[adventureswithshadowsd]

Good starter list for service dog prospect socialization. 8-16 weeks is they key window for properly socializing a pup. This time period determines how your dog thinks, feels, and acts toward new situations or setting. While you can work against habits that come from bad socialization it’s a lot of work.

[actuallyservicedogs]

I have a question- I tried asking a website and they didn't really have answers. They just sent a link and it didn't have an answer for me either. I have recently been diagnosed with anxiety. I've had a hard time since Christmas. I've been thinking of an emotional support dog/ I need to see a therapist first. Do you guys know if insurance can deny it? My insurance has a ban on like every dog. I really connect well with pitbulls but they're banned): can insurance do anything? Part 1-

Part 2, obviously I would get a legitimate doctors note. So would the insurance even be able to deny it and cause an uproar if I have a legit note stating an emotional support dog would be best for me?

It depends on what kind of insurance you’re talking about. If you’re talking about housing, then no, Assistance Animals cannot be banned because they’re not pets.

-Jade

[actuallyservicedogs]

justaquickquestion said: Actually, if you’re in an apartment, breeds that an insurance company has banned can be denied (even as trained service dogs) because the added expense is an undue burden on the leasing company.

If you have a source for this, I’d love to see it. Otherwise, as this HUD official document states that “Breed, size, and weight limitations may not be applied to an assistance animal” and Assistance Animals have been known to override breed bans, I cannot give this information out.

Please note that there is something in that document stating that the request can be denied on the basis of an undue financial burden, however, it seems to only apply to the Assistance Animal having access to all of the premises a person would go.

-Jade

[actuallyservicedogs]

I have been provided a source on this and it seems to be unfortunately true. It’s unclear whether it’s for trained Service Dogs or just for ESAs, but it definitely applies to ESAs.

The source is here, for those who would like to read it.

-Jade

[doberbutts]

I’m a day early to the UDC Nationals, so I have some free time to talk about something that popped up earlier in the week, an article that I just found the time to read in full.

I think the people who are happiest with their dogs are those who accept their dogs as they are, rather than as they will be. Similarly, I think the dogs that have the best bond with their humans are those that are accepted as they are as individuals, and not how they fit one mold or the other.

Let me explain- this is not about specialized training. Hell, it’s not even about the basic pet stuff. This is about reactivity, fear, aggression. It’s about breed specific issues, intensity, quirks.

I’ve shared with everyone, multiple times, Creed’s terrible dog aggression phase. Those who saw him at his worst can hardly believe it’s the same dog, and those who see him now can hardly believe he ever used to be so explosive around other dogs.

Creed is pictured here performing an offleash long down with my mentor’s demo dog Onyx, the last day of our training this past Saturday. People who know he was DA have asked me many times how we got to the point we’re at now, and while I can go into the technical aspects (which I do not recommend emulating without an experienced trainer), honestly it all began with me accepting that he may always have the urge to fight, bite, or potentially kill other dogs.

And, honestly, I think the reason we were so successful in restraining that urge is because I didn’t try to change his mind. I didn’t force him to sit through conflict of what I wanted vs what he wanted. He was allowed to hold that opinion of other dogs. The only thing he wasn’t allowed to do was act on it, and even that was a matter of not setting him up to fail and giving him a conflicting behavior to perform in the absence of his fallback of barking/lunging at another dog to pick a fight. He didn’t need to fit some mold or meet some standard of what I thought was acceptable, he just had to perform a more neutral behavior.

Why is Creed so successful at reining in his impulses? I could say it’s because of the trainer we enlisted (which would be true), or because of good management skills (which would also be true), or because he is starting to gain some maturity to be able to handle the high amounts of testosterone and breed history telling him to eat other dogs on sight (also true), but these are all incomplete answers. Creed succeeds because he is listened to. Creed succeeds because when he told me “I do not like other dogs”, I did not respond with “try to do so anyway”. I responded with “I hear you, here are some solutions”.

This article is specifically about fear, but the application is the same. Accept that your dog is fearful. Accept that your dog may never be the confident, loud and proud social butterfly that you hear about as the ideal dog. Understand that your dog will still have bad days, may still panic and bolt, could even never completely resolve their fear. And that’s okay!

Meet your dog at your dog’s level, not the elevated standard you want them to be. Your dog will be less frustrated, and in turn so will you. Your dog does not need to meet other people’s standards of acceptable in order to be able to live a happy, satisfied life. It’s not a race, it’s not an end goal, and it’s never over until that dog is no longer in your possession.

