Linc has been improving on the items he will retrieve. Very proud!
Lincoln performs a set of tasks every evening or when I am suffering from sensory overload or a migraine. Here is a video of him pushing open a door, pushing the door closed and tugging a door shut also.
My favorite season is upon us and I am dealing with back to back migraines. This apparently isn't unusual according to new studies that show, due to the lower humidity and weather changes, migraines increase. I have a rather high pain threshold thanks to my multiple dental surgeries, IBS, migraines and period pains. When I was in high school, I thought I was dying from all of the pain.
Migraines aren't just about pain, they are about so many other symptoms that occur. For me, these include:
Numbness
Vision loss
Hearing loss/muffled
Balance loss
Lack of use/paralyzation of certain limbs
Sensitivity to hearing if not muffled
Inability to speak and sometimes even make a sound
Cognitive Difficulties
Severe, striking pain
I used to suffer from acephalgic migraines or "silent migraines," which means I did not experience the headache or any sort of pain during the migraines. These were just as, if not more, severe as my migraines today. They consisted of all of the above symptoms except the pain. The silent migraines ceased around age 22-23. Then I began to experience severe striking pain in my head. This was definitely new to me. It was originally believed that I could be epileptic when I experienced my first migraine around age 9-10. After a slew of tests, it was diagnosed as aura/hemiplegic migraines.
Why do I use a service dog for migraines on top of my autism?
Mac naturally alerts prior to the onset of a migraine
I lose a good portion of my vision and need guidance from my sd
I have Linc turn on and off lights when I am unable to
Linc retrieves my emergency medication
Mac & Linc both will perform deep pressure therapy to help lower my blood pressure
Mac will retrieve help (training Linc currently)
Linc will open and close doors if I am unable
Linc can perform very light counterbalance when my balance is off
These are all very useful tasks I use during my migraines.
Obtaining a service dog is a very personal decision and experience. Legally, service animals are considered medical equipment, not pets. Just like other medical equipment, the disabled individual is allowed to choose where, when and how they obtain their service dog. These dogs begin training from a very young age and training can continue from anywhere between 1.5-2.5 years. Service dogs are trained in advanced obedience, public access training and task training. Lincoln was not obtained to be a pet. He was personality tested and chosen after looking at 11 different breeders in 4 states.The decision to owner train was a very delicate and deliberate process.My organization candidate through Quad Cities Canine Assistance Network (qccan.org) washed out due to her OFA prelim hip scores.I decided to owner train because the organization had not yet found an Australian Shepherd breeder to their standards and I did not want a conformation Labrador retriever. My current service dog, Mac, is due to retire in a year, so time has not been on my side.
As you can tell in the video below, Lincoln is nowhere near graduation. Lincoln will continue training for another 12-15 months. Once his training is finished, Linc will be evaluated by a service dog trainer.
Owner trained service
dogs are legally recognized by the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act and by
The ADI, Assistance Dogs International, which is an organization that sets
standards for assistance dogs internationally.
Nowhere in the ADA or ADI does it say who must train a service dog. Many programs do not cross train assistance
dogs for multiple disabilities, so many disabled train their own dogs. The requirement for assistance dogs according
to the ADI is that “The program/trainer should have a minimum of a 6-month period
working with the owner and their dog. The owner and dog will be observed in a
variety of settings and situations during this time. This will also include any
training necessary to complete the program and meet the ADI Minimum Standards.”
According to the ADA “Service animals are
defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for
people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind,
alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a
person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take
prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals
are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to
provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.” Also,
certification, identification and documentation of training are not required by
the ADA.There are no federally recognized
certification including program certifications.
Service dogs are also allowed to just be dogs. Service dogs are not disallowed from participating in extracurricular activities such as agility, rally, obedience competition, fly ball, hiking, etc. It is also important that they take part in these types of activities. By participating in these activities, it helps prevent burn outs. Humans don't work 24/7 and neither do service dogs. They deserve off time. Obviously, if you receive a program dog, the program may retain ownership and have rules against certain types of activities. That is between the handler and the organization.
