It Takes Work Handling a Service Dog

I've said it before and I'll say it again: 

"Taking a service dog to school is a big responsibility for a child; working with a child at school is challenging for a service dog." 

Given this, I wasn't surprised when Austin told me he wanted to take Bo to school less often.

"Why," I asked. 

"It's a lot of work handling him in the cafeteria, Austin said. "He goes for the food on the floor and he doesn't always respond to my command to leave."  

In honesty, I noticed this problem a couple of weeks ago when I took Bo to school to watch Austin play in a basketball game. Bo seemed to go for every wrapper and food crumb on the floor and bleachers. Previously, Austin had mentioned Bo was eating food off the floor but I didn't understand the extent of the behavior until I was on the other end of the leash.

I've never considered Bo to have a strong leave command but he had never demonstrated the blatant disregard for the command that I witnessed at the game. It was clear to me Bo had been practicing 'floor surfing' at school. Austin had allowed him to get away with this behavior enough times at school that it became a default behavior — one that is not only inappropriate for a service dog, but also potentially life threatening.

So, in light of this situation we are putting a plan in place to work on re-training Bo on the leave command. I have a few ideas of how to tackle this problem but because I want expert guidance, I called our trainer Helen. We are going to train in the cafeteria of a local college to simulate the environment Austin is finding challenging. The session will involve Austin handling Bo and and me observing, while Helen works to re-teach boy and pup on how to achieve a strong leave.

Austin's really excited to meet with Helen. It's been two years since our last training session. As for me, I'm looking forward to watching boy and pup work under her direction. She is a gifted teacher and Austin is an eager learner. In fact, this morning he shared with me his intent to refine his handling skills and to really work with Bo on keeping a tight heel and a strong leave.

It takes work to handle a service dog. Training never ends for the pup or the human. I'm pleased Austin is mature enough to realize he and Bo have more work to do in order to make them the best team they can be. In fact, when I mentioned I'd send a note to his guidance counselor to let her know this new plan, Austin told me he already spoke to her. 

A Listening Dog

The other day I was reminded that Bo is a listening dog. Austin had just finished checking his blood sugar after a low alert from Bo. I asked Austin if he wanted to take glucose tablets or if he wanted me to get a juice. I was already on my way to the kitchen when Austin replied he wanted juice. I turned around to see Bo was behind me carrying a juice box. He had retrieved it from Austin’s nightstand where we always keep a juice box.

Bo has the 'get juice' command under good stimulus control — only retrieving a juice from the nightstand when given the command. When I had asked Austin if he wanted me to get a juice, Bo heard his command 'get juice' and responded as he has been trained. 

Related Video Posts: Retrieving a Juice Box on Command (from 10-19-2014)

Christmas Vacation

As I sit cross legged on the bed typing these words, he lies at my knees snoring gently. Moments ago he alerted to my dad one floor above me before leading my dad downstairs to me, where he alerted to me. Austin was playing video games behind a closed door in a room on the opposite side of the vacation home where we are staying. A check of Austin’s blood sugar confirmed his high alert. Once I treated him for his alert, he followed me back to my room downstairs where he now lies sleeping. I love my working pup.

What It's Like Working Bo at School

Bo and Austin during free time.

Guest post from Austin: 
Bo as many of you know has been attending school with me for a bit over a month now and let me say it has been one of the best months in my life. Bo is up there with some of the best things to come into my life. He works everyday all day, he get few breaks and still alerts and performs exceptionally. As I grow older and older the feeling I get when high or low fade and I find it increasingly harder to tell the difference between normal and low. However the scent signature will not change and that’s where Bo comes in he has caught thousands of high and low blood sugars through his life and it does not stop in school. Even with the constant flow of questions like “how old is he” or “what does he do”, “You’re not blind” and the most annoying “can I pet him” Bo stays calm and works through it. Bo works 6 hours through a school day and most of that is very boring to him, sitting or lying at my feet scenting for the slightest smell of a low or high. Bo is the best he is everything I could imagine and more. It makes me and my mother so proud to see him succeed in school.

