✂️🐕‍🦺 Grooming prep starts LONG before the actual grooming appointment. One of the ways we help prepare future service dogs for grooming is through early desensitization to the sounds, sights, vibrations, and handling involved in the grooming process. In this video, we’re introducing a puppy to an electric toothbrush while it’s turned OFF first. The toothbrush safely mimics grooming clippers and helps puppies begin building positive associations with grooming equipment. The goal right now isn’t perfection — it’s confidence. 🙌 ✔️ Let them investigate ✔️ Mark and reward calm curiosity ✔️ No pressure ✔️ No forcing We want puppies learning: 🐶 “Weird objects predict good things.” This kind of foundation work helps create dogs that are more relaxed during grooming, vet care, handling, and everyday life experiences later on. For service dogs especially, cooperative care and confidence around handling is a HUGE skill set to build early. 🐕‍🦺

The Meat Section! Dogs have an incredible sense of smell… and let’s be honest, one of their favorite smells in the world is meat 🍖 🥩 So when a service dog walks past the meat section at a grocery store, it can be a very tempting situation. But a well-trained service dog learns something very important: Ignore the food and stay focused on the handler! No: • Sniffing • Licking • Jumping • Trying to investigate the shelves Instead, the dog should be calmly walking with their handler and checking in for guidance. In this video, you’ll see Saffy the black lab doing exactly that — walking past the meat section while staying focused and ignoring the food!🐕‍🦺 Great job, Saffy and handler @Julie Kelley Training moments like this help build reliability so service dogs can confidently accompany their handlers anywhere they’re needed. 💬 Question for you: If your dog could choose one aisle in the grocery store to live in, which one would it be? 😂🐾

If you’re training a service dog (or thinking about it), this is a great example of what we’re aiming for when dogs see other dogs in public. Notice where the dogs’ attention is. Instead of staring at each other, they’re checking in with their handlers. That comes from a lot of eye-contact work at home and in low-distraction spaces first, so when real-world distractions show up, the dog already knows, “my human has the answers.” 👀✨ You’ll also see us practicing a come on leash. If a leash is ever dropped or there’s an unexpected moment, the dog needs to respond immediately, even around other dogs. And at the end, you’ll see Free Dog 🎉 Clear working time, clear release. The dogs get to decompress and get that extra reinforcement for doing such a good job staying neutral and focused. This is what we’re looking for in public access work: calm dogs, soft bodies, focused minds, and handlers giving clear, consistent guidance 🐾💛

Sandy, one of ASA’s service dogs in training did great today! I am so proud of Sandy! She did absolutely incredible! She stayed under the table the entire time at the restaurant even when the delicious smelling food came. She didn’t even look at it. She went to a coffee shop and was incredible with strollers and people walking tight to her. She worked hard in the book store and stayed super well! She even focused on heel while we weaved through those tricky block chairs in the store! Thank you @Amanda Taulborg for walking us through each step of preparing her to go out and be coool!

Hope you and your pups all have a wonderful Christmas! Sandy went Christmas caroling last night with my grandparents and I. She also did some really good comes this morning! What are your services dog doing this Christmas?