[RKDinOKC]

Just spent a hour watching a dog training video. It's one for training "protection" dogs though they cover all types. They use three basic responses, Yes (gets a treat) and is released, Good (sometimes treat) not released, and No for when the dog responds incorrectly. The yes is always immediately rewarded with a treat. The Good tells the dog it is doing the right thing, but keep doing it and it will receive a treat later. The no is not a punishment, just removal of the reward to let the dog know it is not doing the right thing.

It talks about dogs like Pepper that are very excitable and says they end up being the best dogs because the excitement means they are more motivated and when trained are more focused, more eager to please, and respond to commands quicker.

Learned from the hotel staff (didn't sleep much at the 928 gathering) all hotels, etc will let service dogs stay there. Service dogs are not considered pets. Talking to my neighbor found he knows a vet that will give any well behaved dog a signed service dog certificate. Then I may or may not be required to get one of those service dog vests for the dog, haven't found the particulars yet. Never had a problem with my first dog and stayed and took her many places that were no pets because she was so well behaved.