Thank you LillyBee Poodles and Doodles
Old Glory Service Dogs 4 Veterans, Inc. wants to thank LillyBee Poodles and Doodles for donating one of their dogs. LillyBee poodles and Doodles was kind enough to help one of Veterans with donating Colt. We are creating this page to show the progression of Colt throughout his training. Colt is paired with his Veteran and his job will be to make his life as normal as possible. This wouldn't be able to be done without LillyBee Poodles and Doodles. Old Glory is grateful for you, and thanks you for helping the life of a Veteran!!!!
The Beginning
Welcome Colt to the Old Glory Family!!!! I think you will fall in love with your Veteran that you will be helping. We all can't wait for you to grow and become the Service Dog you are needed to be!!!
Dog With A Purpose
You are adorable now and will always be adorable. However, your job will be a meaningful one!!! Take your time to become the dog you are meant to be!! Just know, you will always be loved and we are so grateful for you!!!
AKC Puppy S.T.A.R.
Colt is under a year old and is able to complete his first test, American Kennel Club Puppy S.T.A.R. Colt passed with flying colors!!!! This is the first test of many that Colt will be taking. With his progression, the next text should be coming shortly!!!
Colt Wearing Goggles
Colt learning to wear his goggles so he can ride in his side cart of a motorcycle. Have to protect those beautiful eyes of his!!!
Riding Along
Colt riding with his veteran on their property!! Service Dogs need to be able to due numerous things and not be nervous or scared. Colt needs to be with his Veteran all the time, so on the cart he rides!!
Colt the Service Dog
Here is a short video of Colt with his Veteran!!!
Colt Training with his Veteran
Here is a short video of Colt learning the Heel position. This is where Colt will spend most of his time, this way he is next to his Veteran waiting for his next command.
Colt at OGSD training
Colt is in target with other members of Old Glory Service Dogs. We are getting him used to being in public and all the different noises and distractions.
Baby Colt
Baby Colt!!! Just wanted to show how adorable he was when he was little, but Colt has grown up so much since he has been with his Veteran.
Colt being a good boy
Colt is learning to be a Service Dog, but that doesn't mean he isn't a dog. Here he is lying down and relaxing, watching his Veteran!!!
Keep coming back to see Colt grow and learn
Please keep coming back to see Colt grow and learn his tasks!!! There is more to come for his training and we will update this page every few weeks!!!
Old Glory Service Dog Training
A lot of people don’t know what it takes to become a Service Dog. Most just buy a vest online with a couple patches and boom they have a Service Dog. What these people don’t understand is, they are hindering people with real Service Dogs. Service Dogs are not a pet, think of them as medication. When your non service dog is distracting or attacking a real Service Dog, you are taking that handlers medication away. Also, your dog can maim the Service Dog so it cannot perform the tasks it was trained to do. Service Dogs can do a lot, help with an anxiety attack, calm a Veteran going through a PTSD attack, pick items up for their handler, and many many more tasks.
We want to use Colt to help show the training the dog and Veteran goes through. To start, there is a certain evaluation we have to do on the dog to make sure they have the best traits to become a Service Dog. Yes, the dog can still fail out, but we give them the best opportunity to prevail. Over 18 months the Service Dog Team (Veteran and Dog) will go through hard work and determination to complete the program.
The program consists of 360 hours of training. 40 hours of obedience, 40 hours of public access, 30 hours of task training, and 20 hours of classroom to just name a few that is required. There are numerous tests the Service Dog Team needs to pass. All tests were created be the American Kennel Club (AKC) and consist of the following: AKC Canine Good Citizen, AKC Canine Good Citizen Community, AKC Canine Good Citizen Urban, AKC Trick Dog (task training). Once they have all hours and completed all tests, they have completed the Service Dog program Old Glory Offers. However, it doesn’t stop there. Service Dog Teams are required to come back every 3 months for a year, and then at least once a year after that for the next 5 years. This is to make sure they are keeping up with their training and the Service Dog Team is acting appropriately.
So as you can see, there are long hours and lots of dedication to become a Service Dog Team. These dogs give each first responder or Veteran as normal of a life as possible. These animals are amazing, but all it takes is one to ruin it for the person that needs it. Keep your pets at home because others need their medication to live a normal life!!!