I gave him a treat and told him what a good boy he was.

Then I picked up a shoe, one of my flip flops this time.  I dropped it, pointed and said, "Get it!"  Isaac happily retrieved it and earned a treat.  I pointed at the other flip flop, still on the floor, and said, "Get it!"  Isaac happily retrieved that one, too.  Another treat, more praise.

Then I got one of my gym shoes out of the closet, dropped it, and gave the command.  Isaac picked it up and gave it to me, tail wagging happily.  I took the shoe from him and gave him another treat.

For whatever reason, he just didn't understand what I wanted initially.  Instead of being frustrated, I just needed to show him what I wanted.  He wants to please me.  He loves to help.  He just didn't understand at first.