[dogsaremypatronus]

Teaching Your Dog To Try Again

I had a conversation earlier this afternoon about dog training–because, let’s be real, what on earth else could I possibly have a conversation about–during which I brought up the German training tool, “schade”. It was something my conversation partner hadn’t heard of before, so I thought it might make for an interesting topic. 

The German word “schade” means, roughly translated, “too bad”. In terms of dog training, it describes technique my professor brings up in her trainer curriculum, which surrounds teaching the dog: “there was a flaw in your execution. Please try again.” 

Oftentimes during training, we’ll see our dogs go through their little “bag of tricks” during which they offer a number of behaviors that had been rewarded in the past, hoping one of them will achieve the desired result. But sometimes they are offering the right behavior, they just aren’t doing it the “right” way. 

Teaching the dog “schade” takes a lot of the guesswork out of the routine. Sometimes, while training something like competitive obedience, our dogs can perform about 75% of the desired behavior, and it can be tricky to communicate that it wasn’t 100% what we were looking for. The behavior itself wasn’t wrong, just the execution was lacking. 

One example one of the training judges gave, was having a dog go up to a plate of food on the ground. Is the dog going too fast and breaking the heel? Say, “schade”, swerve him around, walk away, and then try again. Rinse and repeat, until he slows his roll, and then allow him to nab the food off the plate. (It doesn’t have to be food, it can be a super cool toy as well, it just has to be something they desire.) 

Note that the above example is not necessarily a technique used to teach the word “schade” but is more commonly used when the dog has already learned the meaning of “schade” to begin with. The main thing is that they understand that 1) there was a reward to be had, and 2) they missed out on that reward because something was off and needs to be corrected. 

Schade communicates, “something in your execution was flawed” and gives the dog the opportunity to correct it. It spurns your dog to use their brain and figure out what they can do to achieve the desired result. It removes a lot of potential confusion, because sometimes that 25% can be so subtle from the dog’s point of view, they may not even catch it right away. 

For example, if I tell my dog “sit” and she rolls over, that’s an entirely wrong behavior, and she can quickly respond by offering a 100% different behavior. In fact, it’s almost always the first thing they do. But if I tell my dog to heel and she trots beside me nicely but is not in sync with my movement the way I want, I don’t want her to respond by offering a different behavior. I want her to perfect this current behavior. 

Schade has proven to be a phenomenal way to indicate a flaw in execution, rather than behavior, and has really cut out a lot of confusion in our training. 

[pitsandpastries]

I have to do this with Adele. She’s finally learned the difference between “nope” (close, but keep trying) and “stop” (totally wrong behavior, stop and focus for next cue) and it’s helped us immensely. Other semi unrelated thing that’s helped in training, I unintentionally taught her that if I put her in a down and cue “head down” (rest chin on floor) she’s expected to stay in that position until released for the next task. And by unintentionally I mean that I actually proofed duration on that behavior (for once in my life) and it needs to be released once cued. It’s really cut down on her crazed “try every behavior possible while mom sets up for the next lesson.”

[just-dog-thingz]

Is this something separate or different than a no reward marker?

[dogsaremypatronus]

I believe the general concept is basically the same, in that it’s signaling “nope”. But schade seems to focus more on execution over behavior, (like “fix it”) whereas a no-reward marker generally indicates “try something else” (like if you tell them sit and they lie down, you use a no-reward marker to tell them to offer you a different behavior). But, as @pitsandpastries already illustrated, she has two different verbal markers for different scenarios, and regardless of the minor differences in intent, I don’t think it would be wrong to call it a no-reward marker, since the very basic premise is that you’re marking “this will not get you a treat. Something has to change.” Which goes a very long way in terms of bridging the communication gap.

[pitsandpastries]

Yeah for me at least they’re both “no reward markers,” but for the sake of efficiency and communication, I trained two distinct words to distinguish between “you were close, try again” and “not at all close, stop and watch” because it was frustrating to only be able to communicate the former when she’s throwing every behavior she knows at you and she just needs to freeze and refocus haha.

[catbreon]

I’m working on a flyer to hand out to businesses to spread service dog awareness– stuff that benefits THEM, that tells them THEIR rights as well as ours, which is important with addressing the current “fake service dog epidemic.” After being in a restaurant with a very badly behaved dog and the manager being unwilling to do anything because “it’s a service dog, my hands are tied” I really want to make sure the laws are clear on both sides of the table. If there’s any incorrect information please let me know. Most of this information can be found on the ADA page about service dogs albeit in a much shorter format, but I elaborated to make it clearer and more comprehensive; hopefully I didn’t add anything in that is wrong.

