service dog in training

Hangin’ at the Mall

Pam Hogle Ask The Thinking Dog , , ,

Dotty, a 7-month-old white golden retriever, wears a blue service dog-in-training vestThe brief glimpse of snow is long gone, but the weather has been cold, gray, and often wet. Dotty is hoping to spend more time at the mall.

We’ve visited lots of places that regular dogs are not allowed to go. Besides the mall, Dotty has been to numerous local cafes and bakeries, the airport, some shops and banks, and a grocery store.

It turns out that wheeled carts make her very nervous. She’s not crazy about automatic doors, either, or those weird freezers in the supermarket. But the carts really get to her.

The solution turns out to be hanging out at the mall. Every teenager’s dream. (Well, it was when I was a teenager …)

The point is literally to hang out and watch the world go by. People. Wheelchairs. Children running and jumping and screaming. Those all-terrain, 2-kid strollers that are bigger than some cars. Normal strollers too. Kids riding 3-foot-tall motorized stuffed animals.

And the smells — from the two pretzel shops to the Cinnabon to the stinky bath products stores… the smells are overwhelming to me, and I know that Dotty’s nose is thousands of times more sensitive.

Dotty, a 7-month-old white golden retriever, watches passersby, wearing a blue service dog0in-training vestDotty just watches. Sometimes, something surprises her and she gets up to take a closer look. But we hang out out of the stream of shoppers and mall walkers, just watching.

We also wandered a bit, past the video game arcade and the photo booth and the electronic “rides” for small children. Past the larger-than-life wooden forest ranger (she was not too keen on him) and the massage chairs. She checked out the shoeshine station pretty thoroughly.

This kind of watching and wandering can, of course, be done outdoors as well. But, as the weather turns wintry, sitting in parks has lost its appeal. (We did a fair bit of that over the summer, but clearly not enough.)

The idea is to get her used to everything, and anything. So that she won’t be surprised by people, carts, or whatever else pops up when she’s out and about. It’s a kind of “desensitization” training that, I hope, will build up her confidence in preparation for when she, as service dogs do, goes into new places and experiences unexpected things.

Mall Pup

Pam Hogle Main Blog, The Thinking Dog Blog , , ,
White pup Dotty holds a plastic tube. She's wearing a blue service dog cape.
Dotty got used to wearing her new cape by practicing a few retrieves while wearing it at home.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, Dotty met up with her sisters at the mall. A friend joined them as they hung out in the mall, greeting people who were shopping or also hanging out. The pack then visited Scheel’s for some light shopping and, it must be said, sightseeing.

(The Missoula Scheel’s has both a country fair-style shooting gallery and a 2-lane bowling alley, ensuring mobs of kids on a Saturday afternoon. And dogs. So many dogs.)

That Dotty and her sisters are 4-month-old golden retrievers and their friend Geo is a doodle is what makes this outing unusual. The girls are in training to become mobility-assistance service dogs, and learning to be calm, confident, and competent in public settings is an important part of their preparation.

This outing was a doozy. So many people, dogs, noises, smells, and experiences. We did spend much of the time in a quiet(er) meeting room, but navigating the store, which allows pet dogs, with its interesting features, was a challenging first public visit.

Dotty did amazingly well, calming down to watch people walking by in the mall, appropriately greeting people (sitting quietly) when given permission, walking confidently next to me through the gauntlet of people, dogs, and noises.

She did start to show some nervousness as we walked out. At this point, it was just the two of us, each sister-and-human pair having headed out separately. Near the bowling alley, a couple of girls asked if they could pet her, and I paused. So far, so good. But then a bunch of their friends came over at the same time that someone started bowling… and it was too much.

Dotty’s tail went down. I immediately apologized to the kids and headed out. Dotty recovered quickly and bounded happily to the car.

We’ve since had one additional outing: We visited the best pet store in Missoula. Dotty got to try out her new superdog cape, get treats, and explore a very exciting (from a puppy’s perspective) new place.

Dotty's cape is blue with patches that identify her as a service dog-in-training.The ADA, a federal law, allows people with service and guide dogs to take their dogs into public spaces that usually bar dogs. The ADA does not include access for people training service dogs, however. Montana is among the states that allows service dog trainers the same public access with dogs in training that a person who works with a service or guide dog has, with the stipulation that the dog in training wear an identifying cape or vest. So Dotty’s “superdog cape” grants her the super power of going where other dogs cannot. Much to Orly’s dismay.