One of our clients has written about her experience training a service dog to retrieve, a deceptively simple looking behavior that is actually a very complex task to train. Katie Calahan is owner-training her service dog through our program using our online lessons. Katie and Daisy are very advanced, having completed all of the coursework and assessments for our Puppy Basics, Foundational Obedience, and Public Access courses. They are now working through our Tasks & Work course to finalize the skills that will qualify Daisy for the legal designation of service dog.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. “
Chinese Proverb
Training a Service Dog to Retrieve is not for the Faint of Heart – by Katie Calahan
My service dog, Daisy, is a purebred Golden Retriever and our journey training the “retrieve” task was our longest one yet. First, let me say I was so cocky when I looked at our course list, “Oh ‘retrieve’! That will be a breeze.” Wrong-O. There are layers to why it was a challenge, and I think they’re all important. The experience ended up being a microcosm of the service dog (or any dog) training experience. Expect the unexpected. When my daughter was turning one, her grandpa gifted her a shirt that said, “I am here to teach you patience.” I wish that shirt fit my dog (and bless her for it). The course information for “retrieve” starts with “Time Consuming But Worth It” in bold at the top of the page, so that should have been my first clue.
Getting Ready for Training a Service Dog to Retrieve
The journey started early last April. We’d been on quite the roll with training tasks and hadn’t experienced any major challenges in the last three courses. I read the lesson, passed my quiz, and ordered a retrieval dummy and an adorable, knitted retrieval assistance tool in my favorite color from Sheltie Fidget, a disabled service dog trainer I follow on Instagram.
to make them easier for a service dog to “get”.
Steps for Training a Service Dog to Retrieve
ELLAS Animals INC‘s training program for “retrieve” is broken down as follows:
- Get
- Bump
- Mouth
- Bite
- Give
- Release
- Catch
- Deliberate Misses
- Hold
- Pause
- Command
- Move
- Generalization
- Distance
- Distractions
- Different Items
- Pick up
- Name
Training a Service Dog to Retrieve May Not Always Progress Smoothly
By June we were ready to begin. Clearly, this task is more complicated than a game of fetch. Daisy is always a very enthusiastic learner. She liked the retrieval dummy and would bump and mouth it right away, but she would not bite it. I remembered that when I tried to teach her to hold a Halloween bucket for cute photos there was a similar issue. As soon as she had it in her mouth, she’d spit it out so you could give her the treat. Over the next few training sessions, it was clear we were at an impasse with “bite”. So, we took a breather, spent time reviewing foundational skills.
Don’t Give Up – Start Again
Through the summer we continued to train regularly and had some singular public access opportunities. Coming into fall, I became discouraged that we were stuck. That’s when I decided to start at the beginning, I re-read the course materials from start to finish. I tried putting peanut butter on the retrieval dummy and low and behold once was all it took! We had the “bite”. With renewed enthusiasm I began training “get”, satisfied we could move on to “give”. My sweet dog was delighted to “get” objects, but had no idea what I wanted from “give”. She kept dropping it to the floor because it was familiar (“drop”) and she was impatient for her reward. I could see she was trying, but we seemed stuck again.
Life Happens
Then school started and brought all its chaos. There was so much to do that training a frustrating task seemed less important. I also found myself at wit’s end with a painful long-term medical issue. As fall progressed so did my health issues and then right before the first of the back-to-back hurricanes that ravaged my area hit, a doctor listened! I got a referral, and a wonderful, specialized surgeon took my case! When hurricane Helene hit, the damage to my area wasn’t terrible, but the power was out for days. Life was odd and chaotic. Then hurricane Milton hit and for the first time in my life we evacuated (not to worry, we brought our animals). Daisy was fantastic during the ordeal. We were just too close to the terrifying mounds of debris the city had collected from the first storm for our comfort. When we returned the house had minimal damage, but my car was toast.
As we started to put the pieces back together it was time for my major abdominal operation and then the best holiday, Halloween! Training “retrieve” was paused through the holidays as I recovered and hosted gatherings. It was a lot of life. We never stopped training, but at that point I realized Daisy’s vest, even though I had added the extension piece, was too snug. I wasn’t super comfortable taking her out without it (even though it’s my legal right). I started looking at vests and thinking how close we were to completing our courses and how nice it would be to get a special one to celebrate, became overwhelmed, and stalled out on the search.
Make Training a Game
In February, the water damage, dead car, and a few other storm related issues were tied up. We were very fortunate; I know a lot of folks who are still displaced. Daisy would once more happily pick up the item and then immediately drop it somewhere in the room. As we pressed on, she would pick up a variety of items and bring them to me but sometimes drop them excitedly on the floor. We started playing a variation of fetch where sometimes I’d say “drop” when she got back with ball and sometimes I’d say “give”. This was done with no treats and no official training tools. If she did the correct command, I’d say “Yes!” and keep playing. It was simple and seemed to clarify something for her.
A Breakthrough in Training a Service Dog to Retrieve
In late March I got her new vest and it is beautiful and fits perfectly! I was excited for our continuing adventures! It was last week when for the first time ever Daisy completed the full sequence consistently! She was so proud! Since then, we have been working the task as we move around the house, using different items, at different distances and with distractions. We’ve even had spontaneous opportunities arise throughout the day when Daisy has successfully retrieved a dropped item or retrieved something out of reach!
Don’t Stay Discouraged
Please don’t give up! Life is overwhelming – medical issues, hurricanes, family obligations, dead cars – but you and your dog are a team. You can do these things. You need to trust each other and let training progress in its own time. Don’t stew in the frustration. Go back to foundational skills, take a break, find a way to make it a game, and/or reach out for support. Don’t stay discouraged. I love how excited Daisy gets when she figures it out! There’s so much joy for her in figuring out what she can do to help. Learning and growth can be frustratingly non-linear for all of us, so please don’t feel alone. Invest in adapting to what you and your dog need. You’ve got this.
Guest Author – Katie Calahan: I’m an actress/writer/director and run a local children’s theater program. I received my classical training and my BFA in Theatre Studies from Boston University. I’m a native Floridian (We DO Exist!), but I’ve lived in Boston, New York, Dublin and LA. I’m currently based in the good old sunshine state, but more than happy to travel. I love an adventure! I love Shakespeare, dessert, kayaking, Bob’s Burgers, a great book, Disney, and my golden retriever!
Nothing in ELLAS Animals INC’s website or blog is intended as medical, legal, or financial advice. We receive no compensation for recommendations or reviews.