Service Dog Training For Anxiety: Deep Pressure Therapy, Crowd Control, Alerts | Australian Shepherd

[@kimjulie]

"I'm confused... he's confused... WE'RE BOTH CONFUSED" Hahaha

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

yes, teaching him a new task was very confusing for me! hahah

[@modeltackmaking2476]

For the DPT, I would reccomend reteaching him "lap" so that he lays across your thighs, forming a T shape. You may also have to experiment with how much of him should be on your legs in order for it to be comfortable for both you and him, but also so that he can provide enough pressure to relieve your symptoms. Of course, it is totally up to you and whatever you would like, but that's what works best for me!

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

hi hi! Yes, we are working on a new way to teach DPT! the video will be going up soon! Thanks for the tips tho!

[@hay_Z2021]

Yep! I use "lap" too 😊❤️

[@soggysoupkitchen]

For the heavy breathing, I’d definitely have him alert, then if it persists, DPT, and if it still persists, nudge your face. Kind of like a build up in intensity. Just because if you’re standing, it will be difficult for him to automatically do DPT or a face nudge and he might learn to start jumping / barking to get your attention. 100% personal preference though! He’s doing great :D

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Ouuu thanks for the tips! i never thought about what he would do if i were standing up! will definitely work on alerting for heavy breathing!

[@soggysoupkitchen]

@@AstroFromTheBlue No problem! I’m a dog trainer who works with private clients who are owner-training and I just have some things I’ve noticed that certain people prefer. Thought I’d share but of course it always depends on you and your dog :) He is one of the best owner-trained service dogs I’ve seen on KZbin. I love your channel!

[@phoenix0909]

My SD is only 33lbs but I have Ehlers-Danlos so DPT can really hurt my joints, so we’ve figured out other ways to task DBT. If I’m sitting in a chair, my SD puts her head in my lap, or puts her front legs (no elbows) across my thighs. If I’m at home, I lay on my bed and my SD lays in my pillows with her head on my shoulder/chest. If I’m standing, she sits on my feet, she stands on my feet with her front paws too. 😊 And I’m always covered in fur!

[@indeanjali3216]

Astro seems like such a smart dog and will make a great SD once fully trained! One tip for all tasking is a bit more consistency. We all have the urge to say "good enough" when our dogs are clearly trying their best but getting part of it "wrong". Instead of rewarding for small unwanted behaviors when the core behavior is good try lowering the stakes and building back up so that he's not barking to alert (unless that's ur desirable behavior though not recommended). Some ppl will say ignore that behavior but I don't like to see my dog frustrated. Training should be fun! Another tip, for the heavy breathing I would recommend begining to mimick that behavior, then ask as you usually do, then eventually merge it together until that signal is a command to your dog similar to how paw alert/disruption is trained. Hope that helps! Fun thing- when my PTSD SD paws for an oncoming attack I will tell people I don't know "sorry, I need to focus on my dog/deal with my dog" as though she's misbehaving/needs attention when she's not but I need an excuse to leave that situation. It helps a lot and something I reccommned to people with anxiety!

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

hi hi! thanks for all the tips! I'll make sure not to reward when he barks/whines! That's a good idea for my heavy breathing! Hope that your SD continues to do great work for you!

[@Twintails7770]

The heavy breathing alert can be a hard one to shape. I'm so glad you've reached out for tips though because as soon as I saw that you were open to that I though oh man I've got to comment. That was a task that my pervious service dog (now retired) really loved to perform. The way I taught it was by putting treats in my hand and then pressing it to my chest while I breathed heavily. He would be encouraged to nudge that hand continually (to get my attention) for the treats until I 'calmed' and stopped breathing heavily, then I'd release that hand and reward him. Eventually I could take that hand away and he'd come bounce his nose against my chest when he heard heavy breathing. Most of the time this required him to crawl onto my lap to do so, or jump up at me. If I was sitting I'd pair that response with DPT. So once he found me, bumped me, allowed me to respond and begin to calm, he knew he had to stay there across my lap until I gave him the release word. Then I offered a reward once he'd completed the entire process. It can be a bit of a challenge when considering what you want your dog to do during that time. My focus was always just on him verifying that I was indeed breathing heavily and then encouraging me to stay wherever I was for a bit until things were better. That way I wasn't trying to go anywhere or ignore it when it happened. When being out and about the initial bump can be paired with what I like to refer to as a 'take down'. So instead of climbing up onto my lap, since I'd be standing, he'd leap up, wrap his paws around my hips and bump to alert me. Then, once he did, I'd either find a place to sit or get on the ground and allow him to do DPT from there. That way, once again, you can't ignore the symptoms and your dog is able to get your attention and force you to deal with things then. Anyway, sorry for the long comment! Hope that may help. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me. I've had a service dog for eight years and am in the process of training my new prospect now. Interestingly enough I also have a dog named Astro, all of my pups have A names. I thought that was cool. Best of luck to you both!

