PENDLETON — At just 10 weeks old, puppies raised inside Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, Pendleton, knew their names, came when called and were beginning to respond to cues even in distracting environments.

One pup, Xtreme, even started learning to roll onto his back, an important skill for him to know during veterinary evaluations.

People who have raised puppies may find the obedient behavior in such young dogs surprising. The difference may be the people taking care of the puppies since their births are the same ones doing the training.

Being inside the medium-security state prison also could have given this litter the upper hand over other pups. The dogs inside EOCI receive care 24/7 with intentional interventions throughout those first two months, preparing them to successfully transition into service dog training.

The puppies inside the prison were bred for the Joys of Living Assistance Dogs program, which trains dogs to help people with physical or mental disabilities or to work as therapy dogs in a facility. The dogs complete around a year and a half or two years of training inside one of three prisons in Oregon before graduating and going to work with their new owner.

The dog handler teams, pairs of men who are incarcerated inside EOCI, work as a unit to support the puppies and other dogs in training.

To join the work program, each person must have good behavior for 18 months prior to their application as well as have earned a General Educational Development diploma and completed an interview with program-affiliated corrections staff members.

The program does not allow anyone with a history of animal abuse to participate.

The first weeks

For the first six weeks or so after the birth of this litter of Labrador retriever puppies, the men identified them by colored collars and tracked their growth on a whiteboard.

They weighed each puppy about five times per day, and the handlers controlled food intake for the puppies and their mother, Flame.

Blue — the largest of the six — opened his eyes first, with the rest following shortly after. Puppies’ eyes and ears open when they’re around 2 to 3 weeks old. Throughout those first 14 to 16 days, the adults in custody conducted early neurological stimulation, touching the puppies’ paws to different temperatures and textures and holding them in different positions — even upside down.

“It seems like it’s going pretty quickly this time,” said Larry Wilt, a primary handler who has worked in the JLAD program for years.

The men in the program were taking turns (in pairs or trios) keeping an eye on the puppies during their first six or so weeks of life, and much of their time in those initial weeks was dedicated to cleaning up the puppies’ messes.

As soon as the puppies’ eyes and ears opened, the handlers began clicker training, by clicking their tongues against the roof of their mouth and giving a puppy a treat if it looked at them.

The puppies received a diet of mixed meats and vegetables once they were mostly weaned off their mother’s milk, but before eating solid dog food.

The aim of the diet is to help prevent allergies and develop the puppies’ gut health. It was based on new research that Joy St. Peter, founder of Joys of Living Assistance Dogs, had read. She often introduces new theories on how to best train the dogs as accepted research changes.

On Dec. 15, 2023, a little under a month after the puppies’ birth, handlers were preparing a pork and hamburger mix for the puppies to eat, starting to mix in goat-milk-soaked kibble. They were preparing to start what’s called manding, or training the puppies to sit or stand calmly without jumping, especially before being fed.

The handlers, at this point, already noticed details of the puppies’ personalities. Grey was vocal from the start, and Yellow was more relaxed. Pink was described as a princess while Green was said to be a diva.

Preparing to enter training

Around the same time, they put the puppies in a crate one at a time for a few minutes to get them used to being alone and adjusted to being kenneled. The handlers separated the puppies while they were napping too.

Then, at about 5 or 6 weeks old, the puppies moved into kennels in the men’s cells at night, staying together during the day, so by the time they started their official training at 8 weeks old, they were used to being separated from their siblings and accustomed to the cells.

When they whined, the men ignored the puppies so they didn’t reward the behavior. In those first two months of pretraining, the focus was on rewarding good behavior and building up desired responses, such as associating a clicking noise with treats.

“It’s a noticeable difference in how quick they learn things,” Wilt said. “It’s more hands-on than I ever expected it to be. I think it’s easy for dogs and puppies to develop bad habits if you’re not watching them.”

By Dec. 29, the puppies had spent three nights in their separate cells. At that point, they were spending about three times as much resting as they did playing or training. Between training sessions, they had an hour of “reflection” time in their kennels to help them rest, adjust to a training schedule and reduce the association between the kennel and stress.

At 6 weeks old, the puppies started learning their names and began recall training. They were learning nonverbal cues and sitting calmly for treats. They also seemed to know which trainer was theirs to listen to and were starting to pay attention to where that person was in a space. They also were beginning to get practice wearing collars and walking while leashed.

Puppy primer

In the final week before being sent out for their first socialization period, which happened during weeks seven and eight, the puppies started working on house, grooming, food and walking etiquette, in what the program calls a “puppy primer.” It was a head start on the first training stage that would start once they officially entered the training program, with two weeks inside EOCI alternating with two weeks with a socializer outside.

Federico Jimenez worked with Xavi, one of the male puppies. He was focused a lot on ensuring the puppy was used to his kennel and could walk alongside him for at least a few steps at a time.

Training at 7 weeks old consisted of five to 10 minutes of work around five times per day. Jimenez said he attempted to ensure his body language and speaking voice were clear for Xavi. During play, he’d monitor to see if Xavi chewed on forbidden items, such as chair legs or training tools, and would offer a toy as a way to redirect his behavior.

“You’ll never know how to train one dog perfect,” he said. “All the cues are the same, but the training style is different because dogs are different.”

The humans learn too

Jimenez said getting used to that idea took him a little while because it required him learning from his peers.

“In a prison environment, it’s hard to look at another inmate as a teacher,” he said.

Jimenez said he, like many others, had a chip on his shoulder when he entered the program. Committing himself to it helped him learn to unburden himself.

