Omigosh, was Scottie actually inspirational? That's such a nice compliment - thank you!!! I started getting lazy posting videos. My phone memory is totally full of dog pics/videos lol...
That's really cute Chews knew tricks going into training hehe...sitting pretty is afterall very essential because Yorkies are so pretty ;)
Do you have some videos of Chews tricks?? Would love to see them too!

For a service dog, there is a plus to being adorable. They have to be VERY well socialized for both people and situations. It is vital they never growl, bark, or nip at anyone out in public, and they cannot show any protective or agressive traits at all. They are not to supposed to even whine in public. If they cannot have these traits trained out, they are effectively disqualified from being a service dog. They must allow another person to come up to you and hug you, touh you, and all of that without even a flinch. If you were to be injured or need medical care, they cannot inhibit the EMS team from caring for you in any way. They must also be trained to cope with hospitals as they are to come with you should you need medical care, even in the ER. The hustle, bustle and noises cannot adversely affect them.

While in training, I let anyone pet Mario that wanted to to help get him in the right mind set of complete non-aggression. I made sure I picked him up and told him "say hi" prior, and when I put him down, I told him "back to work" to help him learn when to focus and when to act cute. "Four on the floor" is work mode, and in my arms is cutie mode hahaha.

Oh yeah, I do also, almost every single time I am approached, take the time to educate people about service dogs and the importance of asking to pet first. Mario does not perform life saving tasks, but I make sure to tell people that some dogs do. To distract those dogs could result in grave peril to their owners.

Teddy came to us at about 8 months, very well trained and well socialized. I believe all of that was undone by all of the people who ran up to us, arms outstretched like they were going to scoop him up. Often they made loud noises, almost screaming "awwwwwww!"

I think people just lose their senses when they see a cute dog. Even our vet lost his mind and stretched out his hand to pet Teddy on top of the head when they first met. Big no no with many dogs.

I've learned to coach people as they approach.

I don't! Not doing what you do, but cute ones of her playing and a few of her with the zoomies after bath. I could post one or two of those if you wanted to see them.

Yes, Scottie was not only inspirational, we weren't going to pay for the tricks one- the class that teaches her a ton of tricks. Only extra was the bonding with puppy class AFTER everything else is complete. Because of your little cutie, my daughter begged me to not only pick it up, but SHE and, I quote "NOT DADDY!" wants to go with me. She is also joining us for the training classes, so yes, I'd say definitely he was! She loves your Scottie.

LOL! Thank you. I've read up on some of this, and heard a lot from our trainer, but it always helps to see that in black and white!