[Mt-blind] Training for service

[Jerry Hutch]

Following is an article that  appeared in the Helena Independent Record 
on Sunday September 16th 2007 as the lead article on the Helena Life 
page.  A slide show is attached to the article on the newspaper web link.

Training for service

By LARRY KLINE - IR Staff Writer - 09/16/07

New Carroll College program teaches students to prepare animals for work

Carroll College junior Kayla Legare was hurrying home from class one 
recent day, her empty stomach growling. She and her 4-year-old black 
Labrador retriever, Wheeler, reached a busy intersection. Legare tried 
to get Wheeler to cross the street, but he wouldn't budge.

She was hungry and tired, and she became frustrated with her friend.

A speeding car whizzed by and Legare, who lost her sight as a young 
child, realized what had happened. Once more, her guide dog had saved 
her life.

"If he would've stepped out with me, I would have gotten hit," she said.

Guide dogs for the blind are the pinnacle of service animals, according 
to Carroll College psychology professor Anne Perkins. The animals must 
learn to make decisions to ignore commands or find the safest way around 
an obstacle in order to protect their charges.

Legare is one of a handful of students at the school enrolled in a new 
program to teach young adults how to train animals for service. Students 
purchase puppies to train, eventually hoping to turn the dogs over for 
more advanced training and eventual placement.

It's the first college-level program of its kind in the country, Perkins 
said. Dogs trained here may serve as guide dogs for the blind, work with 
people who have other disabilities or serve as assistance animals in 
hospitals, nursing homes and schools.

The new program, a minor in the psychology department known as 
Human-Animal Bonding, has already seen some success. This summer, a dog 
raised in a pilot project at Carroll was given to a 17-year-old 
California girl with cerebral palsy.

Though dogs trained here now must complete advanced work at private, 
nonprofit institutions, Perkins eventually hopes to be able to do all of 
the work here, turning animals over to the people who need them.

She plans to add another component this spring by including an equine 
training class in the coursework. Students will take basic courses 
before focusing their efforts on dogs or horses.

Students involved in both aspects of the program must take introductory 
courses on the biological, social and psychological connections between 
humans and animals before moving onto advanced classes on training dogs 
or horses for service.

Legare and junior Cheline Perry are training a 5-month-old German 
shepherd named Atari. At about 18 months, and after extensive training, 
Atari will be ready for placement with a new owner.

Legare has been with Wheeler for two years, and she decided to get 
involved with Perkins' program because of the benefits she's realized 
from her quiet, hardworking partner.

"I personally know the difference that someone can make by training a 
service dog," she said.

Wheeler serves as an example of the finished product, showing other 
students what a service dog can do. And through Legare, the others see 
the effects a well-trained animal can have on a person.

"Seeing Wheeler work is just amazing," said Legare's roommate, Whitney 
Call, a senior psychology major who's set to be the first graduate of 
the program this spring. "It's really awesome seeing what he does for her."

Before she paired up with Wheeler, Legare used a cane. While some blind 
people like the tool, she thought people treated her differently when 
she used it. Though a cane can help her navigate her surroundings, 
Wheeler serves as her eyes -- evaluating situations and keeping her safe.

He's also given her newfound confidence, and a friendly canine serves as 
a great icebreaker.

Dog whisperers

The animals in Lynn Jennings's Introduction to Service Dog Training 
class range from perky Atari to Fender, an energetic yellow Labrador 
puppy, and from the snoozing Wheeler to the older Wishbone, who's there 
so her owner, Amity Preston, can learn the basic lessons.

Three weeks into a semester-long course, Jennings has her students run 
through basic commands, teaching the dogs to heel, stay, go beneath 
tables and climb on benches. By the end of the class, the students and 
animals will have learned about 80 commands, and the dogs will be able 
to open doors and turn lights on and off.

The students will learn how to read the dogs' personality traits and 
appropriately pair them with users based on similarities between the 
animal and the prospective owner.

It's the first semester the class has been offered, but Jennings, a 
certified trainer, based the curriculum on her year-long study at the 
Bonnie Bergin Assistance Dog Institute in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Learning by rote does nothing for the dogs, Jennings told her students. 
The animals need to learn how to make decisions to protect their owners.

"Service dogs are going to find themselves in all kinds of situations, 
and they're going to have to think to get out of those situations," she 
said.

Though they come from varied places and backgrounds, the students all 
share a love of animals and a desire to train them in order to better 
humankind.

Call never had a dog growing up. She begged Perkins to let her purchase 
one for use in the program, and she's trained Fender with the help of 
student Kyle Blanchard.

Fender, purchased at six weeks old, was the first dog raised in a 
Carroll College dorm, a task Call admits led to some sleepless nights. 
She loves the gangly pup, and she knows it will be hard to give him up 
when the time comes. But Call also knows it will be rewarding to know 
he'll better someone else's life.

Perry, who's raising Atari with the help of Legare, initially wanted to 
learn how to use marine animals in therapy. The goal didn't pan out, but 
the junior soon heard about Perkins's program.

