weekly reflection

     Hello. This week has been filled with some ups and downs. To start, it is very hard to make everyone you work with happy. No matter how hard you try to make things work for everyone, someone will not be satisfied with your work. It's frustrating but realizing this has made me feel better. McKenzie and I had to create a schedule where 17 dogs needed to be walked at specific times, have their own rules and abilities, can and can not walk with others, and have to be picked up and dropped off all at their own locations back to back for around five hours a day. It is amazing to be able to walk dogs for our project but sometimes is overwhelming. We have been walking about seven miles a day on average. I have learned thus far that even the most simple tasks can become difficult without the right preparation. However, hanging out with dogs all day has been great. A few standouts: Joe, Stanley, and Radley have been amazing on the leash, and Orwell, Mac, and Comet like to play in one area which is fun too. The videos and pictures we've gotten so far are great for our collective video at the end. We are planning on showcasing Proctor's vast trails and campus while also showing how cute the dogs are! McKenzie and I have also been researching some techniques on the most effective ways to train dogs. We both have dogs at home and are familiar with basic training, but neither of us has had experience with specific training such as fetching certain objects and clicker training. I have also been researching the effects of therapy dogs for people who have PTSD and other medical conditions. Dopamine and serotonin levels increase when people are around dogs, especially ones they feel safe around or have a connection with. Dopamine and serotonin create a calming and relaxing effect that can greatly impact people's lives. One statistic I found from Purely Pets Insurance is that petting a dog for 15 minutes can lower someone's blood pressure by 10% (web link below). This next week I plan on further looking into the positive and negative effects specific training can have on dogs and the people who are in their life. McKenzie and I will also be collecting more footage for our short video. We have logged 24.5 hours for this past week!


https://www.purelypetsinsurance.co.uk/blogs/why-is-petting-a-dog-therapeutic/


 

Comments

  1. Kelly Griffin-BrownMay 16, 2021 at 6:27 PM

    Radley with the shout out and picture!! Awesome work and reflection!

    ReplyDelete
  2. KaydenMay 20, 2021 at 6:37 AM

    It's great to hear that you are doing some reading on dog training too -- I imagine that really helps when working with these younger dogs, like Comet. And wow, you are covering a lot of miles!

    ReplyDelete

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