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

hi hi!! Wow, thanks for your comment! I really appreciate your tips and will definitely take your tips into consideration! We are working on no jumping up, so how do you prevent him from jumping up other than alerting you? I don't want him to think that jumping is okay. Good luck with training your new pup! Best of luck to you too ☺️

[@Twintails7770]

@@AstroFromTheBlue So glad I could be of help. If you don't want the alert for heavy breathing to be jumping up while you're standing you could always transfer the treat hand to your leg or your lower thigh and have him nose that hand as the signal. Then slowly remove that hand and just have him target your thigh. I know for me nose boops like that are really helpful because there's nothing like a cold dog nose to get your attention. :) Thanks for the well wishes.

[@allywalsh9050]

Your editing is great, especially for someone who doesn't have many subscribers. These videos should have more views!

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Hi Ally! Thanks so much! That really means a lot to me! I'm glad you enjoyed!

[@pw6896]

Oh, you are doing great with Astro's training! Astro is a good boi

[@Laila_3]

Astro did so good , His dpt has improved a lot he is putting more of his body on you so it gives more pressure and weight . Good job Astro!

[@Laila_3]

also with the leg shaking i would try to get him to stop barking just because it might cause distraction for people in the store or even other dogs but his alerting is really good!

[@Laila_3]

Another thing is with the heavy breathing maybe try to get him to go straight to dpt so it can ground you and help you calm down

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Hi! Thank you! i actually found a new way to do DPT, so i'll be making a video very soon! thanks for the tips!

[@Laila_3]

@@AstroFromTheBlue thats good and its np for the tips i try to help as much as i can.

[@johnkim6374]

He’s doing so well, proud of the little meester

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

heheh thanks dado!

[@aubrypuppydog6350]

I love watching your videos, Astro is doing so good with his training and its actualy helping me train my puppy! I was just wondering if you could make another of the video when you go on a hike it was really fun to watch him run around! Anyway love your videos and Astro!❤

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

hi hi! Thanks for watching! Yes, I would love to make another hiking video! Is there something in particular you would like to see while we hike? 🥰

[@christycoleman8138]

Omgoodenss! 😍 Wanna just say Astro is friggin adorable! Love love!! His eyes 😊 an he is so good at his training to such a good boy too

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Aww thank you. Yes he's so cute and so smart. I can't wait to see him grow more :)

[@christycoleman8138]

@@AstroFromTheBlue your welcome 😊 an I bet!

[@chuyisu8740]

The AROUND command seems very promising for people with anxiety! I will also teach Dobby that!

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

! yes we love the around command! good luck teaching dobby! he'll do great!

[@ainsleythebunnylover9997]

I am teaching my dog to alert me when I start freaking out. His alert is sitting in front of me and pawing at my legs. I find pawing easier to teach for alerts because shake is a pretty easy trick and so you can just modify it to teach alerts.

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

hi hi! I'm glad that you have your dog to help you! Pawing is def easier, but he would leave scratch marks *even after nail trims* on my legs, especially if i am wearing shorts!

[@Chronicallysmiling]

you could get soft knee pads for dogs. Or get thick velvet ad make him some leg braceletes.

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

that’s a good idea, but i noticed astro doesn’t like having stuff on him :(

[@Chronicallysmiling]

maybe when he lays put his front elbows over your shoulders and legs off your sides although that might be uncomfortable for him I woudnt know my SDiT is small and doesnt hurt that bad (excuse my bad grammer also)

[@lacimason4283]

Hi I just want to say that Astro is soooo cute but you seem so sweet!! The way you talk to your camera (us as the viewers lol) is so kind and you are so understanding and gentle with training. I would like to get a therapy / psychiatric dog (preferably an Aussie !) for my anxiety and depression. I am a freshman in college so I’m worried about training and distractions but I plan to do some at home training as well as a local trainer just for the extra help. I also want to help others too if anyone is struggling on campus and need someone to talk to or a dog to pet on, I want me and my dog to help! If you have any recommendations or advice, please let me know! Thanks so much for these videos and I hope you have a blessed day!! ❤️ Also it’s so cool you said in this video you are close to 300 subscribers and now you’re at 3k! Congratulations!

