VPA: Basic Vested Public Access Behaviors

Moving from L3 forward and beginning supervised vested public access work caused the trainers to see a need for several additional basic behaviors needed for moving safely in public. And so we began reading ahead in Steps, to determine what they felt these behaviors to be.

In the past, many of these behaviors were just "done" on the fly and not specifically trained - especially per Steps. But this is the first group of dogs reaching this level of training being trained only by following Steps and we wanted to train the behaviors as learned behaviors, instead of "a little of this and some of that".

Again, this group of trainers is entering unknown territory. But their reasoning and their analytic abilities have made this a most interesting and innovative adventure. Here are their findings and the behaviors that we are now training - not as preparation for work with Marine Partners - but simply as preparation for basic vested work in places where only service dogs or SDiT are permitted. Basic tools for the well-equipped toolbox.

Levels 1 - 3: W/X/BMO

DISTANCE

• L5: Car Zen
• L6: Go Ahead

DOWN

• L4: Dog downs from a stand, any position, single cue
• L5: Dog downs from a stand, any position, hand cue only
• L6: (Under) Dog downs on cue under three different kinds of tables

GO TO MAT

• L6: Dog lies down under a table while the trainer eats a meal with friends. No mat.
• NO SHAKE.

HANDLING

• L3: Toilet on cue within 60 seconds

JUMP

• L5: Jump into any car on cue only

LEASH

• Solid L2 no matter what the trainer is doing
• L3, 4, 5, 6

LEFT SIDE/RIGHT SIDE

• L4, 5, 6, 7 (dog walking SDW on both sides equally as well and responding to positional cues
• Swing Finish desirable but not necessary in order to BEGIN vested public access
• LEFT SIDE: L7 dog backs on cue in front of and/or on either side of trainer

SIT

• L1: the ultimate incompatible behavior
• L4: sit from a down, one cue
• L5: sit from a down, hand signal and in any position

SIT STAY

• L4: 2 minute duration and distractions
• L5: small space for 5 minutes (in sit or down position)

STAND STAY

• L5: stand and stay for putting on vest

SURFACES

• L4: open staircase w/grated tread, no risers
• L6: confidently enters, rides and exits a moving walkway; and escalators
• walk on left; stand on right
• grant right of way to public

TARGET

• L5: Follow

TRICK

• L3: Back Up

VEST

• L 3, 4, 6

WATCH

• L2: solid name recognition

ZEN

• L4: dog's own nightmare zen
• L5: food zen while moving
• L6: dropped object zen, including food dropped while dog is under table in restaurant or similar