School can be demanding in all areas of our lives. Between lectures, papers and attempting to adult, your schedule has probably been filled up to the brim nearly every week during the semester. These four years (or more) are some of the busiest, and they only get busier when the student Co-Curricular Record rears its ugly head. It is essential to join clubs and get involved in order to build up your CVC, and one of Laurier’s most appealing volunteer programs is the Service Puppy training program.
If you’re a dog lover, the idea of raising an adorable fur ball for a year and training it to do important work is pretty darn irresistible, and I know that many students would agree. However, there is a lot more to training a guide dog than just raising a puppy to become a little four-legged professional. Here are some things to consider before applying to become a trainer.
1. It can be a lot of work.
I am currently finishing up my last week with my service puppy in training, Egor. I volunteer with Autism Dog Services and was assigned my little munchkin last January, in 2017. While I had been aware that he would come with a lot of work, it’s not only the training once every two weeks or the constant basic training (sit, stay, down, ‘leave it’) that can be difficult. It’s the constant planning your schedule to work around walks, toilet outings and the best part, playtime and snuggles. If you think school, maybe a part-time job and a social life is hard to juggle as it is, joining this program is probably not for you.
2. Patience is mandatory.
While I grew up with dogs, cats, fish, and hamsters, my mother was always the one in charge of all the training. I had some experience joining the training program, but I was no expert, which became apparent after the first couple of months working with my puppy. Another thing that became obvious was that puppies can be little troublemakers and not always in a cute way. Anything they can get a hold of you can guarantee won’t be intact for long. Often after a blink of an eye I would find one of my favourite shoes torn to bits and, on one tragic occasion, he even tore apart my notes from class. Suffice it to say that puppies can often get on your nerves and if you don’t think you could keep your calm after finding your brand-new Jimmy Choo’s not so brand-new anymore, maybe just get a fish.
3. It’s only temporary
The biggest consideration to make before applying to become a service puppy trainer is that you will only have the puppy for a year or so. Keeping in mind why you joined the program in the first place is crucial, because getting attached to the puppy is a guarantee. While building a bond with that puppy is inevitable, so is saying goodbye and while it can be hard, knowing that they are going to go on to do great things is very rewarding. I, myself, realized too late that parting ways with the puppy would be too much for me and I am struggling to cope with the idea that my little bean will be gone in a week, so if you’re in the same boat, it’s probably best to just stay far, far away from puppy raising programs.
4. Ability to get from A to B.
For the Autism Dog Services program, there was a decent amount of traveling involved. During the first few months, most of the training days were in Waterloo. However, as Egor ended up being the last Waterloo pup, they informed me that we would have to travel to Guelph. If you have a car, this should not be a huge problem as the drive is not that bad. However, if you don’t have a car, getting there can be a little tricky. Also, come the beginning of the school year, it became another obstacle in the way of making a class schedule. Times clashed and there were not all that many choices when selecting classes. Falling behind in the training can be extremely problematic, as the training becomes a little more advanced.
Ultimately, while service puppy training programs are great, meaningful ways to volunteer, there are many things to consider as a student before applying.