Airports And Escalators

We had a training session at the local airport today.
Sugar did very well- but made it clear enough she still does not like escalators. She pulled when I tried to get her on, I moved her forward onto it and she was fine after that. Knowing she was abused used to make me think this sort of thing is her still learning to trust me. Now, though, I remember she is my service dog- and she has always been very, very sensitive to my emotions. Having a bad day means she's as tense as I am. She doesn't relax until we're home, and she knows my husband is taking care of me.
She is an incredible dog, and I couldn't be more proud of her.

Today, at the airport, we trained with a very special teacher- Bino, the retired Military Working Dog.
We have met his sister, Miss Suzie, before, but Bino is a hero with many years in the service, and some time down-range. He's a hard worker, and an impressive dog, even as the effects of age and many years of hard work set in on his body.
Sugar is nowhere near that level of honors, but she's my personal hero- the reason I can leave the house. Her attention at training classes is impressive to me- it's incredible to see a dog's attitude change between "work" (treatment, going to work, stores, restaurants, etc.), home (and being off duty), and her training. When we are at treatment, she knows it's okay to say hi to people and check on friends, but that in public places, even if I introduce her to someone, that she doesn't get too friendly- she "says hi" (gives them her paw, maybe a lick) but then will allow them to pet her as long as I allow, yet she really doesn't so much as acknowledge them from that point on.
At training, though, she is focused. The second she is reigned in, it's all business. She might say hi to someone she knows- but only people, no other working dogs- by tapping them with her paw, but she otherwise doesn't stray from any commands she's given. There's no hugs, no distractions and no excuses- although young children are still her weakness. She will ignore even infants as long as possible, but the second one tries to pet her, about age 4 or under, she is checking on them and loving up on them.
Today, a gentleman walked up to Sugar's best friend, Benny, with his barely-toddling daughter, while we had our dogs at a "sit-stay" and proceeded to introduce his daughter to a pit bull service dog without it's owner. When Benny's owner came over and corrected him politely, the gentleman moved on to my dog.
I was already anxious, but this topped it.
I approached, just in time for our (human) trainer to actively correct this gentleman (again) on proper procedure, but Sugar was already checking on this little girl. I know this weakness of hers, and don't blame her much. I have a weakness for kids, too- I'm looking forward to having several, hopefully, eventually.
The rest of the lesson went pretty smoothly. Walking through the procedures for security and moving through the process of air travel was easy with Sugar.
I'm still processing my new reality: I am one of "those" people who gets medically discharged from the military. I am also a handler for a service dog- I am someone who needs a service dog. I don't really know how to handle that.

Moving Up

Sugar has most of your typical obedience commands down pat- sit, stay, down, up, come, and she's a big fan of hugs- as a matter of fact, she came pre-programmed with the hugs command. When we first took her home from the humane society, whenever we came home from work, she'd jump right on up, put one paw on my front hip bone, the other on my lower back and would not budge until I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug.

We had dog training today over at one of the local malls. She has seen escalators before and boy, she let it be known she was not a fan. With a treat and a lot of patience, I could get her to lie down on her belly with her front paws just about a half an inch from the edge of the actual escalator stairs.
Today, we got up and down the escalator a half dozen times- I could not be more proud of her!!!! She still wasn't having it after seeing several other service dogs go up and down, and I hate having to force her to do anything- she's too smart to have to be forced. I'll find ways to explain things to her, but force is ALWAYS a last resort with Miss Sugar Mae.
One of the security guards got curious, and, after realizing why Sugar was sitting there with me, watching the other dogs go, then lying down at the bottom- over and over- he very politely asked me if she was scared. I told him yes, she was pretty frightened by the idea. He offered to shut off the escalator so she could get used to the metal stairs without the issue of motion frightening her more. After thanking him profusely and double-checking with our trainer, I agreed. Sugar still looked at those things like they would eat her, but I more or less picked her up and put her on them, right behind another dog. Realizing the only way out was up, she bolted after the other dog, just as I'd hoped. It was hard for me to keep up, but once we got up and down the stopped escalator a few times, we popped right on the moving half, and, while she didn't care for the motion, she didn't fight me on it. We went up and down those suckers over and over, and, between the escalators and the other training we did today, that girl went through an entire bag of treats. I could have been less generous with them, I'm sure, but I was much too proud of my girl to deny her further reassurance that her hard work was paying off. I've never seen a dog look so proud of herself.

We haven't been going out much these last few weeks, although yesterday, she made it through a hospital visit with flying colors. The only moment of question we had was when I wouldn't allow her on the couch next to me in the waiting room. I have absolutely no issues with her being on our furniture, or getting up on furniture elsewhere when told, but remaining professional is of paramount importance to me when I take her out somewhere. I don't ever want to give anyone a reason to question her ability as a service dog, nor question my role as her handler.