A look into Winston’s first month of Stability Dog training
Winston is now an 8-month-old puppy, although you would never know it by seeing his size! Sometimes we are still so surprised to see his head peek over our high countertops, it seems as though he’s growing every day.
His first month of Stability Dog training was for learning basic commands like sit, lay down, and stay. He has a good handle on the first two but “stay” is still a work-in-progress. We think it is because he is a big love-bug and likes to be by someone’s side instead of sitting and waiting on his own!
We take him to weekly training classes at 2J4Paws and Sofia is always there to support him during his sessions. The trainers are fantastic with Winston, guiding him while also being kind and gentle. Winston gets excited when we arrive at the facility, he is ready to have fun learning!
Winston received his official Service Dog in Training vest that he wears out and about so people know not to pet him while he is training and so he becomes comfortable in a vest for when he is eventually on duty. He wore this vest to a recent socialization training at our favorite pet store, Wiscoy. The team at Wiscoy helped announce to customers that Winston was in a current training session so that people would not try to approach Winston as he was walking through the store. Winston was being trained to focus on navigating the store without being distracted by other people or animals.
After Winston’s formal training sessions, we always continue to train him on the same tasks during the week so that he maintains his progress between sessions.
Here are some fun facts about Winston and his favorite things!
His favorite rewards are cheese and bananas, these are his special treats!
He likes to be cozy in the house, he even has his own couch with a blanket that he nestles up with
He is always near our children! We can tell he is a natural protector and we often find our youngest, our son Brier, cuddling with him
The trainers have told us that he is an intelligent puppy that catches on quickly, and they think he will successfully complete his training process
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