Today at dog school, we did a little more work with the "heel" command, for use when we are pushing a shopping cart, wheelchair or stroller. We hold the leash in the left hand and keep the dog on the left. The dog may align the "heel" to the back wheel of the cart. This is just because they can't see around the cart if they heel to your left leg. This was actually pretty easy to do in practice, but I am sure it will be a little more challenging in the crowded aisles at the grocery store.
We also did some mass distraction training-- having all the dogs out in the center and walking around them to distract them. They did wonderfully!
Next, we went over the bark command. When practicing this, it's important to remove the dog's gentle leader collar so they really feel free to let loose and bark. We practice by standing in front of them, treat in hand, and saying, "Bark!" The trainers do it with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm. It's a game for the dogs, so you want to make it fun. A lot of the dogs started with a little "huff" of a bark, in which case you escalate your voice and excitement and say "Bark!" again. You continue this until you get the desired loudness. Be sure to tell them "Good boy!!" when they do bark. For seizure alert, we want a loud bark. One important detail is to let the dog swallow the treat fully before starting the process again, so he does not choke or projectile bark at you! Sometimes the dogs enjoy this so much that they don't want to stop barking. In this case, put the dog in a "down" and ignore, if need be.
Besides using the word "bark" to elicit a bark, we seizure families are learning how to get the dogs to bark at a telltale sound or sight of a seizure. So we would master the bark command, then do the same game, but with the seizure sound our child makes. For this, we will use the "high value" treats only.
The dogs also got their "place" mats today. These are Mutt Mats-- a thin rectangular dog bed that the dog knows as its "place". To get the dog to lay on his place mat, tell him "place" and then give him a second to get on the mat. Then throw a treat on the mat. He should naturally lay down on his mat, but if he doesn't, we give the "down" command. Abbot was great at this and Si liked sitting with him there.
Now for the Q&A tidbits. We learned some interesting facts about seizure alert today. Most dogs will only alert one time for a seizure, which is why it is so important we get that bark training down so mom and dad can go in and check on things. (This is also why it's important to discourage barking for any other reason.) As you may have read, dogs have 125 million olfactory cells, whereas humans have 5 million. But they work the same-- they get full of a scent, and then they can't smell it anymore. Just like when you go into a room with a strong odor-- after ten minutes, you may not really notice that odor anymore. It has become your new baseline. If a child is having small seizures frequently, that is the dog's baseline, so he won't alert for every small seizure. But he will alert at some point to an upcoming large seizure, because that gives a stronger scent. The dog's window for alerting can vary. Some dogs will alert 24 hours in advance, while others might not catch the scent until an hour before the seizure. The best way to figure out your dog's typical time frame is by keeping a notebook. When the dog alerts (licking ears, face, or neck; and barking) jot down the time and then jot down when the seizure happens, what kind of seizure it was, etc. Over time, you will start to see a pattern develop which will help you begin to predict how soon to expect the seizure after the alert. Pretty awesome!
Another parent asked about making sure the dog does not run out an open door. Jeremy said to use the "back" command or just use a leg to push them away from the door. Another point Jeremy made is to be proactive with discipline. Correct them when they show interest in forbidden things to avoid them pursuing those things. So say "No!" when he sniffs the garbage, to avoid him delving deeper into the garbage can tomorrow.
A question was asked about aggressive dogs, which is something I have been concerned about. We want to keep Abbot safe at all times. The first thing is avoidance-- places like dog parks are not for us. We don't know the other dogs who will be there that day and their temperaments. Second, if a dog has decided to attack full-steam ahead, there is not a whole lot we can do, unfortunately. It happens very quickly, and as a mom, I am sure I would first be getting Si out of the way of the raging dog, then tending to Abbot. That being said, if the aggressive dog hesitates, Jeremy gave us some tips. You can put your dog in a sit and scream "NO!", you can spray a water bottle at the dog, and you can throw treats at them. Someone then asked, "What would a 4 Paws dog do?" It's a good question, because the dogs are trained to serve children. Jeremy's answer was interesting. He said that dogs which are overly submissive are weeded out of the training program, because they work with kids. They need to be able to withstand a sudden full-body bear hug from their kiddo, and a super timid dog would just run away and be afraid. So 4 Paws dogs are not aggressive, but also not submissive. Perfect little helpers, in my not unbiased opinion! Before I digress too far, his final answer was that yes, a 4 Paws dog would probably defend him or her self, were they attacked by an aggressive dog. I am praying that none of our dogs ever have to experience this!
In a related vein, what about classmates that get too rambunctious with the dog? Many of our kids are in classes with kids who may not be able to understand how to appropriately touch and play with our service dogs. All of the dogs have been desensitized as much as possible. While the dogs are in the prison program, the prison trainers have touch protocols they go through daily, running their fingers over the dogs' gums, in their ears, on their paw pads, etc. This helps the dogs be ready for anything. If you know your dog will be exposed to certain behaviors like pushing kids, you can practice with GENTLE pushes, giving a high value treat each time. This should be done AWAY from your child, because we don't want them to get any ideas. This type of training can be very important-- if you know your dog will be in a situation like this, it's best to be proactive. Any dog in the world could snap after being attacked by a child (whether the child is willfully doing so or not). Along the same lines, we do not correct a dog who breaks command to get away from someone who has hurt him. He is choosing flight over fight, and that is certainly the better choice for all involved!
Tonight is our second night with Abbot in our room and both boys are equally excited. Si likes to feed Abbot and wants to involve Abbot in all his activities. Here they are showing off their toys. They slept like rocks last night, sharing a bed, and we are hopeful that tonight will go just as swimmingly!
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