An Inside Look at Service Dogs

 

     This post was originally shared by an acquaintance in one of the online Service Dog groups I am a part of.  With his permission, I am sharing it with you all.   If it touches you the way it moved me, please forward it on to a friend.

 

 

 Written by Todd Smith.

“You are so lucky!”

We hear it frequently. And it always makes me cringe.

Many times when I am out and about with my wife and her guide dog, people comment about how ‘lucky’ she is. I like to think it is because she is married to me, but after a few years of hearing it, I now know better.

It is because of her guide dog.

The comments are, for the most part, innocently made because of the general public’s misunderstanding of just exactly how being blind can impact a person’s day-to-day living. They do not see the barriers, both physical and mental, which must be overcome in order to do the same things that so-called “normal” people do every day and seemingly take for granted. Things like getting safely from one place to the next, not bumping into other people and things when walking, noticing hazards that can trip someone easily and possibly cause an injury, and even simply walking across the street without being hit by an inattentive driver. These are some of the reasons she has her guide dog with her, not because she is ‘lucky’. And yet we hear it all the time: “You are so lucky that you can have your dog come with you. I wish I could take my dog with me everywhere I go.” They never see the real reason behind having the guide dog; all they see is the dog.

And it is not just guide dog users that hear the ‘lucky’ platitude. The general public sees a person with any kind of disability who uses any kind of service dog and automatically uses THEIR OWN interpretation of THEIR OWN life to come to the conclusion that somehow being able to have the service dog “along for the ride” makes the person with the disability ‘lucky’, because, after all, “you get to take your special friend along everywhere you go”.

The sentiment is genuine, but the understanding is lacking.

So, was my wife ‘lucky’ that she was shaken as an infant, causing her retinas to detach? Was she ‘lucky’ to have the scars on the inside of her brain from the shaking to swell, press on her brain stem, and cause her to have seizures? Is she also ‘lucky’ that the visual cortex in her brain was so damaged by the shaking that there is no type of medical treatment or procedure which can ever allow her to see ‘normally’?

She will never do the simple things that others with ‘normal’ vision do. She adapts by using special programs on her computer to ‘read’ the text on the screen. She adapts by using a portable GPS device because she can’t read the street signs. She adapts by using an Audio Description service when we go to the movies or a live performance play. She adapts by using specially marked knobs on the stove, washer, dryer, dishwasher, and with marked shelves in the pantry and kitchen. She adapts by walking or taking the bus or train because she cannot drive. She adapts when shopping by using a UPC scanner to read what the items are. And yes, she adapts in her travels by using a guide dog because she can’t see you and your shopping cart, automobile, stroller, or anything else. Is that what makes her 'lucky'?

I can honestly tell you that my wife would turn her guide dog into a pet dog in a New York minute if doing so meant that she could see like every 'normal' person and not have to constantly be gawked at, questioned, bullied, and made to feel inferior simply because of the type of mitigating device she uses to try and compensate for her blindness. Would she still be 'lucky' then?

The whole 'lucky' bit comes from those who are dog lovers and would like to be able to take their pet dog places with them. That’s all they see when they see a service dog working for a person with a disability: being able to take a dog places. Their thought patterns are all about them and their own desires; not about what is going on in the real world of those with disabilities. It is kind of like saying this to a person in a wheelchair: "You are so lucky that you get to sit down all the time."

Using a service dog is a lot of work. It’s expensive. It’s time consuming. The logistics are mind numbing. One has to prepare many things in advance just to take a quick trip to the store. The dog has to be brushed, relieved, have all the gear in place, special leashes, and many other things which differ depending on what the dog needs to do. And when it comes to trips that are overnight or longer, there is a lot more which needs to be considered such as food, bowls, clean up supplies, crates or sleeping mats, vaccination records, and other things. At least a wheelchair doesn’t have to be fed, watered, walked or relieved. A white cane won’t get sick in the hotel room and puke on the carpet. But for many service dog handlers, a wheelchair or white cane simply cannot do what needs to be done efficiently or quickly, and many times cannot give the personal confidence and reassurance that handling a properly trained service dog can bring.

When one truly has an understanding of what the day-to-day life of a person with a disability who uses a service dog is, one is in a better position to see that it isn’t ‘luck’; it’s adaptability. It’s overcoming. It’s finding a way to get things done in spite of the challenges one faces. In the simplest term: It’s doing what works best to be as independent as possible. There is no ‘luck’ involved.

Sleeping With the Dogs

     Usually the dogs retire to their room when I begin getting ready for bed, and the last thing I do before I go to my bedroom is close the doors in the dog room and say goodnight to my pups.  Last night I fell asleep on the couch. 

     For my pups, it is a rare treat as my husband does not allow dogs in the bed, thus the only time I can sleep with them is when I choose to snooze in the living room or the dog room.  I love feeling immersed in doggy bodies that are as large as I am.  Grace does not typically like to cuddle, but will sleep under or beside me, usually with her nose buried in my neck or arm pit.  Brutus is a snuggle bug extraordinaire, with Gumby-like properties and patience that allows me to move him where ever I would like him to be, and then hug. 

     I was cuddled cozily with Grace furled tightly in a ball for my pillow, and Brutus stretched out parallel to me, hugged tightly like a living body pillow.   The soft warmth radiated gently around me and slowly my headache dissipated.  Brutus' body heat helped ease my muscles so my sleep was truly restful.  The added bonus (for me) is no dog will move until I wake up.  Even when my husband quietly crept out for work early in the morning, my pillows and heaters stayed in place until I was ready to fully awaken.  He reported that they both were looking at him as he tiptoed by holding his boots, but did not move their bodies.  Bliss.