A peer mentor for underclass students, Perry watches first-year women 
flock to Atari when they're having a bad day. It's easy to see, she 
said, why people seek a loving lick or cheerful tail wag.

"I think it's because (dogs) continually adore people," she said.

"They're neutral stimulus," Perry added. "They can't judge. They can't 
criticize."

'Aha!'

Perkins, who earned a bachelor's degree in zoology before doing her 
master's and doctoral work, has had a lifelong relationship with 
animals. She wears the cowgirl hat and relaxed smile of a woman who owns 
horses, one of which helped inspire the new program.

For years Perkins taught a class on the principles of learning. In order 
to pass, students had to train a baby rat to navigate a maze. While 
computer programs now simulate the lesson, she found students enjoyed 
working with critters much more than CPUs.

"I was flooding the market with trained rats," Perkins said.

Out riding one day, she had an "Aha!" moment, she said. Why not teach 
students to train animals to better the lives of others? She took a 
six-month sabbatical to develop the course, laying out a foundation to 
teach students about the fundamentals of human-animal relationships, 
aspects found in bonds among humans: empathy, sympathy, love, trust and 
commitment.

She wants to help students explore why people buy anthropomorphic toys 
and clothes for pets, why dog parks are sprouting across the country, 
and why the outcry over Michael Vick's dogfighting escapades was so loud.

Training dogs -- and, eventually, horses -- for service is the capstone 
coursework of the minor program.

Horses can be used in a variety of ways to provide physical and mental 
therapy. Some researchers are finding the animals are helpful with 
recovering victims of sexual abuse. Riding horses also aids those with 
mental illness or physical ailments.

Therapeutic equine programs are popping up at universities across the 
country, and Perkins hopes to solicit grants and donations to build a 
facility for Carroll College students.

The canine program, she said, is the first of its kind and its four 
students are on the cutting edge.

"Carroll College is carving this out as an academic and scholarly 
discipline," Perkins said.

She gives much credit to Hannah Parpart, a graduating senior who raised 
a dog named Zulu as a pilot project at the school. Parpart, who isn't 
able to graduate with the minor because the program hadn't yet been made 
official, said she's proud to know the first dog raised in a Carroll 
classroom has gone on to help her new owner in California.

Daredevil

Legare's own penchant for fearlessness is perhaps fitting for the new 
program, which the college officially recognized in April. On a dare, 
she recently tried some of the treats she uses to reward Wheeler. She 
expected to be disgusted, but found the snacks surprisingly palatable.

"It tastes like summer sausage, but a little crunchy," she told her 
classmates, who roared with laughter.

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/09/16/helena_life_top/c01091607_12.txt


