Day 9

Today was a really fun day. Yes, training can be fun! Our morning lecture was with the Development and PR folks. As our dog will have a CCI vest on at all times, we serve as one face of CCI and we need to be able to answer all sorts of questions from people who approach us. As a not-for-profit organization, CCI relies on private sponsorships and donations (both personal and corporate) for all their funding. We need to understand where to direct people should they inquire in that area. It is our goal to involve Blue III (Trip), Butler's bulldog mascot, at some of the CCI fundraisers in Indianapolis! Next one is October 5 in Fishers, IN!

The instructors put together some fun and challenging training games. The challenges: 1) All of the dogs had to go Up (front paws on the tabletop) on a table and hold that position together for 15 seconds (I kept picturing a deck of cards being dealt!). If one dog came off the table before the 15 seconds was over the count began again. 2) Individual teams practiced retrieving items from the table (a sandwich in a bag and a water bottle) and returned to their spot to deliver the items. 3) Different items were passed around the room from dog to dog. These items were either a food container (passed by Pushing) or a pool noodle (passed by one dog carrying it to the next dog). 4) Finally, all of the dogs had to retrieve a picture off of a clothesline. It was really nice to see a fun side to team training where we all got to be part of a team together.

Our day ended with a field trip to Polaris Mall. We had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and our dog did a good job being "invisible." We gathered for a group photo (which we can't wait to see) and then split into groups for a training trip through the mall. The mall was not as busy as it was when we visited on Sunday, so that was nice. Part of the training involved going through all of the items on the public access certification checklist. We passed all of the tasks without a problem. We have no worries that we will be able to pass our certification test on Thursday. We then made a quick trip to the pet store for a toy for the dog (a rubber chicken), then back for a quiet evening.