Owner training a service dog is not necessarily cheaper than some program trained dogs. My program trained dog was going to be $6,000.00. Her cost included all training, basic & advanced obedience, public access training and task training, equipment (including a BLD harness), vet costs, crate, bed, food eaten during training, etc. That is a great bargain if you think about it. But, now that I am owner training again, I have decided to keep track of all of Lincoln's costs and so far here they are:
Lincoln: $1000
BLD Basic Harness: $307 (previous price with 10% off sale)
BLD Collar: $35
Leather Leashes: $59.60
Prong Collar: $17
Puppy Flat Collar: $12
Kong Flat Collar: $10
Holt: $20
Mesh Vest: $15
Medium Vest: $20
Large Vest: $20
Custom Vest: $50
Do Not Pet Patch: $10
SD Training Patches: $20
Upstairs Crate: $75
Bedtime Crate: $75
Condo Crate: $60
Bed: $43
Bed: $27
Training Treats: $200
Supplements: $38
Insurance: $319
STAR Puppy: $80
Obed. 2: $80
CGC/Intermediate: $80
CGCA/Advanced: $80
Novice Obed: $85
Agility Classes: $310
Food: $700
Shampoo: $23
Ruffwear Booties: $43
Ruffwear Coat: $45
Vet Costs: $550.25
MDR1 Test: $70
Cost So Far at 10.5 months old: $4613.85
Still think it's cheap to owner train your service dog? I didn't include toys because we had toys from having the other dogs, so he mainly plays with those. We purchased a few toys for him, but nothing extremely pricey. I have also found over the years that if you try to cut costs by buying the cheaper version of things, you tend to go through several of them. In the end, it can be much more cost effective to purchase the better made item.
Lincoln's Bold Lead Designs Basic Harness arrived Monday and I fitted it to his body. He has plenty of room to grow. I will not be training any sort of mobility training until he is 18 months old. He will be neutered next month and will have his hip and elbow prelims done at the same time.
I have been slowly acclimating him to the harness. An hour here, thirty minutes there, very slowly. This was our first outing to go and get two more cichlids for my aquarium. He did well and ignored the bld for the most part.
Thursday night was this months kennel club meeting. He did very well. I sat next to our groomer and her poodle/irsh setter mix. Natalie couldn't believe how calm Linc is in his training gear.
For now, Linc will continue acclimating to his new harness and then we will begin training guide tasks such as finding the exit to a room or building, finding and guiding me to my car and finally, finding and guiding me to help.
Before I talk about how Lincoln's training is going, I have some good news! My sphenocath/peripheral nerve block has been scheduled for March 11th! We will see if this helps my chronic migraines. This winter has been horrible with all of the constant atmospheric pressure changes. My asthma has also come back with the frigid temperatures. I love winter, but I do not love my asthma returning.
Training a service dog takes time, energy, focus, money and dedication. While Linc and I have been working on basically the same four commands, I have been adding in new challenges or using two of them together. Linc has retrieved a sock for me before, but I wanted to see if he would "tug" one off of my foot. He did it perfectly.
Next, I wanted to add in the "give" command and give me the sock after grabbing and tugging it off. So, with this command, I have used three of the task commands we have been working on: "grab it" "tug" and "give."
Lincoln and I have also been working on various objects of various sizes and materials.
Here is a video of Linc retrieving four different objects, one right after the other. I am very proud of Linc for accomplishing this!
Lincs new training vest finally arrived. I LOVE it! It is very visible in all types of weather and is reflective at night to car headlights. I prefer to get vests in more of a "neon" color because they tend to be reflective on their own.
The top of the vest. As you can see, it says do not pet or talk to all over. =)
Lincoln tucked under the booth while at lunch with my mom the other day.
This sign should be on every grocery store, restaurant, etc place. Pets are not acceptable in non pet stores. I have had untrained fake dogs go after Mac and I can't have either of my dogs, whether my full sd or my sdit hurt. It would be devastating!
This command started with "grab it," then I added in the word "tug." I would give the command "grab it tug." So this way, he knew to grab it and I showed him to open the cabinet. I would click and treat if he opened it slightly, then he started opening it more and I would click and treat. Eventually I dropped the "grab it" and it just became the command "tug." Still needs work, but he is getting the concept. Lincoln loves to play tug o war, which is an advantage.
