Watch socialization in action! Here’s Talos learning that freight elevators are noisy, but not scary. This is some fundamental training that service dogs need, particularly when they’re young enough to internalize what they learn. The earlier the dogs can experience novel situations, the more flexible and easy-going they’ll be as adults.

Notice that at one point, Talos stops taking food from me. That’s a good sign that he’s a little stressed. I calmly talk him through it and before long he’s eating again.

At one point, I ask him to touch my hand a few times and he’s able to do that while being in the loud, noisy elevator. He isn’t able, however, to sit when I ask him. That was simply too difficult a task given the distracting environment. I let it go, not forcing him to sit.

I usually use a clicker (it’s around my neck on a lanyard in the video), but I used a verbal marker in this situation. I’ve taught Talos that both the click and a verbal marker are equal to “job well done, here’s a goodie.”

Note the position of his tail and ears throughout the video. You can sometimes see his caution and trepidation by where his tail is and what his ears are doing. For the most part, the tail is down, but not tucked – a good sign that he’s not being overwhelmed.

Duration : 0:3:1

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