I would appreciate it if somebody could print this out and tell me how it looks because right now I don’t have access to a printer. You can print the page at its full resolution by going here and clicking the download button on the right hand side of the page. It should all fit on a standard 8.5 x 11″ sheet of paper.

If it looks good, feel free to print a bunch out and distribute them yourself!

[psdadventures]

Roscoe Update

He knows basic doggy skills VERY well, but has 0 actual task training, so I’m going to have to train him to do all of that, PLUS public access. He can’t even heel. He barks and barks at the cat, and he’s afraid of the neighbor dog. Also, he’s only 1 year old. They’ve been telling me he’s 2. So he can’t do any weight bearing yet, which means no mobility tasks. I’m very frustrated right now, I don’t have the spoons or the knowledge to train him myself, and I have no spare money to take him to be trained. I don’t know what to do. Help?

[pre-url-blog]

I would get into touch with a few of the dog trainers here on Tumblr, I can recommend some of them if you’d like. 

Personally I would consider either returning him to the rescue or washing him out now. Getting him over all of these issues for someone with 0 knowledge on how to train a dog is going to be really hard work and some dogs will not get over their reactivity no matter how much you train. it’s like with humans, some people completely recover from phobias with therapy, some learn to tolerate it but they’re still very stressed out in those situations, and some will improve but they’ll still be reactive toward that thing. I’m not saying not to work on these issues at all, but I’d suggest not getting your hopes up about him being a SD prospect.

If you decide to keep him (whether as a washout or still as a prospect) I would focus on teaching him calm behaviors (I’d recommend reading Calming Signals by Turid Ragaas and The Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell. Kikopup has a few videos on rewarding calm behaviors) and socialization. I would focus less on obedience (heeling, sit, stay, settle, etc.) but definitely work on those too. Here’s a link to the minimum standard for SDs, published by the Delta Society, if you’d like a list of things to work on.

[adventureswithshadowsd]

What gear do you recommend and/or gear shop(s)? I'm getting a service dog for psychiatric disabilities and mobility such as bracing and would like to know what would be good to get since im already getting some gear beforehand. I do plan on buying a Bridgeport Single-Strap Support Assistance Harness, unless recommended something a bit better. Thank you!

I really like the one Tigris vest I have currently, but I also plan on using a Bridgeport assistance harness in the future. It’s very well made. Other good brands are of course the BLD mobility harness (very pricey) or active dogs has a good one as well. I like that with he Bridgeport you can attach a cape, OR use it on top of a one tigris tactical vest like mine. The Bridgeport harness fits perfectly over the one Tigris vest I have, leaving plenty of room for pouches on the sides and patches on the top!

[equikage]

OKAY here is one of the videos that has honestly made the biggest impact on my training approach and every interaction I make with animals.

It’s a really simple video. Eileen (from Eileen and Dogs, which you should all be reading) points out that while we love petting dogs, dogs often don’t want to be petted, either at all, or in the particular ways we pet them. One great example is the way people (and children, which is so fucking dangerous) are so eager to grab onto a dog’s face and head. This can be extremely uncomfortable for a dog. Better places to try petting a dog (particularly a new one) are on the chest and shoulders, neck and ears if the dog is really feeling the attention (and I have never met a dog that did not appreciate a good butt scratch).

But beyond just being respectful of what dogs do and don’t like, Eileen demonstrates a simple consent test.

To test whether your dog is enjoying being petted, simply stop petting, and see if they try to restart it.

(Jackson Galaxy also gives great input on how to properly touch cats in this video. One way that he gives a ‘consent test’ is by performing the ‘fingernose’ - he holds his finger out to the cat, who comes in to sniff it [like cats naturally sniff noses], and then can choose to rub their face on the finger and actually direct it to where they want to be petted. ‘Let the cat pet you’)

Eileen gives two very clear examples in this video. With the first dog, while they aren’t exhibiting extreme stress, they show small signs of discomfort (looking away, full body turning, lip licking), and they don’t try to restart the chest scratching. They aren’t unhappy, but they don’t want to be petted.

The second example is a dog that actively shoves their face/chin into the petting hand. This is a dog that not only wants physical attention, but knows how to ask for it.