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Hi hi! Thanks for your kind words!! Aussies are amazing but honestly a lot of work. They’re definitely high maintenance dogs for sure. Thanks amazing that you want to help others too. Definitely hiring professional help is great and you get to learn a lot! ❤️❤️

[@DanielKim-uu7dt]

Smart doggo! Don’t mind me just learning more about service dogs :-) Keep it up

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Hi! Thanks, yeah he's super smart!! I hope you enjoy my videos :)

[@KingJames-ne1lk]

I just got the ok to have a service dog! Your videos are giving me great ideas! Keep making videos they really do help 😊

[@-teamsukiandcorny-]

Astros so smart! His DPT has gotten so much better!! 😊 I love hearing other people work on the same tasks as myself and my dog! I myself haven’t taught my dog this yet myself, but I have also been wanting to work on having him alert to and do DPT too heavy breathing as well, I just don’t feel comfortable teaching him new tasks when my fam is home, so I’ve been planing on working on that the next time they all leave to go somewhere ^^ (I also have lots of other tasks and commands I’ve been learning about that I wanna teach Suki as well!) Keep up the good work! You guys are amazing! :D

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Hi hi! Thanks for watching! I found a new way to do DPT, so i will be posting a new video soon!! Also, do you have access to a private room? If you feel uncomfortable training in front of your family when they are home, you should find an empty room for some privacy!

[@-teamsukiandcorny-]

@@AstroFromTheBlue I do work with him in my room sometimes, my siblings run by my door a lot tho, and I don’t want anyone to suddenly walk in (it’s happened before) cause it’s kinda awkward, and my room is also pretty small, so I can’t work on some certain things I wanna teach him that require more room and space 😅

[@S0ulgamez24]

Hopefully this will help me when I start TRANNING my dog she is a golden retriever but I was wondering if you can show us all of Astros skills and show us how you taught them

[@EliMayyt]

I know this was 9 months ago, but for teaching alerts, I like to teach the behaviour I want first (an example is my pup pawing my leg when I’m shaking it, so I’d teach her to paw my leg on command), then incorporate the heavy breathing or whatever you’re training, but still saying the verbal cue. After a while they usually get that heavy breathing = you want them to do the alert behaviour, and then you can phase out the verbal cue until they completely get what the alert is🥰

[@yellowvalle4799]

Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful video

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

ofc, i'm glad you enjoyed!

[@strawberries5629]

How do you only have 700 subs!!! So underrated! Keep going 🎉

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

thanks for the support! we're growing and 'm sooo excited!

[@saoirseokeeffe4258]

Hi I'm new to the channel. I agree with it hurting so much. I have two ways I get my girl to do it. 1) legs out with chest across my legs 2) crossed legs. She immediately sits on one leg and lays down on the other. If I'm panicking, she sits up and has her front paws on the other leg so I can snuggle into her. It hurts but by that point it's more grounding then anything. You do so well!! I am so glad I'm not the only one who gets dog hair in my mouth.

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

hi hi!! welcome to our channel!! thanks for sharing!! 😍 cant wait to hear more from you on future videos!!

[@kananireynolds]

Great video! As for the barking when alerting I would definitely say that’s against public access since it’s disruptive :) but he is such a GOOD BOY! I’m a month into service task training for my assistance dog and I’m also getting ideas for other ways she could help me besides picking things up and DPT ❤️❤️ but I know that all tasks no matter the amount are valid! A big problem we are having is escalators and elevators 😅😅😅 how is Astro with that? Do you have any tips if so? 🥰🥰

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

hi~ yup, that totally makes sense! i won't have him bark/whine for alerts! thanks tho! good luck with your training! Astro actually has never been on an escalator before but he does really well in elevators! I make him go either on a sit or down stay! I think that helps him since he has a "job" to do!

[@lizzieriley2560]

I have POTS and I have my SD do DPT on my side. So while I’m laying down she will do DPT on my arms and then lay her head on my chest or stomach area. She’s a 70 lbs golden and she does the elbow thing. She also doesn’t want to hurt me so she wants to be on my side instead. She dislocated my hips before from wrong DPT since I have EDS too.

