The Dogs in Vests team gathered up the service animals and visited the University Park Fire Department today!
Miriam, as well as Karis, our child author, took turns sharing their stories. They explained what types of services the dogs provide and how the could help firemen as well!
Our outing was a huge success primarily because we could tell that everyone enjoyed learning about the various uses of service dogs. Additionally, we got to show them what a trained service dog looks like and how it should behave.
Stellas sister, Mazie, (Karis’ service dog) is about to get her IAADP international service dog certification. That being said, we covered all bases to ensure she would preform at her most professional. Most importantly, we wanted to make sure she would not be frightened in an emergency if a fireman with full gear and an oxygen tank came to rescue her. Although there have been ambulances in the past, there have been none while she was working.
This was an incredible training experience for all of the service animals and human friends involved. We noticed two of the three dogs alerted and gave out a single bark and the puppy backed up as the fireman approached. We had the fireman hand the dogs high value treats and pet them to help them learn to associate them with a positive experience. Along with our calming and reassuring voices they warmed up quickly inspire of the chirping and funny sounds that come with the oxygen tanks running.
We love getting to bring our audiences along for our journey of training and socialization.
Please feel free to comment with any questions you have about our outings, techniques, training experience, and ideas for the future! Most importantly, check out our book on Amazon and grab a copy. All proceeds go to the life of Mazie and and dedicated work to the Ladewig family!