Ronald Wiedbusch | Contributor

A few months ago I wrote a blog about the hard work that children at the Perry Child Development School here in Ypsilanti did to help raise funds to help train one an assistance dog names Murphy. Just this past week Murphy returned to Perry once again to see the kids who put their time into helping raise funds. We wanted to make sure they saw the direct effect of what their time and effort accomplished.

I, my Assistance Dog Storm, Murphy and Murphy’s foster family all came into Perry to put on a meet and greet for the students. Our goal was to answer any questions the students may have, remind them of who Murphy was and to let them see his progress since his last visit. We ended up seeing more than 500 students from preschool to first grade.

All of the classrooms and groups we saw were wonderful behaved and we all had a very fun day. It also made sure the students were able to see that they made a difference with the work they had done months before.

While it was great to let the children to interact with a dog they had helped raise the funds to train, what struck me the most were the comments I overheard from them throughout the day. While most of us older people always are looking big picture, I always am amazed about the small details that younger children see that I would overlook.

Murphy lying down while his foster family answers questions

Ronald Wiedbusch | Contributor

While I of course noticed that Murphy had grown, the students noticed it greater detail then I had. They commented on how much longer and softer his fur was, how his paws were larger, and how his teeth were so white.

This got them interested in how Murphy’s foster family took care of him doing things such as daily brushings, teeth cleaning, and nail clipping. They were able to see the small details of his growth in a much more detailed way then I had.

They also were a bit funny as well at times. They asked things such as what his service vest was washed in and if it was “Tide,” because it was so colorful like they show on TV.

Assistance Dog Storm and Assistance Dog in training Murphy

Ronald Wiedbusch | Contributor

The most interesting part of the afternoon came when we were demonstrating Murphy’s response to different commands he had learned since his last visit. One student raised a hand to ask why it was that when Murphy was given a command the exact same hand motions and wording was always used.

The answer is, of course, for consistence in training so that a service dog knows exactly what he should be doing. If someone says "sit" and does the correct hand motion, he will sit every time. The same goes for a number of different commands he has been trained for.

To help illustrate this, we asked the students what they did when their parents said "go to bed" and pointed to their rooms. The answer was, of course, they went into their rooms and into bed, but that is where the consistency stopped.

Some would go to bed and sleep, like their parents implied when they issued the command, but other just simply went to bed to do something else. Some would play with toys, read, watch TV, or a number of other things. The students argued that they did in fact go to bed as they were told, they just were never told to go to sleep.

Assistance Dog in training Murphy gives his happy face

Ronald Wiedbusch | Contributor

While this did make me laugh, it also highlights the need for exact commands when you're training a Service Animal. Much like a child who is told to go to bed will find a loophole, so will a Service Dog in training. The very same can be said for your house hold pet as well: If you're not consistent and exact, then the results could be different than what you expect.

This is the reason I love working with kids — you learn or are reminded of these things such as the need for exact instructions on a daily basis. If you tell someone to "go to bed," and they do in fact get into bed, they have followed exactly what you said.

It may not be to the meaning that you had, but that's more the fault of the one giving the command than the one following it. They just happened to outsmart you!

Ron Wiedbusch is a regular contributor to AnnArbor.com's pets section and works in the community to raise awareness about Assistance and Therapy Dogs and the Americans with Disabilities Act with his certified Assistance, Service, Rescue and Therapy Dog, Storm. The pair can be found at various places in the community throughout the week, and each day patrolling the area around Ypsilanti Public Schools as part of the Safe Schools Program.