Successful program participants must learn to receive advice and support from their fellow handlers and the program’s leaders because what matters most is that the dogs are prepared.

Mentors such as Capt. Jeff Frazier, who helped start the program on the prison side, made a difference.

“He gave me a push and was consistent with that push,” Jimenez said. “It helps stubborn guys like me get out of our own way. This prison’s actually saved a lot of our lives.”

One secondary handler, Randall Compton, said the correctional officers at EOCI gave him a chance when others wouldn’t.

“Officers know me. I’ve been in and out of trouble. When you don’t expect a chance, it’s kind of like, ‘Why work toward this?’” he said. “When I got here, they really let me make my own choices. They didn’t make them for me beforehand. They let me work my way up to get this opportunity.”

The program also, almost indirectly, teaches the men communication skills.

“You learn so much about yourself,” Jimenez said. “I chose my path, and now I chose to find a new path.”

After nearly eight years in the program, Jimenez said he’s no longer focused on his own growth.

“Everything I do now is for these guys,” he said. “Their success is my success, we’re all on the same team. It’s really about doing the right thing, giving back.”

Compton reentered the program after taking a break to handle some legal proceedings. He is serving time for two counts of armed robbery in Virginia. He said he sees the program as a reward for doing things differently than before.

“If you’re doing good here it seems like they give you an opportunity to do things,” he said, “and training dogs is one of them.”

The program has helped him to consider life beyond prison, since the 33-year-old has been incarcerated for about 17 years of his life.

“Being over here since I’ve been back in the program, it’s just changed a lot, like, this opens your mind up past prison, because my whole life has just been prison gangs and all this,” he said. “Being in a bad environment, it messes with your mental (well-being). Here you can actually get out, learn something and be productive one day.”

He said he had a few moments of realization that led him to change his behavior.

“Your whole life fits in one cell. That’s kind of a rude awakening when you look at it,” he said. “Then life’s moving on without you. You got to change something. If you want things to change, it doesn’t start until you change something. So that was me doing this.”

The responsibility of training the dog that will change the quality of someone’s life is not lost on him or any of the men, especially those who have attended a Passing of the Leash graduation ceremony, which occurs a few times per year.

“The dog program is just therapeutic,” Compton said, “and it helps you stay mentally strong and you get these dogs to someone that really needs (them).”

Budding partnerships

After two weeks away, four puppies returned in late January to officially begin their training at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. The other two continued on with other service dog training programs.

Xcel, formerly known as the diva, Green, was initially paired with secondary handler Travis Sprague and his primary at the time, Richard Phelps.

“She’s super assertive, but she’ll cuddle all the time,” Sprague said. “She’s super energetic.”

Sprague started as a secondary in August 2023, and hopes working with Xcel is one of his final tests to determine if he’s ready to step into the role of primary handler.

After sending some of the experienced handlers to Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem to start a branch of the program there, Frazier said, EOCI has fewer primary handlers than the ideal number. It’s led to a few pairs training an adult dog as well as a puppy during the same two-week period.

Xcel, who weighed 14.5 ounces at birth, hit nearly 16 pounds on Jan. 26. As a Labrador retriever, the yellow-furred pup likely will weigh more than 50 pounds once fully grown.

On Feb. 1, she was transferred to Justin Jameson and his secondary, Daniel Clark, because of changing needs among the handler pairs. Jameson and Clark have been paired for a little over two months, and as a handler team, live together in addition to working together.

“Dan has a lot of passion for this program and for the dogs, and I respect that about him,” Jameson said of Clark. “You know, he’s a great guy. He supports me with my decisions on training the dog, he’s quick to learn and take instruction. I can’t really ask for a better secondary.”

Clark was incarcerated after committing second-degree robbery as a result of his substance abuse in the months after his son died from sudden infant death syndrome in 2017. This is his first time in prison, and he said it has impacted his view of what leads to incarceration. He will be released in early 2025.

He said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, so working with the dogs has been very helpful for his mental health.

“It teaches you empathy too,” he said. “All they want to do is make you happy, so it teaches you to have a softer heart. Especially when you’re in prison, everybody always must have this big, tough guy act, but it just softens you up. You realize, ‘Hey, life’s not that bad.’”

The pair’s puppy, then, not only encourages their communication and teamwork skills but also supports their mental health.

When the puppies officially entered their training, they had dedicated sessions three or four times per day for 10-20 minutes each time. Mostly, they followed their handlers’ fingers to learn cues. A lot of their time was spent exploring their surroundings, as it helps them to develop their senses, works their brains and helps them process the world around them.

St. Peter, the JLAD founder, runs weekly training sessions for all the dogs on Mondays. She often starts with the puppies, whose attention spans are shorter.

“Jarrell, give him a little, some leash cues to help him stay in place,” she directed primary handler Jason Jarrell during a session Feb. 5. “He’s getting lost in his position, so if you tightened up on the leash just enough to hold his head still, he would have been a lot more successful. Okay? Excellent.”

The handlers took the puppies through different skills; St. Peter offered feedback and support when either the handler or dog struggled with a task.

Xcel’s brother, Xtreme (formerly known as Grey), recently found a new handler pair in Jarrell and his secondary, Compton. Compton specifically asked to learn from Jarrell, who is one of the longest-serving handlers in the program. Jarrell’s sentence ends in May. He said his goal is to have Compton ready to step into his role as one of the program’s leaders.

“When I walk out of here in three months, he’s definitely going to be ready to take that spot for me,” Jarrell said. “He’s really stepped into that role, and I appreciate that because we’ve got a lot of work and when you’re a good team like that, it helps a lot.”