Teaching my animals how to ask for the kind of attention they want, and teaching them how to direct my hands (instead of teaching them to just allow touch), has done amazing stuff for both of us. I’ve been working on waiting for my cat to solicit the attention he wants, and otherwise keeping my hands away from him, and there has been a huge uptick in him seeking my attention and trusting me in his space - because he is learning that I won’t bother him, and that he can receive exactly what kind of physical affection he wants.

This has also led to a minor breakthrough with Zeke. You all know him as the horse that hates being touched, and he still does. But lately I have been taking some time just to stand with him through the fence, putting my hand out, and allowing him to pet himself with it. Instead of explicitly teaching him to hold still while I touch his face, I let him guide my hands to stroke his eyelids and around his ears, where I would have had a difficult time touching him if I had wanted to. When given the choice, Zeke not only consented to touch, but encouraged and directed it.

So to dial it down, here are some of the benefits of this approach to petting:

You improve at reading your animal’s body language

They can direct you to particular itchy spots, or direct you away from uncomfortable spots, potentially tipping you off about budding discomfort and health problems

Your animal feels more secure about being around you

Reduces the likelihood that an animal will bite

The animal learns better how to communicate directly with you about their care and handling, instead of being a passive recipient of it

And no this doesn’t mean that every time you’re around a cat or a dog or a horse that you have to get ‘consent’ in the human sense of the word, because animals don’t have a concept of consent, but it DOES mean that if you learn to read and respond to the way they respond to your touch, you will both benefit.

[actuallyservicedogs]

What are some questions that I should be asking breeders for my SD prospect?

Here are some things that I would ask about, though there isn’t necessarily a “correct” answer to some of these.

What are the temperaments of the parents like? Temperaments of previous litters? 

Is there a pattern of a particular behavior issue that has been noticed in previous litters such as excessive barking, same sex aggression, or being wary of strangers (note that the level of training and socialization the dogs have had in their new homes will affect this but I think it’s still a good question)?

Are there any known health issues in the breeder’s particular line? Do they test for common health problems in their breed?

Have the parents had their hips and elbows xrayed? (this is important for service dogs in general but ESPECIALLY for service dogs that will be performing any kind of weight-bearing tasks)

What is/are the most important attribute(s) they are breeding for in their dogs? (example answers could be better health, good temperament, higher/lower drive, etc.)

Have any dogs from previous litters been trained as a service animal or therapy dog, or participated/been successful in obedience trials?

How much are puppies socialized and handled after they are born? What kinds of things will they have been exposed to under the breeder’s care (other pets, strangers, loud noises, grooming, collars and leashes, etc.)?

Will the puppies have started learning to go to the bathroom outside when they go to their new homes? Are they paper/pad trained or crate trained? 

Are the puppies allowed access outside whenever they want or is it restricted (is there a doggy door)?

Will the puppies have received any basic obedience training?

Will the puppies be up-to-date on all their vaccines before coming home?

If you get a dog from the breeder to be trained as a service dog and they wash out or you become unable to care for them, will you be able to return the dog to them?

I would also ask for photos/videos of previous litters and references from other recipients of the breeder’s puppies.

Other suggestions are welcome!

-Emmett

[spanishmal]

The Ultimate Guide to Dog Nail Maintenance

This is going to be a long, detailed guide with lots of photos and drawings. In order to avoid clogging dashes, the guide can be found under the cut.

Keep reading

[oceanwitch]

Does anyone have or know someone who has a service dog?

This is a serious question. I’ve recently learned I can get a service dog for my anxiety and depression, and I know that this would help me greatly, for many reasons I won’t bother to list. 

My question is, if anyone knows, how does the process of adopting a service dog go? The procedures and things they’ve/you’ve gone through, expenses, training, etc. I haven’t talked to my doctor about it yet, but I want to be prepared for the things I do so I can think more about it before I start putting this decision in stone. 

[pre-url-blog]

It depends. You can owner-train a service dog or get a dog from an organization like Guide Dogs for The Blind or APAW. Some organizations place service dogs for free, some require you to participate in fundraising campaigns, some require you to pay usually around $5-15k. Most will want you to fly/drive to their location and spend a few days or a week with the dog you’re being placed with, which is unrelated to the cost of getting a dog from them. Going through a program means you have to have your doctor’s approval and support. It’s harder to find a program that trains psychiatric service dogs. 

