Welcome to the comprehensive, real-time training archive for Sunday, our toy poodle. Over the next 24 months, we are documenting every single step of her development to show you exactly how our structured roadmap operates in the real world. Let’s be completely honest right out of the gate: Sunday does not fit the stereotypical service dog mold. From her tiny breed size to her naturally over-exuberant, high-energy personality, she is the exact opposite of what most people picture when they think of a working canine.
As we begin this journey, Sunday currently only knows one command: sit.
By opening up her training records in real-time, we are offering an unfiltered look at what it actually takes to transform an atypical, hyperactive dog into a fully functioning service partner. This archive won’t just showcase perfect milestones; it will explicitly document the real issues, the intense frustrations, the amusing setbacks, and the unique social challenges of taking an unexpected breed out into public spaces.
The Finished Blueprint: Universal Skills & Manners
Sunday’s long-term curriculum encompasses every milestone required to build an elite, dependable worker. Before she ever advances to disability-specific tasks, she must master a comprehensive suite of universal service skills and public behaviors:
Overcoming Exuberance with Neutrality:
Transitioning her natural excitement into laser focus and calm neutrality in complex, high-distraction environments.
The Canine Good Citizen Standard:
Mastering every real-world discipline required to clear the AKC Canine Good Citizen standard, proving she can handle crowds, polite greetings, and strange public stimuli with total emotional control.
Universal Service Commands:
Perfecting core operational habits not tied to a specific disability—including flawless, adaptable house-training protocols across varied public surfaces, and tight positioning skills like the “go in” cue to tuck safely beneath tables and chairs where she won’t be stepped on.
Tailored Tasks for a Small Breed
Once her foundational public manners are bulletproof, Sunday’s curriculum will shift into specialized task training. While her physical size completely limits her from heavy mobility work, it makes her an ideal candidate for specialized alert and assistance roles. This archive will itemize the exact, step-by-step shaping protocols used to teach her highly individualized skills—such as distinct medical alerts, psychiatric grounding maneuvers, and targeted deep pressure therapy tailored to her smaller stature.