[@Jun1per.f0rest]

I’m just starting to train my anxiety service dog (psychiatric service dog) and I am getting an Aussie as my parents have decided the Aussie will be best for me

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

!! Good luck with your training!! Keep me updated ❤️

[@Jun1per.f0rest]

@@AstroFromTheBlue thank you!! I will definetly keep you posted!!

[@ReaganDodge51166]

I would recommend doing dpt with him laying on his side

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

hmmm thanks for the tip! i'll try it out!

[@Gamingwithlizzo15]

You could Cary a little blanket for when you sit down so it won’t hurt

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

!! That is very true, thanks for the tip! ☺️

[@aries_and_macie_the_servic2830]

He is so cute

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

thank you!

[@candacemarieswearingen1675]

What should i do for dizziness? What task would you train for that

[@pw6896]

Ground flaxseed, flaxseed oil, coconut oil, extra Virgin olive oil will help with shedding. They will improve the coat in general and maintain healthy skin. Just don't overdo it. They all have omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. So they help support healthy brain, skin, joints, eye, heart, immunity and growth, and behavior.

[@arilitamoore3878]

Question, what is the technique that you used to teach your dog deep pressure therapy?

[@Justkeepswimming777]

Love your videos! Do you use a specific person to learn training these tasks from?

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Hi, no I don’t! It all comes from me :) ❤️❤️

[@Justkeepswimming777]

@@AstroFromTheBlue How did you learn?

[@appleglassjuice11]

Always love watching these, whether its just training or you playing with Astro, these vids are very entertaining and helpful! Also apologizes if you already said this somewhere, but did you adopt Astro or get him from a breeder, and if from a breeder how long did it take to get him? I'm doing as much research as I can and the dog breed I need can only be found by breeders.

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Aww thanks for watching/ supporting our channel! much appreciated! I did get astro from a breeder at 8 weeks old! We put in our deposit about a year before we got astro! Good luck with your search! Which breed are you looking to bring home?

[@appleglassjuice11]

@@AstroFromTheBlue Awesome, I want a poodle, mostly because of their intelligence and pet allergy free (for my mother). I'm hoping to have them as an ESA to a SD. I have cancer and I would love to have an companion, but I can hardly take care of my hamster I currently have so idk when I should try to register to get one.

[@weimarc2205]

For the heavy breathing, my dog jumps up on me until I sit down for her to do DPT.

[@abiflinders9010]

My sd will jump on me and then go and do dpt when I sit down or if I'm not listening to him when he jumps he will grumble at me and paw tell I sit down he will basically do eny thing to make me sit and stop

[@Rhi_Rhi_Rhi_Rhi]

it would be good for me to have a service dog, but since we have 4 dogs of our own and theyre all grown i dont think i can get another dog

[@Schliechhorsylover]

Are you allowed to have a service dog for anxiety Because I'm a new Viewer Of yours and may I ask why you have a service dog

[@challengeaccepted9192]

I would love to have astro an my lap.

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Hahahah i'm sure you do! 😍

[@Megan_NotStevenHeseditor]

I would say that it is okay for him to do quiet little yips as long as it doesnt cause a public disturbance

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Hi hi! I agree :)

[@sidrahsmith1465]

I put a pillow in my body and she lays on the pillow.

[@sidrahsmith1465]

Also I saw in another video that you can make sure the dog comes in from your side and places their elbow between your thighs.

[@Person12370]

Your at 3k now

[@AstroFromTheBlue]

Yes I am!! It’s crazy how fast we’re growing ❤️

[@Person12370]

@@AstroFromTheBlue your chanel is amazing I love watching service dog videos to learn more about it

[@masonmcdowell9755]

Fluffy go into a DTPT for me.

[@Ettie-g1m]

Alert barking isn’t the best because generally people think barking is bad and a sign of aggression and shops can make you leave if they think the dog is behaving badly

[@khloebuford7890]

How about you put in my across it and it won't hurt your joints who created cross used to treat

[@CorpsespawZ900]

Its ok fpr ypur dpg to alert bark, but onky when you're not listening because barking can be distracting and loud tp the public somtimes making ypur dog appear untrained ig, and ive trained ly sd for heavy breathing he will paw me or kinda jump on ly leg for leg shaking we are training to nose boop.