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Alright, it's Friday! Time for the next Leo update. This week we started working on sound alerts. 🚨 The goal is pretty simple: 👉 When there’s an important environmental sound, like a bell, alarm, something I should notice, Leo should come to me and poke my hand until I pay attention. So this is basically a two-step process. 1️⃣ Step one was teaching the actual behavior. Coming to me and pushing his nose into my hand repeatedly. For this, I used a small treat in my closed fist. At the beginning, he was just sniffing and trying to figure out how to get it. I only rewarded him when he actually touched or pushed my hand with his nose, multiple times in a row. So instead of one quick touch, he had to poke again… and again… and stay persistent. The idea was to build that behavior of: 👉 don’t give up, keep nudging until I respond After a few sessions, it clicked. 👍🐶 2️⃣ The second step is where it gets interesting. Now he needs to do that… because of a sound. 🚨 And this is not going that great so far. 😄 I’m using a remote bell that I placed near the door, so I can trigger it from anywhere. The idea is that when the bell rings, he comes to me and does the alert behavior. But here’s the problem: He’s smart enough to know when the sound actually means something. If someone is at the door, he already reacts on his own, barking, running to the door, showing me something is happening. That part is natural for him. But when I ring the bell remotely… He hears it, but he also knows there’s no one there. So from his point of view, it’s basically: “Okay… I hear it… but why should I care?” 🐶 Another funny part is that he’s already learned the first step too well. If he sees my hand move even a little bit, he assumes I have a treat and immediately comes to poke my hand. So now he’s reacting to my hand, not to the sound. What I’ve started doing now is hiding from him. 🏃‍➡️ I’ll go somewhere in the house where he can’t see me, ring the bell, and let him figure out that he needs to find me and do the alert.

I hope you have a great time today with your family and friends. Remember, if things get a bit overwhelming — with noise, conversations, or just everything going on — here’s a simple tip: 👉 It’s completely okay to step away for a few minutes. - Excuse yourself to the restroom or a quiet space, take a couple of minutes to breathe, ground yourself, and reset. - Those few minutes can help your auditory and nervous systems calm down so you can come back and re-engage with everyone. Key takeaway: It’s okay to take breaks when you need them. 👍 Enjoy the day, take care of yourself, and be present in the moments that matter. 💛

Alright, so here’s the first update! The first thing we focused on this week was walking together. More specifically, walking with a short leash, what they call a 'leader leash.' Up until now, Leo was used to a longer leash, so he had more freedom to move around. This is very different. Now he has to stay right next to me, same pace, same direction. At the beginning, it was not smooth at all. (understatement of the year 😂) He kept trying to switch sides, crossing in front of me, going left, then right. Basically trying to figure out where he’s supposed to be. And honestly, I also had to adjust. Because this is not just about controlling him, it’s about both of us getting used to moving together. After a few days, it started to look much better. And now, after almost 2 weeks, he’s staying next to me pretty consistently, and we’re already doing this in public spaces too. For example, I took him to Home Depot. We walked through some pretty narrow aisles, sometimes with people around, and overall he did really well. A couple of times he tried to pull me toward things that caught his attention, but nothing too crazy. At one point there was another dog, and he definitely noticed… but he still stayed next to me and kept walking. We also went outside to the garden area and then back inside. The whole experience was actually pretty smooth. 🐕‍🦺 I’d say 95% of the time he stayed in sync with me, which honestly surprised me. One small step for dog.... one giant leap for service dog qualification! 🥇 I attached a photo and a 10-second video from one of the walks this week. Next step will be adding more real-world situations and distractions. This week we started working on alert behaviors (he alerts me of things happening). But I'll save this for the next update. 🐶 Quick question: Have any of you ever trained a dog like this, or seen this kind of process before? Happy Friday! Guy & Leo PS - Tagging the people I believe showed interested in this journey.