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The Adventures of Huckleberry Pup (Vol. 1) - InteGrand

When the brave men and women of the United States military return from combat, they may need a bit of assistance to get re-acclimated to civilian life. There are countless charities that make it their mission to provide soldiers returning from war with all of the tools they need. In some instances, the people returning to the country may have injuries that require them to use a service dog. The Patriot Assistance Dogs (PAD) charity works to provide service dogs to members of our military who need them the most. Recently, Integrand began sponsoring one of the PAD service dogs. This precocious pooch, named Huckleberry, has undergone a lot of training in the last month and here are some updates on his progress.

service dog

Come, Sit and Stay

One of the first things the PAD trainers teach their pups is how to come, sit, and stay. Luckily, Huckleberry is excelling at all three of these commands. The trainers say that Huckleberry has the sit command down, but typically lasts for about eight seconds before he is ready to go again. Stay seems to be a bit of challenge for this young pup for now. He has only gotten a few seconds in on his stay time before running off to play. Like every puppy, Huckleberry loves to follow his trainers around. They are trying to help him realize what the come command is. He is distracted easily, which can make following this command a bit hard.

Potty Time

As anyone who has ever had a dog knows, one of the biggest challenges is reducing the amount of potty accidents indoors. The PAD trainers use the PARC command to alert Huckleberry when it is time to go outdoors to do his business. While he is doing great on pottying outside, Huckleberry is still not familiar with the command aspect of this task yet.

Hushing and Fetching

Huckleberry is doing remarkably well when it comes to following the hush commands. The only time he seems to lose interest in hushing is when he sees his food being prepared. The PAD trainers are also working on getting Huckleberry to lay down on command. For now, the only way to get him to lay down is by lowering his treat until he is on the floor. The trainers joke that he looks similar to a frog when trying to perform this laying down exercise.

service dogThe Michael Phelps of the Dog World
The PAD trainers have also begun taking Huckleberry swimming. Surprisingly, he took to this activity quite naturally and was swimming like a pro almost immediately. Doggy trainer extraordinaire Madison was the first person Huckleberry jumped off the dock for. He then swam to Madison and back like a pro.

The Socialization of Huckleberry

Another important part of training a dog like Huckleberry is socialization. Making sure that these service dogs are comfortable with strangers is important. So far, Huckleberry has done excellent when it comes to being in public places around strangers.

Leash Training and Getting Dressed

The PAD trainers are also working on getting Huckleberry leash trained. For the most part, Huckleberry follows the trainers around anyway and hasn’t even noticed the leash much. As he gains his independence, this level of compliance may change bit. The trainers are also teaching him to “get dressed” which is what they call putting on his bandana. The idea is that, eventually, Huckleberry will hear the “get dressed” command and then put his head through the bandana or harness he needs to wear.

In just a short amount of time Huckleberry has learned so much. Thanks to PAD trainers and great helpers like Madison, Huckleberry will be ready to enter the service dog world in no time.

DONATE TODAY to help support Huck’s training.

October 3, 2016 | Uncategorized