Service dogs in training attend special live music rehearsal

The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra welcomed over a dozen puppies and young dogs to a live music performance on Thursday as part of a service dog training initiative at the Jack Singer Concert Hall.

A first-of-its-kind initiative for B.C. and Alberta Guide Dogs saw around 20 future service dogs and their trainers attend a rehearsal of Roman Rabinovich in Concert to help the puppies get accustomed to new environments filled with various sounds and people. 

Marc Stevens, the president and CEO of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, spoke to CBC News before the rehearsal. He says this experience helps make the space more accessible for everyone.

The training is about making sure the future service dogs don't get distracted or overwhelmed, but Stevens said he was looking forward to seeing how the musicians reacted to a new audience. 

"I'm very interested to see how distracted our musicians on the stage get," he said.

The CEO says rehearsal time is always valuable, so the opportunity to perform in front of dogs in training could be a new challenge to even the most seasoned musicians.

"They may be barking, they may be singing along … I'm very curious to see which [piece] the dogs prefer."

Michael Petrie is a puppy trainer who attended the event with his trainee service dog, Emily. 

Petrie says it can be difficult for a service dog to be around other dogs and stay focused on their job. 

"This is an amazing opportunity to have the distraction of other dogs around them in addition to the music happening at the same time," he said.

"If a dog can manage and stay attentive in this situation, it's a good sign they'll be able to do that in other situations."

Emily is still in training, but Petrie hopes all the dogs will have "really important jobs" in the future.

Sandra Cramer, the puppy-raising supervisor with the Calgary Puppy Program, has been working as a puppy trainer for over a decade. 

The ages of the dogs range from four months to about 20 months, and Cramer says this event is a brand new experience for her and the organization.

The puppy supervisor says that bringing future service dogs to a concert can be stressful for both the dogs and the volunteer trainers.

"Our whole goal is to socialize dogs to any environment that our clients will want to bring them to. If they don't have that initial socialization, then we've missed out on a great opportunity," said Cramer. 

Ken Bowes, a volunteer puppy raiser with B.C. and Alberta Guide Dogs, is raising a black lab named Felice — the youngest puppy in attendance.

"At four months old, this is huge," said Cramer as she connected with Bowes and Felice outside of the concert.

Both Cramer and Bowes say they feel proud of Felice for doing her best among various distractions, like loud sounds, other dogs and lots of people.

Bowes has been a volunteer puppy-raiser with the organization for over a year now. He says it's a team effort to raise puppies, and while sometimes it might be hard to say goodbye, he knows that the future service dogs will make a big impact on someone else.

"They're going to help somebody. They're going to make somebody's life better."