With owner training, unless you’re very experienced with advanced training you should hire a professional trainer to work with you. Either way you should at least have a trainer with service dog experience pick out the dog. The cost of the dog would vary depending on what breed, what breeder/shelter, how far away, etc. You’d have to pay for vet bills, food, etc. for the first ~2 years of the dog’s life while they’re in training and not officially a service dog. It still costs a lot, but instead of having to come up with an entire sum of money by a certain date, it’s spread over that two years. The catch is that with owner-training, if your dog washes out (can’t complete training for whatever reason), you lose all that money and have to start over. My estimated cost breakdown is here. With owner-training you don’t really need your doctor’s approval or support unless you live in no-pets housing or you’re trying to get on an airplane. It’s still good to get, though.

[servicedoodle]

I always call my service dog medical equipment. And this is a great article that sums up why I do. (Article) I especially like that the author says they never say “please” or “sorry” when it comes to their medical equipment. 

[a-framed-dog]

Training Plan: Nail Clipping Phobia

So Keith is petrified of nail clippers, to the point where he shakes and shuts down. He has had no bad experiences with nail clippers, so this phobia should be tackled from all aspects. Here is my schedule to overcome his fear: 

Stage 1 -  Normalise paw holding

Practice the ‘paw’ command, slowly extending the length of time holding his paw. Also start to put pressure on his toes, to simulate being clipped. Raising the criteria gradually is vital - too much at once will cause shut down in a dog this highly strung.

Stage 2 - Touch/Target training with clippers

Target train using the clippers. Reward for approximations of the desired behaviour, starting off with just looking at the clippers on the floor, then moving onto contact.

Stage 3 - Picking up the clippers

Keeping the clippers on the floor, reward for calmness when moving your hand to touch the clippers. Once he is comfortable with this, start to pick them up. Once you can pick them up without him showing any signs of stress, try touch/target training with them whilst you are holding the clippers.

Stage 4 - Paw whilst holding the clippers

Practice ‘paw’ when holding the clippers, and reward for calmness. Take this step very slowly, over a few days.

Stage 5 - Clipping

At first pretend to clip his nails, rewarding often. Then you should be able to clip his nails without stress!

NOTE: There is no time frame on this training plan for a reason! Take each stage at your dog’s pace, and don’t move on until he’s completely happy.

If at any point your dog starts to get stressed/appear to forget his training, go back a stage. If you move on, it could make his phobia more deeply rooted.

[servicedogstuff-blog]

About

What is a SD?

Service Dog Law

Everything you need to know before training

Things that make a SD unsuitable

printable and downloads

General Advice:

1

2

3

4

5

6

Training

Getting started

11 Tricks to Teach a Dog

How to clicker train

First 5 skills to teach an SD

List of things to include in socialization

5 vital public access skills

Public Access test videos

Task training general

leash walking and heeling

Phase 1-4 training videos

Distress response

Focus and Impulse control

Basic training article

Hand signals

more basics

clicker training tips

many training articles

“stay” tips

training blog

using treat “levels”

training a rescue dog

training a herding/hunting dog

Day to Day

School with an SD

How to be a good Service Dog team

How to handle an access challenge

Gear

Head to toe recommendations

vest I use currently and will use

fun/funny/colorful SD patches

more patches

even more patches

another vest option

[doberbutts]

Notice anything different?

This is why many people advise against becoming gear-dependant. There is a difference between “he NEEDS this gear to work” (which is not illegal, but advised against) and “this gear makes it easier on me”.

Long story short I forgot 2/3 of Creed’s usual gear at home yesterday (brainfog yaaaaaay) and realized this only after I was getting him out of the car already at work. I always keep a spare leash and collar in the car, so that was gone, but out did mean he was out of his usual work outfit for an entire 8 hour shift.

He did very well! Kept his heel and his stays, barely needed to be reminded that he was working in the beginning before settling into his usual groove, and rocked. Not too surprising, since I’ve worked him naked and nearly all of our foundation was offleash or with a flat collar.

Remember, it’s not the gear that makes the service dog. It’s the training. If you want to rely on an association or a specific tool, hey, you’ve got every right to and I won’t devalue your unique relationship with your needs, but for those who want to know why it’s not suggested, look no further.

[dogsaremypatronus]

High Ground Training

When talking about how to discourage jumping, I get a lot of questions regarding dogs that are already somewhat larger, which can make the training session a little more difficult.