 

     Sleeping with your dogs at night is a personal choice.  There are those who will speak passionately for or against it.  There are a few key points to consider before you make a decision for your household.

     1. Are you willing to sleep with your dogs when they are full grown?  Some dogs are bed hogs, and others are simply large (mine weigh just over 70 pounds each).  Take into account the sheer amount of space another sleeping being uses.  The gentle tapping of puppy toes during a fierce dream can be cute, but the foot of a lab can be more like a bear cub paw when it is fully grown.  When Brutus was an adolescent (I was single at the time, so he did sleep with me every night) he was an awful kicker!  If you do not have the temperament to be amused by such things, you may want to reconsider sleeping with your dogs.

     2. Is the person sleeping with you also willing to share the bed?  As stated earlier- my husband does not allow dogs in his bed.  Since we are married, and I sleep in that bed now, Brutus and Grace have their own room now.

     3. Are the behavioral problems that are safety issues that you cannot or will not address from a deep sleep?  There are several instances I can think of off of the top of my head.  Any issues that can jeopardize yours and/or the dog/s health should negate the desire to have them share your bed.  For example, if you have multiple dogs that do not get along and you are a deep sleeper, you will want to choose one dog or the other, or neither to sleep with unless you would like to wake up covered in blood with a dog fight on your chest.  If your dog is having a misunderstanding involving possession of you, or the one you share your bed with- when either party moves it is prime time for a bite.  Even if you are a light sleeper, the behaviors should not be allowed to continue, and you will have to wake in order to stop it, rather then prevent the incident altogether.

     4. Are you willing to perform the necessary routines to ensure cleanliness?  Anyone who allows pets on the furniture knows a bit about the hygiene factors.  Sheets will need to be cleaned more often, and dogs will need to be kept clean as well.

     Those are the main points.  As always, feel free to add on with a comment below.

     Happy training! :)

  

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Dog training: Of Crate Importance

     I spend most of my time on the phone helping concerned dog owners.  One of the most commonly asked questions is "Well why do I need to crate my dog at all?  He doesn't like that cage."   If you have the preconceived notion that the crate is a horrid torture device, then your dog most likely will come to believe it also.  I am going to list some of the main benefits of crate conditioning.  If I miss anything, please feel free to chime in with a comment below.

To successfully crate train a dog, it needs daily exercise.

     First, I need to clarify that crate training or crate conditioning does NOT mean simply shutting your dog away in a box indefinitely.  A crate is a safe place, it is not a substitute for obedience training, exercise and affection.  When used as a training aid, it can help a dog learn to control and calm themselves, keep the dog safe, protect the house itself from damage, and bolster self confidence and mental development.  If anyone has ever owned, seen or heard about a dog that is so insecure it even follows a person to the bathroom, crate training would be an excellent option to help that poor animal realize that a human possibly going out of sight for a few moments does not equate to eternal abandonment.

     Have you ever noticed when dogs are stressed, if they do not have a crate or other designated safe area, they will make one?  Thunder phobic dogs hide in closets, under beds, behind furniture, beneath tables..... any small and den-like place they can find.  If you do a fast interweb search, you can find tons of nifty articles supporting the fact that dogs are denning animals.  Click here to read one I found.  So if the behavior of your dog and dogs around you is not enough empirical evidence for you hardcore non-believers, look it up for yourself.

     Beyond catering to canine's natural instinct to den, crates are a way to prevent potentially dangerous situations.  Dogs are wonderfully intelligent and creative beings who can sniff out the possessions we prize most (your favorite shoes, the tv remote, the toilet paper roll..... anything covered and smothered with your scent) and effectively hide and or destroy them before you can blink.  This is dangerous not only because your chunky heels are choking hazards and your sneakers are toxic, but the tangle of cords to your computer may appear tasty as well.  Instead of wondering how your dog managed to open the cabinets that had the child-proof lock and measuring how much peroxide it takes to induce vomiting, wouldn't it be nice if you had prevented it in the first place?

Shhhh! Peanut is sleeping!

     Having a safe place to rest and receive meals (I recommend feeding in the crate from time to time) morphs the crate from a prison to a comfortable "Bed and Breakfast" in the canine mind, and can reduce potty training time dramatically.  The vast majority of folks I know do not eliminate in their beds.  Dogs have a tendency to not want to go potty where they sleep either.  If the dog still has "accidents" a crate can save you from having to clean a lot of messes.

     The most powerful reason for crate conditioning is for the mental health of the dog.  As we age and become adults we also crave our own space.  Although I have seen dogs who are perfectly content to always be attached to a human companion, I do not see it as a desirable or healthy trait to encourage.  It all too often leads directly to a dog who is an overly anxious basket case when the human is not present (separation anxiety), and eventually to a dog who cannot even figure out how to relax in your presence.   Canines have fine minds if we allow them to use them.  The crate is like giving the dog it's own room.  Anyone who has a teenager or who has been a teenager (that should be all of us) probably recalls how nice it was to have your own room that you can spend time by yourself in- no siblings or parents allowed!

     As I mentioned earlier, a dog will seek out a safe haven when stressed.  By having a crate readily available, the dog has the option to avoid stressful situations.  It will also learn to be content by itself for short periods of time, even when you are home.  It does not mean the dog will not enjoy your company and attention.  Crate training opens up the mind for more learning opportunities by limiting the dependence on human guidance.  


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