Opening a cabinet door.
Opening a heavy drawer.
Retrieving my moms shoe. This command also started as "grab it." We worked on the grab it command and then I started having him retrieve various items. He has a very strong retrieval instinct and I just honed that. This is where he are right now. I use the "give" command also when he brings me his toys. He must give them to me before I will throw them or play tug o war with him. He also loves to tug.
Despite what scam websites will tell you, service dogs usually take between 1.5-2 years of intense training. This includes basic and advanced obedience, public access and task training. You cannot just take a pet dog and throw them into the public atmosphere and expect them to adjust and suddenly become a service animal. Service animals are trained in specific tasks that help mitigate a diagnosed and legally recognized disability.
There sadly are quite a few people who have decided to purchase a fake "certification," ID and service dog vest online. Sadly, with the current ADA laws, these people get away with it. These pets tend to be untrained in even basic obedience and can cause problems for legitimate service dog teams. Buying a vest does not make your dog a service animal. It takes training, time, money and lots of energy. Service dogs must be extremely well behaved and perform tasks. The handler must also have a diagnosed and legally recognized disability. If taken to court, you must have proof of the need of the service animal and you must prove that the dog is a service animal. Yep, gotta prove it people.
Some of the problems caused include:
Barking, growling and distracting a sd and they can miss performing a task or an alert
Attacking sd teams
Defecating in public
Business owners begin to question every "sd" that comes in and can cause access issues for legitimate teams
Can cause issues on airplanes, or public transportation
True service dogs DO NOT:
Sit on furniture, in booths, in chairs, etc (service dogs must have four on the floor)
Eat food from the floor or steal food
Defecate in buildings or without a command
Whine, bark (unless part of a task), growl or bite
Cause any problems in public
Service dogs should be seen and not heard. Most people are usually shocked when they realize that there is a dog under the table. My dogs are never heard from. The go under the table where they belong in a restaurant and stay there, silent. Service dogs are legally considered medical equipment. They shouldn't be pet, spoken to or distracted in any deliberate way.
Fake service dogs do not behave in public, are carried, placed in strollers, carriers, etc. Service dogs need to be able to perform their tasks. This means that they should be on the floor, heeling next to their handler. Tasks can then easily be performed.
Things that are NOT TASKS:
"Cuddling"
"Just Existing"
"Keep me calm"
A task is a physical motion, alert, retrieval, etc that the dog performs in order to mitigate their handlers disability. If the dog naturally alerts to certain conditions such as migraines or seizures, these alerts can be honed to be a task that is performed when needed.
Legally considered tasks:
medical alert (migraine, seizure, diabetes)
deep pressure therapy
retrieval of an item (wheelchair, phone, meds)
mobility tasks (counterbalance, brace)
open and close doors, drawers, etc
push a 911 button
etc.
And now a cute video of Lincoln watching Westminster:
I am starting to work with Lincoln on some task training. His tasks will include picking up and retrieving items, such as a bag with emergency medications, deep pressure therapy, counterbalance, body blocking, etc. Right now I'm working with him on retrieving some items, such as medicine bottles, a shoe, my car keys, etc. The videos below are showing some of the progress we have made with the car keys. I made a paracord tab that he can grab instead of the keys themselves. You can see how to "grab it" command from my previous post has been connected to "bring" and "give." I use the give command when he brings his toys also. This helps give consistency to the word.
I'm also working on more intense "leave it" commands. Being an aussie, Linc is more reactive to movement and I am working on that by tossing or rolling treats at him.
That's it for now. I've been sick on and off this month, so there isn't much going on here. My mom and I did go to Madison Comic Con in order to expose Lincoln to a convention atmosphere and to be around people in costumes. He met lots of people in costumes and had some fun taking pictures with the DeLorean from Back to the Future, William Shatner and a few others.
This video was towards the end of the day and I was too tired to tell her not to pet him. He was pretty ready to go also. But, Linc will never turn down a chance to love someone.
