The Left of Austin is a Great Place to Be

Bo and Austin leashed-up at an obedience training session.

As I write this post, I sit in bed with Austin on my right listening to his music and Bo nestled between us sound asleep. Bo's head is resting on Austin's stomach and Austin is twirling Bo's ears.  Before Bo came into our hearts and home, Austin's hands would have been busy twirling the strings of one of his favorite Meme blankets. Now, it's Bo's ears that he twirls as he drifts off to sleep. It's a sweet picture of the bond between a boy and his pup. I promise I'll capture a picture (maybe even a video) next time. 

Strengthening Bo's bond to Austin has been a focus of our training this past week. We started Monday by having Austin leash-up with Bo when he got home from school.  It involved Austin wearing Bo's leash around his wrist or ankle and keeping Bo at his left side. Bo played video games with Austin, practiced piano with Austin, checked blood sugars with Austin, ate snacks with Austin and even did homework with him. In return for his obedience, Austin gave Bo treats, rubs, toys and lots of attention. Our goal with this training is for Bo to learn that to the left of Austin is a GREAT place to be. 

Video: Tape Targetting on Leg

This past week of D.A.D training involved moving a tape target from a wall to my leg. Bo has learned to "bump" the tape on my leg. Bo learned this command quickly. In this video, Bo is bumping my leg and I am clicking for a bump, as well as putting the cue "bump" on the behavior.

Bo Meets Other Service Dogs in Training

We've got a boy and his pup who love the snow.

The recent snow has provided the perfect winter wonderland for walks in the woods. On our most recent trek, we encountered two women with three Labrador Retrievers who are training to be service dogs.

I had briefly met one of the woman during a socialization outing with Bo at Lowe's, so it was a serendipitous event to run into her again on our walk. Bo, the smallest of the four, romped and played with the larger pups, while we talked with these two lovely woman about their work with Guiding Eyes for the Blind dogs.

One of the woman observed Bo relieving himself and commented on how it was good that he didn't lift his leg. She told us that Guiding Eyes dogs must not lift their legs when relieving themselves. I also learned that their pups earn their service dogs vests at six months and at that time they start more intense socialization training. Our encounter came at the end of the trail, so our walk together was brief but we will likely meet up again with the pups for more walks in the future.

Following our outing, I took Bo to puppy play group for more exercise and play. The play group provides a safe environment for young dogs to interact with other pups and learn how to listen to and respond appropriately to dog feedback. I take Bo to this one hour session twice a week and it has been fascinating to watch his development.

After puppy play group, we went over to Home Depot where we practiced loose leash walking with the distractions of strangers and unusual sounds and sights. Bo was tired at this point and I found this was a plus when it came to the loose leash walking. It was an extremely positive experience in terms of people respecting his working status. Many people walked by and commented to each other he was working. There was one HD employee who did ask me if I had permission to be in the store with a dog. I confidently answered him yes and then he proceeded to ask me who gave me permission. I cited NH RSA 167:D (trainers of service animals). He then told me (in a question like way) that I was going to pick up any mess the dog had. My answer to him was a strong "absolutely." That seemed to satisfy him and he stopped asking questions.

I really wanted to tell him that by speaking to me, he was interrupting the training session and thus prolonging our time in the store but I didn't. We were on our way after about 10 minutes in the store and when we got home, Bo was ready for a long nap.

Diabetes Doesn't Know a Holiday, Nor Does Diabetes Alert Dog Training

Today may be Christmas but Bo's training continued business as usual.

Low Blood Sugar Alert
Bo is learning to paw swipe when he smells a low blood sugar scent. He is progressing really well in his training. In this video, he is smelling a low scent sample in my hand and is paw swiping in return for a food treat.

Target Training

In this video, Bo is learning to touch a red tape target on the wall with his nose in return for a food treat.



NH RSA 167-D: Service Animals and Search and Rescue Dogs

Our State's law provides certain rights to service animals and their trainers, and that law coupled with the Americans with Disabilities Act provide a protocol for business owners, their employees and service dog owners and trainers to follow. I've been trying to familarize myself with the law, so I can articulateit if necessary. The opportunity arose on a recent outing to a sports complex.

I was challenged by the facility's general manager who told me his facility was privately owned and thus was not a public facility. (You see the law provides rights and priviledges with respect to access to public facilities.) After an attempt to bring up the law on my cell phone device failed, I acquiesced to his assertion and I left the facility with Bo.

Since then, I've reached out to our State's Disabilities Rights Center seeking clarification on the definition of public facility. According to the 167-D:1 Definitions the definition is as follows:

"Public facility means any place of public accommodation and any street, highway, sidewalk, walkway, public building, and any other place or structure to which the general public is regularly, normally or customariliy permitted or invited."

If you train or own a service dog, I welcome your insight as to how to effectively influence/address uninformed business people who do not want to allow you and your working dog into their place of business.



Video: A 4-month-old Pup Training to be a D.A.D.

This video, by the Service Dog Academy, is inspiring and I love watching it over and over.

Bo Reaches a Training Milestone

We reached a milestone in Bo's training this past week that encouraged and excited us about Bo's future as a diabetes alert dog for Austin. For me personally, it was a validation that the training I've been doing with him is working. At just 16-weeks-old, this week, Bo found a low scent sample hidden out of his view.

We began doing scent work with Bo when he was 8-weeks. It involved pairing Austin's low scent with a food treat. Sometimes the sample was in a small container and other times it was sandwiched between paper bowls, that had been modified to allow the scent to escape. This week, I hid the scent sample, in the container, on my body, and gave Bo the "find it" command. To my extreme surprise and delight, he found it!

After a several successful finds on my body, I removed the sample from the container and I hid it out of view under the edge of a rug. I then released Bo from his stay, brought him to the general vicinity of the sample and once again, gave the "find it" command. He did it! You might imagine the excitement we both experienced. He was happy to get his treat and I was blown away by what he had just done. We continued this game a dozen or so more times, and each time Bo was successful. The next morning, we tried it again and ever since he has been successfully finding samples hidden on my body, as well as in various location around the house.

We are spending a minimum of 20 minutes a day scent training and up to 30 minutes on days I'm not at work. It's a significant time commitment that requires effort to fit into early morning and late evening time slots, but the results are worth every ounce of my energy and every second of my time.