ECAD Home Handler training classes offered

WINSTED — Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities is holding Home Handler training classes, the weekened of Oct. 19-20 at its new ECAD Canine Education and Wellness Center, 149 Newfield Road.

“ECAD has always been fortunate in having the most dedicated volunteers and we could not accomplish our mission without them,” said Lu Picard, co-founder and director of programming. “This is particularly true of our Home Handlers who take our puppies and Service Dogs in Training home for weekends and holidays, understanding that they are expected to know and follow rules and regulations all the while, in addition to enjoying the company of a well behaved animal.”

To be a Home Handler, ECAD volunteers must attend the two-day training session, where they learn how to be a proper host to their eager and excited weekend guest. Often these volunteers make it a family affair, with one or both parents and an offspring participating.

ECAD’s Assistance Dogs International certified instructors Linda Mazzeo, and Erica Kaspar teach the classes.

Attendees will work with the dogs at the Education Center and learn the basic commands they are expected to continue giving in their home environment. They will also learn how to walk with the leash, how to enter doorways, and give word commands, such as “leave it,” “heel,” “stay,” with emphasis on no pulling.

“We also have a section on ‘manners’ and these are really important for both the Home Handler and the Service Dog in Training. After all, the weekends are really time off for the dogs, a time when they get to be just dogs. But they still need to be mindful of what they can and cannot do – there is no jumping on beds, no begging for food, and absolutely no eating of anything, even their own food, from the floor. A lot of our clients are on medications that could seriously harm their Service Dog,” Picard said.

Once they have attended the training session, Home Handlers sign up for the Home for the Weekend Program and begin picking up their “guest” on Friday afternoons. The dogs always seem to know that Fridays are different, Picard said.

“Their tails wag faster, they pace, and look expectantly at the door of the kennel every time they hear the opening of a car door. Obviously, they like sleepovers, too,” she said.

ECAD also offers other volunteer opportunities. There are the Nursery Team families, who take the younger puppies, from 8 weeks to five months, home for an extended period of up to seven weeks. This is the “socialization” phase of the pup’s training, where they learn to behave in a home and relate to strangers, including children and other pets.

Volunteers can also help out at the Canine Education and Wellness Center – grooming the service dogs in training and helping the instructors as they train each dog for a total of 1,500 hours before placement.

The upside of all of this, besides being an important part of a beautiful animal’s life, is that the volunteers are contributing their time toward helping the person with the disability – whether it is an adult with a debilitating disease like MS, a child with Autism or a Veteran with PTSD – lead a life with more independence, safety and mobility.

To learn more, and to sign up for the up-coming Home Handler session, visit www.ecad1.org and click on Get Involved, or call ECAD at 860-489-6550.

Contributed photo Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities in Winsted is hold a dog training weekend, Oct. 19-21.