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1. Raising a Poodle Service Dog – Part 1 –
GrowingUpGuidePup.com
One of the thingsI love mostaboutthe puppyraisingexperience isthateachexperience isdifferent.
Each puppygivesme differentchallengesandtriumphs.Sure Ican have puppiesthatare similarinsome
ways,but theycan alsobe verydifferentinotherways.Raisingapoodle sofar hasbeena verydifferent
experience thanall the otherbreedsof puppiesIhave raised.
Pixie isaverysmart, sweet,sensitive puppywholovestogoeverywhere withme.Iamherworld.She is
a verydifferentdogtodaythanshe waslast year.Last yearshe wasa tinypuppytryingto figure outthe
world.The worldwasa veryscary place forher.She was verytimidandunsure of many thingsthatwe
came across. She wouldwalkslowlythroughstoresasthe atmosphere wasalittle overwhelmingforher
as a youngpuppy.She wouldbarkat stuffedanimalsorotherobjectsinstoresbecause she didn’t
understandwhattheywere.She washesitanttowalkbyrefrigeration units.She wasafraidtowalkby
papersor bags blowinginthe wind.Metal coveringsonthe sidewalkwerealsoscaryandshe wouldwalk
aroundthem.Thingsinthe darkwere veryscary for Pixie.Firehydrants,shadows,noises,peopleinthe
distance.Certainnoiseslike jinglingkeyswouldsometimesputheronedge and cause herto letout a
bark or two.
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service dog, veterandog, medical alert dog, puppy.
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The other bigthingthat she wasnervousaboutwas people she didn’tknow. She wasveryaloof withmy
coworkersandshe wasn’tinterestedinreallyanyone otherthanMatt or I. A couple of timesIhanded
herleashoff to friendswhenwe were outwiththem.Evenif Iwalkedrightnexttohershe knew thatI

2. didn’thave herleashandwouldbe nervoustowalkwiththe otherperson.Once I tookherleashback
she wouldjumpall overme like she hadn’tseenme indays.
Childrenhave alsobeenachallengerecentlyforPixie.Whenshe isaroundkidsthatare calm and quiet,
she isusuallyokwiththem.If kidsare runningaroundplayingorloud she struggles.She getsexcitedand
I reallyfeel like she justdoesn’tknowhow toprocessthe energytheyhave.She isverycuriousabout
kidsand wantsto checkthemout,but if theywalkup to herand try to pether she will backawayand
try to avoidthem.
Overthe last year(andespeciallythe lastfew months) Pixiehasgrownandchangedso much.I have
watchedherconfidence growimmensely.She walksthroughstoreswithconfidence anddoesn’twaiver
at the soundof keysjingling.Iwasable to walk herthroughSpirit’shalloweenstore andevenlarge
movinganimatronicsdidn’tsparkanegative reaction.She wasactuallycuriousaboutit.She cannowdo
nighttime walksinthe dark withoutbarkingatanything.Thingsflappinginthe windare noproblemfor
hernow.Big scary statues,evendogonesthatshe was once veryapprehensive aboutapproaching,she
can walkrightup to. I wasable to capture some great before andaftervideoof how muchPixie changed
whenapproachingalarge dog statue at the park.The firstvideowasPixie’sfirsttimeseeingthe statue
and she wasverynervousaboutit anddidn’twantto get nearit; she evenbarkedatit.It took quite
some time forme to convince herthat it wasok to checkout. Butthe amazingthingaboutPixie isthat
she learnsandrecoversfromthingsveryquickly.Ididn’trecordmysecondtime takingPixie tothe
statue,butshe was much more confidentaboutit.Ididmanage to record ourthird tripto the statue
and watchingthe change inher wasamazing.Pixie walkedrightuptothe statue like itwasno bigdeal.
NowI can get herto not onlywalkupto it,but put herfeetupon it too.Matt and I were able toputthe
clipstogetherandmake a short videoof herprogressive change.
She isalso waymore social withpeople.She lovesgoingtoworkwithme andnow will sayhi to all my
coworkers.If I getbusyand needsomeone else totake heroutto go pottyshe will NOWgo with
someone else willingly.She will evengreetstrangersoutinpublicif Igive herpermission.She iseven
gettingmore comfortable aroundkids.Whenwe are atstoresand we come across kidsshe ismuch
calmer.Evenif theyare jumpingaroundormakinglotsof noise.Walkingthroughplaygroundsisstill a
workin progress.She gets a little excitedwhenshe seeskidsrunning,butshe isstill gettingbetter.We
recentlyattendedaBirthdaypartyforour friendsdaughterandPixie wasmuchmore comfortable thanI
expectedhertobe.We have evenbeenspendingtime withayoungteenwhoiswaitingforaservice
dog forhimself.He isnonverbal andmovesa little differentlythanyouraverage 12 yearold.The first
time we met,Pixie wasveryunsure of himandbarkeda couple of times.Now afteronlyafew timesof
gettingtogetherPixie walksrightupto himwithhertail wagging.
For more detailson our products and services,please feel free tovisitus at: mobilitydog, psychiatric
service dog, veterandog, medical alert dog, puppy.