Does anyone have a service dog?

[Zacksmomi]

I was just curious.  I know they have dogs for diabetes and such to sense when your blood sugar is off. I have heard of dogs for allergies too.  So can you train a dog to sense an MS attack or fatigue??

I really would like to have a little stress relieving companion that is not a pain in the hiney like the cat I rescued.  Don't get me wrong he is a great cat, but he is still a pain.  

If you have a dog or have looked into this I would love to hear what you have learned.

Thanks and good blessings to all
D

[HVAC]

She is very sensitive by nature. I know my other animals sense my MS. It is hard to say since my MS is even hard for me to read. The Doctors think I have had it for many years yet I have never gone to the Doctor for problems related to MS.

Then again I live with medical problems others would go to the emergency room for. For example I fell a story doing construction 15 years ago Injured my collar bone, shoulder, and ribs. At first I thought I had broken my neck. When I determined that was not the case I climbed a ladder got my tools, put the extension ladder on my truck and drove myself not to the hospital across the street but to an urgent care.

Alex

[Zacksmomi]

Thank you so much for your replies and Alex for your info.  

This totally triggered that my ex step mom trains dogs and I heard she got dx'd with MS.  She may be just the person to contact.  I am sure she works closely with people in this field.  

Alex your information is so helpful.  Do you think Polly senses your good times and bad times for you, or is she more just for protection and support??

I do hope she gets her certification.  That is quite an amazing accomplishment.  You both should be proud.

D

[HVAC]

I adopted Polly two years ago and was training her to be a therapy dog. The therapy people would not pass her even though she is perfectly trained because she was born deaf. I adopted a deaf dog because I knew I had the skills to train one. I have been training dogs for years.

I came to using her quite by accident. When I would walk on sidewalks, the street of my neighborhood or trails people would knock me over and it made me mad. My left side is weak, my balance is bad and I can't move quickly enough to avoid mishaps. People would be walking two or three abreast and expect me to get off the side walk. People with strollers think they have the right a way. People on bikes are also bad.

I noticed people avoid a big dog. If I have Polly they give my left side clearance.

A cane would go on my right and people still do not respect my left. I had avoid crowded places.

I looked into the regulations and started training Polly more specifically. She had all the obedience down. She has to stay at my side and not interact with anyone or bark or growl even at another dog.

When I am in a meeting she has to basically lie quietly sometimes for hours. When walking she has to be in sync with me. It is hard with say shopping carts. She has to heel by me behind the cart. She has to negotiate stores. We even go into art galleries. She can not touch items in a store or food.

I had to train her to cross in traffic, ride on elevators,  go up stairways, to go in public restroom stalls, in parking garages, ride a bus. She had to not be afraid of bikes, motorcycles, crutches, walkers, wheel chairs, shopping carts or scooters. She is even fine with construction sites and horses. I had to train her to go to the bathroom on command. You do not want an accident in a public building.

My responsibility is having to brush her, put flea spray on her, clean her ears, and trim her nails daily or weekly according to the task. I have to bring water with me where ever I go. Polly needs exercise everyday as well time to play.

I basically have to ignore her in public. It works best when I ignore people looking at her and think of her as a mobility aid. Then they follow suit. Sometimes I have to ignore their comments. I can't stop every time I hear what a pretty dog etc. Or people wanting to know what she is used for. I would never get anywhere. She can't be distracted by people. You have to discourage people wanting to pet her. It is too confusing if I treat her like a pet. I do not pet her when we are in a meeting or I am talking to someone. She has to lie down and not draw attention to herself. If she gets antsy I have to quietly make her stop. The key is not drawing attention to yourself.

It is hard to have to expect so much from her. She has to do what I want when I want. She is sensitive and sometimes I feel mean correcting her for every indiscretion.

I have to be able to look for something in a store sometimes with both hands and have her still heel even with my hand off the leash. She wants to wander off, but she has to stay put.

I have two older dogs and when they pass on I am going to get a  dalmatian puppy and train it to do even more so when Polly is older she can go to part time or retire.

I am working on getting Polly certified with the State of NC. It is unusual since I trained her myself.

A service dog costs $15,000 on up.


She makes my life easier because I do not have to think as I move around a store or on a side walk or in a crowded mall. She is buffering my weak side. I am much more stable. My left eye is also starting to bother me.

I am training her to fetch my cell phone to.

You can see a picture of Polly with my photos.

Alex

[Sailorsong]

Every once in a while (usually just after I have had an incident where I could have used a service dog) I think about asking the VA about this. Quite often when I go out shopping by the time I finish I have no idea of where my vechile is parked and spend on average about 45 minutes looking for it in the parking lot. This even happened today after my PT and their parking lot only holds about 10 cars. There just happened to be another black pickup truck in the lot and I could not figure out which one was mine for about 5 minutes. Finally I remembered my remote key lock and pressed it so the the lights on mine flashed.

Dennis

[Lulu54]

D-
That would be Alex (HVAC) who trained Polly as her service dog.  She can give you the details.  

I have a friend who has serious heart problems and has a service dog who senses the onset of her seizures.  Plus the dog assists with tasks that might be useful for someone suffering from fatigue.

be well,
Lulu

[LoveMyBostons]

I know one of the ladies here has a dog (named Polly I think) that she really enjoys having around for support. I wish I could carry my Bostons around everywhere and call them service dogs :) They sure help lift my spirits!