That’s where what I call the “High Ground” method comes into play. For this method, you need a table, or any other kind of flat, stable surface. It should be just high enough for them to place their front paws on, without their hind paws following suit. 

You can then lure them on or off the table with treats, without worrying about them bowling you over, injuring you, or even just getting your clothes dirty. As you can see in the photo above, Memory and Daenerys really want to interact with me, but regardless of whether they have their paws on the table or on the ground, they are still at a distance from me. I’m forcing them to interact with me without getting to climb up on me. 

I then proceed to lure them off the table with treats, rewarding them only when they have all four paws on the ground. After about 5 to 6 minutes, they stop jumping on the table, and wait for me to pez them with treats. When they do jump up, they are quick to jump back down in anticipation of the treat. 

After a while, you can move closer to the edge of the table, and eventually sit on the table with your legs dangling over the edge, and finally phase the table out completely. If they start to paw at you, you move back out of reach again. 

Having the high ground during training can be useful for any number of tricks; I taught Daenerys to “reach” and “high five” from the top of the table, as well as “climb” (where she starts by touching my foot and then climbs up my leg to my torso), but controlling and channelling jumping behavior is a house favorite. 

[dogsaremypatronus]

More Than One Way To Use A Leash

The other day I posted a photo of our newest addition to the family, Memory, while using my favorite training technique with a leash. I call it “restricted access training”, since that’s usually my primary focus, but it is commonly referred to as “umbilical cord training”, or simply “leashing”. 

Regardless of your prime objective, the point is that a leash is useful for so much more than taking your dog on a walk. Exactly how you use it is going to vary depending on your goal so I’m going to elaborate on a few common training goals and how using a leash can help with that. 

1) Restricted Access Training

One of the ways I teach my new pups what parts of the house I don’t want them getting into, is to keep them from going there. I find baby gates a nuisance and an unnecessary expense; it’s easier to use a long leash. I tether it to something strong and secure, and make sure they can’t enter the off-limit areas. 

In my case, the kitchen is one major area I don’t want the dogs running around in, so I’ll leash the pup and then go into the kitchen. Most puppies at a young age are still following their handler around, so they’ll usually come after me. I will stop walking right outside of the kitchen, say “wait here”, and then step into the kitchen, right outside of the puppy’s reach. I’ll then reward him for staying outside. I’ll repeat this exercise any number of times throughout the day with every place I don’t want the puppy going in. 

Eventually, I’ll introduce the release command. I’ll first ask them to wait, step into the room, have a helper release the leash, and then say, “okay!” and welcome them into the room and reward them. 

2) Creating a Bond (Umbilical Cord Training)

The first few weeks are important bonding time for you and your new puppy. When you live in a house full of people but you want the dog to view you as their handler, this method is extremely effective. 

This method requires a lot of patience and time, because you are encouraging your new puppy to be completely underfoot all day long. You also have to take their naps into account, which means when they settle in for a nap at your feet, you should try to stay put until they wake up again, or use a long enough leash that you have a decent range of motion while they sleep. 

You use this time to play with them, give them lots of treats, cuddle with them, and take them everywhere you go. It also discourages them from running up to other people unless you give the okay, which I personally am a big fan of.

3) Leash Conditioning 

Some dogs just really don’t like their leash. And the best way to help them get over it is to use it constantly, with a lot of positive reinforcement. Eventually it will be like second nature to them. Also, by using it with them wherever you go, whether you’re in the house or out and about, you make following you their number one priority, which does wonders for leash pulling and reactivity. 

When conditioning your dog to get used to the leash, you need a lot of patience and time, again. If your dog is very reluctant to walk on the leash, you’ll need to use treats and toys to lure them, and praise them for it. 

But even when you’re not walking around, you can get them used to it just by putting it on them while you’re sitting at home, either at the dinner table or in the living room. I’ll often leash our new pups to my chair while we’re eating so they learn to lie down calmly and ignore everyone while we eat. If you’re planning on owner-training a service dog, this is good practice for public access as well. 

Regardless how you utilize the leash in training, make it a positive experience for your pup. If they are constantly pulling at it, consider using a harness to alleviate choking and prevent injury. Also, do not tether them and then leave them, especially while restricted access training. These methods are intended to be used with you being there with them. If you’re not there but want to keep them out of trouble, I strongly recommend using a crate instead. It is far safer for them. 

Also, know your dog. Take frequent off-leash breaks when they need it. Don’t let them chew on it or tear at it. Your goal is to make the leash just another part of their life, not a necessary evil.