Ableds make baseless assumptions about my mental state when they learn I’m disabled due to chronic illness. They assume I’m walking around all “woe is me” when really I’ve worked so hard to keep finding beauty in life even though I’m in severe pain so often and at the mercy of a broken healthcare system that could neglect me to death.

1) If they help, you should use them.

2) they wont help if you don’t need them, so if they are helping…you need/should use them…

get a damn mobility aid

get a damn grabber

get whatever helps you live life with less pain

don't wait for someone to give you permission

you don't need it

if something helps, use it

I’m so glad you love Kelsie!!  She’s a pretty special girl (although I may be biased lol)

Of course, disclaimer: I’m not a professional dog trainer, and since I haven’t met your pup, any advice I give may or may not be appropriate for your situation.  With all that in mind, it sounds like perhaps your pup just needs more practice?  Different dogs learn different things at different rates, and for whatever reason, your pup might just be slower at picking up on this.  I would recommend continuing your drills, trying to be as consistent as possible (just in case you’re accidentally doing something inconsistently).  You’re probably already doing this, but try offering the hand signal (and verbal cue) immediately before you lure your dog so that your dog starts to associate the hand signal with being lured into position.

When some people/organizations teach their dogs to heel, they start with a little raised block to teach paw placement.  Perhaps you could try something like that?  You could probably even use something around the house (like a hand towel duct taped to the ground?) just so your pup has a physical marker to put their front paws.

Hm, that’s a great question! We haven’t trained this in Tali and likely won’t be, but I do understand a fair amount about how to shape tasks and desired behaviors. Here’s an idea of how you could train it. 

You’ll need a friend who doesn’t live in your home to practice this with (and likely change friends a couple times throughout this, so the pup doesn’t associate this training with just one person). 

You’ll also need your dog to know some sort of alert sound, like a boof or bark or whine–whatever you want them to alert you to someone there with. Have them be able to do this on command (teach this just by capturing and rewarding the behavior when they naturally do it, then ask them to do it only on command). 

Start with one room (with low distractions or one they normally train in). Have a friend stand in the center, easy to see. 

When your dog notices your friend, give them their alert command. Reward when they do. Just make sure they noticed the person first! 

Do this a few times, so your pup understands they alert when they see a person who doesn’t live at home.  

Next, have your friend hide somewhere. Encourage your pup to explore the house and, when they see the friend, give them their alert command again. Reward when they do. 

Keep repeating this with your friend hiding different places, and sometimes not even in your apartment (so your pup doesn’t think they should just bark eventually. In this case, just rewarding them when they look around the room for your friend). 

Repeat this with other friends, slowly extending this throughout your entire living space.