I'm hoping that others with service dogs or service dogs in training will be active in this forum.
Quick Intro: Iris has been in training as my service dog for the past year. Most of that year was part time training around my full-time job. Since my disability has worsened, I've been unable to work, so our training has been full time.
Her temperament is a dream. She has consistently impressed people in our service dog community with her friendliness, intelligence, eagerness to work and our bond.
We will be flying to Colorado for the Psychiatric Service Dog Society Gathering in August, where we will stay for a week with 84 service dog teams at a campsite outside of Denver. She gets very excited being around unknown dogs (wants to play), so we'll be keeping our distance for the first day or so.
To prepare, we've been working with public transportation training: buses, trains, shuttles and starting with agility to help her become more accustomed to strange dogs doing exciting things.
Iris is brave and not fearless. She can be cautious around new things, but she recovers quickly and becomes comfortable in stressful situations, like riding the train.
Her greatest challenge is focus. She's very curious and forgets to focus on me when first in a brand new environment.
She's working out very well and I can depend on her help and love.
Linden
and Iris
www.dogster.com/dogs/1001734