-------------- next part --------------
Following is an article that  appeared in the Helena Independent Record on Sunday September 16th 2007 as the lead article on the Helena Life page.  A slide show is attached to the article on the newspaper web link.
Training for service
By LARRY KLINE - IR Staff Writer - 09/16/07
New Carroll College program teaches students to prepare animals for work
Carroll College junior Kayla Legare was hurrying home from class one recent day, her empty stomach growling. She and her 4-year-old black Labrador retriever, Wheeler, reached a busy intersection. Legare tried to get Wheeler to cross the street, but he wouldn’t budge.
She was hungry and tired, and she became frustrated with her friend.
A speeding car whizzed by and Legare, who lost her sight as a young child, realized what had happened. Once more, her guide dog had saved her life.
“If he would’ve stepped out with me, I would have gotten hit,” she said.
Guide dogs for the blind are the pinnacle of service animals, according to Carroll College psychology professor Anne Perkins. The animals must learn to make decisions to ignore commands or find the safest way around an obstacle in order to protect their charges.
Legare is one of a handful of students at the school enrolled in a new program to teach young adults how to train animals for service. Students purchase puppies to train, eventually hoping to turn the dogs over for more advanced training and eventual placement.
It’s the first college-level program of its kind in the country, Perkins said. Dogs trained here may serve as guide dogs for the blind, work with people who have other disabilities or serve as assistance animals in hospitals, nursing homes and schools.
The new program, a minor in the psychology department known as Human-Animal Bonding, has already seen some success. This summer, a dog raised in a pilot project at Carroll was given to a 17-year-old California girl with cerebral palsy.
Though dogs trained here now must complete advanced work at private, nonprofit institutions, Perkins eventually hopes to be able to do all of the work here, turning animals over to the people who need them.
She plans to add another component this spring by including an equine training class in the coursework. Students will take basic courses before focusing their efforts on dogs or horses.
Students involved in both aspects of the program must take introductory courses on the biological, social and psychological connections between humans and animals before moving onto advanced classes on training dogs or horses for service.
Legare and junior Cheline Perry are training a 5-month-old German shepherd named Atari. At about 18 months, and after extensive training, Atari will be ready for placement with a new owner.
Legare has been with Wheeler for two years, and she decided to get involved with Perkins’ program because of the benefits she’s realized from her quiet, hardworking partner.
“I personally know the difference that someone can make by training a service dog,” she said.
Wheeler serves as an example of the finished product, showing other students what a service dog can do. And through Legare, the others see the effects a well-trained animal can have on a person.
“Seeing Wheeler work is just amazing,” said Legare’s roommate, Whitney Call, a senior psychology major who’s set to be the first graduate of the program this spring. “It’s really awesome seeing what he does for her.”
Before she paired up with Wheeler, Legare used a cane. While some blind people like the tool, she thought people treated her differently when she used it. Though a cane can help her navigate her surroundings, Wheeler serves as her eyes — evaluating situations and keeping her safe.
He’s also given her newfound confidence, and a friendly canine serves as a great icebreaker.
Dog whisperers
The animals in Lynn Jennings’s Introduction to Service Dog Training class range from perky Atari to Fender, an energetic yellow Labrador puppy, and from the snoozing Wheeler to the older Wishbone, who’s there so her owner, Amity Preston, can learn the basic lessons.
Three weeks into a semester-long course, Jennings has her students run through basic commands, teaching the dogs to heel, stay, go beneath tables and climb on benches. By the end of the class, the students and animals will have learned about 80 commands, and the dogs will be able to open doors and turn lights on and off.
The students will learn how to read the dogs’ personality traits and appropriately pair them with users based on similarities between the animal and the prospective owner.
It’s the first semester the class has been offered, but Jennings, a certified trainer, based the curriculum on her year-long study at the Bonnie Bergin Assistance Dog Institute in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Learning by rote does nothing for the dogs, Jennings told her students. The animals need to learn how to make decisions to protect their owners.
“Service dogs are going to find themselves in all kinds of situations, and they’re going to have to think to get out of those situations,” she said.
Though they come from varied places and backgrounds, the students all share a love of animals and a desire to train them in order to better humankind.
Call never had a dog growing up. She begged Perkins to let her purchase one for use in the program, and she’s trained Fender with the help of student Kyle Blanchard.
Fender, purchased at six weeks old, was the first dog raised in a Carroll College dorm, a task Call admits led to some sleepless nights. She loves the gangly pup, and she knows it will be hard to give him up when the time comes. But Call also knows it will be rewarding to know he’ll better someone else’s life.
Perry, who’s raising Atari with the help of Legare, initially wanted to learn how to use marine animals in therapy. The goal didn’t pan out, but the junior soon heard about Perkins’s program.
A peer mentor for underclass students, Perry watches first-year women flock to Atari when they’re having a bad day. It’s easy to see, she said, why people seek a loving lick or cheerful tail wag.
“I think it’s because (dogs) continually adore people,” she said.
“They’re neutral stimulus,” Perry added. “They can’t judge. They can’t criticize.”
‘Aha!’
Perkins, who earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology before doing her master’s and doctoral work, has had a lifelong relationship with animals. She wears the cowgirl hat and relaxed smile of a woman who owns horses, one of which helped inspire the new program.
For years Perkins taught a class on the principles of learning. In order to pass, students had to train a baby rat to navigate a maze. While computer programs now simulate the lesson, she found students enjoyed working with critters much more than CPUs.
“I was flooding the market with trained rats,” Perkins said.
Out riding one day, she had an “Aha!” moment, she said. Why not teach students to train animals to better the lives of others? She took a six-month sabbatical to develop the course, laying out a foundation to teach students about the fundamentals of human-animal relationships, aspects found in bonds among humans: empathy, sympathy, love, trust and commitment.
She wants to help students explore why people buy anthropomorphic toys and clothes for pets, why dog parks are sprouting across the country, and why the outcry over Michael Vick’s dogfighting escapades was so loud.
Training dogs — and, eventually, horses — for service is the capstone coursework of the minor program.
Horses can be used in a variety of ways to provide physical and mental therapy. Some researchers are finding the animals are helpful with recovering victims of sexual abuse. Riding horses also aids those with mental illness or physical ailments.
Therapeutic equine programs are popping up at universities across the country, and Perkins hopes to solicit grants and donations to build a facility for Carroll College students.
The canine program, she said, is the first of its kind and its four students are on the cutting edge.
“Carroll College is carving this out as an academic and scholarly discipline,” Perkins said.
She gives much credit to Hannah Parpart, a graduating senior who raised a dog named Zulu as a pilot project at the school. Parpart, who isn’t able to graduate with the minor because the program hadn’t yet been made official, said she’s proud to know the first dog raised in a Carroll classroom has gone on to help her new owner in California.
Daredevil
Legare’s own penchant for fearlessness is perhaps fitting for the new program, which the college officially recognized in April. On a dare, she recently tried some of the treats she uses to reward Wheeler. She expected to be disgusted, but found the snacks surprisingly palatable.
“It tastes like summer sausage, but a little crunchy,” she told her classmates, who roared with laughter.
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/09/16/helena_life_top/c01091607_12.txt http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/09/16/helena_life_top/c01091607_12.txt