Wow, in twenty-three days, Coral and I have been together for one year! What a year! After her surgery, we kind of had to relearn each other. My service dog friends told me that it takes one year to get to a point where you are a well-oiled team and boy were they right. In the beginning, when we were out in public, Coral was good but her focus was all over the place. I had to keep reminding her not to sniff, eat dropped food, etc. Now when we go out in public, she sticks right by me and when I stop she either stands still or lies down. I have recently added a Halti which seems to really help her focus. We have gotten compliments about how serious and well-behaved she is. Early on, when we would go to a restaurant she would "under" but periodically pop up. Now she goes under and stays for the entire meal! She's way more connected to me! She hangs out on her own accord with me. For a while, when I was changing aides I kinda slacked on training and exercise but now we do training sessions every day and two walks! We're honing our tasks. If I had one piece of advice for new service dog handlers, I would say Don't give up. The first year will be exceedingly difficult. You will probably want to return your dog at some point but if you stick with it, it will be worth it.
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