Bo under desk at school

Bo napping after being picked-up from school.

Subject: Physical Science, Austin and Bo

When I drop Austin and Bo off at school in the morning, I always stay to watch them make their way from the sidewalk to the school entrance. As they disappear behind the glass doors, I wish I could see what they look like navigating the corridors and classrooms. This weekend I received an email from Austin’s science teacher that was the next best thing to being able to see boy and pup working on their own. Her words filled my eyes with tears of happiness and my heart with pride for the team my boy and his dog have become.

Subject: Physical Science, Austin and Bo

Hi Jennifer

Just a quick note to let you know how well things are going in Physical Science class with Bo.

We are in a very noisy part of the curriculum, with the students (a full class of 24) setting up cars and ramps, then running these noisy cars down the ramps throughout the class to collect data. Throughout it all, (3 class periods so far) Bo has been composed and settled. Austin does an amazing job of keeping an eye on him and keeping up with all the work expected at the same time.

I have been very impressed with both of them and thought you should know what a great job they are doing in class together.

Have a great weekend.

Bo's Four Year Homecoming Anniversary

October 13, 2013

Four years ago yesterday, we brought Bo home and began the journey that led us to where we are today. We welcomed our sweet pup into our hearts with hopes and dreams that were big but grounded in reality. We knew there were no guarantees the puppy we chose would have the drive or temperament to be a diabetic alert dog (DAD); what we did know is we were committed to doing everything we could to give him the best possible chance for success.

Fast forward to today and boy and pup are navigating high school side-by-side everyday. They are working together with ease. Bo is alerting Austin at school and Austin is responding to his alerts by checking his blood sugar and rewarding Bo. It wasn’t until boy and pup began working independently together at the start of this school year that I finally felt like I could say ‘I did it’ — I reached my ultimate goal of training a DAD for Austin.

The path we took to get a DAD isn’t a path that’s suited for every T1D family and certainly not a path for the faint of heart. I believe it worked for us because we committed our time, energy and resources to giving Bo the best possible chance for success. Additionally, we were fortunate to have an extraordinary trainer in Helen Nicholls St. Pierre plus an expansive support network of family, friends and other DAD teams from across the country.

We were lucky; Bo turned out to have the drive to do the work we raised and trained him to do. Not all dogs, despite their breeding and training, are cut-out to be service dogs —  a fact I think about every time I consider training another DAD for Austin to take to college. Similarly, not all families are suited to train a service dog. I’m thankful for our experience and grateful for the incredible journey we began four years ago when we brought Bo home.

The Inconvenience Factor

The activity of Austin's three hour football practice caught up with his blood sugar this evening and Bo was on the job to let us know. I got his first alert as I was putting away laundry in Austin's room. I felt Bo's paw swipe but Austin saw it and told me he had to check before I said anything. The meter read 86. I rewarded Bo while Austin ate a snack. Seventeen minutes later Bo re-alerted me. Austin re-checked; he was still 86.

If you're fortunate enough to have a DAD that consistently and reliably alerts, you can expect being alerted and re-alerted. Sometimes it's not convenient to stop what you're doing to validate a re-alert and reward it with food and or a game. (i.e., It's the middle of the night and you want to go back to sleep. You're leaving for work and you're already late.)  But, it's always important to validate the alert in a timely manner and reward or watch it based on the number.  It's been my experience that following a consistent process for responding to alerts is key to maintaining Bo's work ethic and ultimately our team's success. 

As Austin prepares to take Bo to school full-time this month, I've talked with him a lot about the importance of responding to Bo's alerts immediately. As a 14-year-old boy, he doesn't always want to stop his activity to check in response to an alert. (Also, he sometimes thinks he knows better than Bo despite Bo proving him wrong on several occasions.) When I'm with him, I will check for him as he continues what he's doing. At school the responsibility will fall on him. I know he can do it.  I expect he and Bo will become a stronger team as they work more on their own and less with me.