Heeling through the crowd at Madison Comic Con.
On another note, Indie turned 13 on the 11th!! We had ordered him a peanut butter and carob cake, while my mom ordered decorations.
Of course it would have been a party without some party hats! The birthday boy himself modeling the custom made hats.
"Oh, so sad you have to give him up." "What program are you training for?" "Oh! He's for you? Really?"
These are common comments you receive when you are owner training a service dog or have an owner trained service dog, even if they are old and gray and about to retire. It can be frustrating answering the questions of why you are owner training or why you need a service animal. But, it's part of the social atmosphere in the United States.
When you owner train your own service dog, there can be quite a few stigmas attached to it or even just using a service animal. Service animals are legally considered medical equipment. yes, they are living things, but by law, they are equipment. Luckily, this equipment does get time off and is allowed to enjoy life.
But owner training a dog isn't easy and takes a lot of time, energy and education. You have to educate yourself on breeds, useful tasks, training methods, state laws on top of the ADA laws, etc. There are many states that do not allow a person to train a service animal if they are not a trainer from an organization. These states are not a good place for owner trainers. Luckily, Illinois, protects service dogs in training and allows owner trainers. This has made my life easier. You also need to look into outside training resources. Lincoln has been trained in obedience, all the way up to his CGCA, at our local kennel club. This was my personal choice and it allowed him to be socialized around different dogs of all different types. You also need your puppy or adopted dog personality tested for any personality issues that could cause them not to be an ideal candidate. This is vital! You don't want a service dog to be aggressive, overly fearful, dominant, etc. A service dog should be submissive and pretty easy going around various noises, events, people or anything else that comes their way.
Puppy raisers for organizations are given manuals and have counselors and staff that they can contact with questions on behaviors, foods, toys, etc. When you are owner training, you don't have these manuals and have to come up with the lists, supplies, vet treatments, etc on your own. Here is an exampled of the Canine for Independence puppy raiser manual: CCI Manual
Here are examples of my very shortened version of that manual:
Commands (seen below) Toys: cow hooves, bully sticks, jolly balls, tug ropes, plush toys, split antlers, tennis balls, no artificial chew toys/bones Food: prey model raw (20% bone) Treats: Zukes, liver treats, dehydrated heart, turkey hotdog cut up Equipment: Custom vest, prong collar, flat collar, metal crate, soft cone, baby gates where needed, 8 way BLD leather leash, basic 6' leather leash for training, custom BLD basic harness, dog beds for outside and inside crate, food bowls, drinkwell, towels to dry them, ruffwear booties, coat, clicker Health: Shots, neuter at 1 years of age, document weight every 2-3 weeks, check entire body every week (eyes, paws, inguinal, ears, gums, teeth, fur, skin), trim nails weekly, brush weekly, bath every 3-4 weeks and have groomed every 6 weeks Public Access/Socialization: (I have a check sheet) Emergency: Take to Bellwood or ER vet if weekend or after hours
Basically, know where to take your animal for health care, keep an eye on their personality, body regions, keep them groomed, watch when they play or chew toys, etc. Prepare for your new puppy, basically baby/puppy proof your home. Keep an eye on your puppy until at least 6-7 months of age (then just be in the same room as them). Do not let a puppy under 6 months out of your sight! Silence is bad if you have a puppy!
Now task training can be done with an outside trainer or by yourself. You need to know how to train tasks if you yourself do it and some can be tricky. But, in todays technology, there are multiple different resources online and especially on Youtube. Utilize these resources.
I have just started Lincs task training. We are starting with the basics and will eventually move on to more advanced tasks. The last 6.7 months were spent on team building, obedience and public access training. This was by choice. While I did some basics throughout the past several months, now we are getting into it full time. Here are a couple of videos of teaching him basic "grab it" and basic "touch" or hand targeting.
Grab It
Touch
Once he has mastered these tasks well enough at home, I will be training him to use them in public. Many of his commands are also connected to a hand signal if I am unable to speak. Here is a list of basic commands he already knows:
Come
Let's Go
Sit
Down
Stay
Wait
Up
Turn (turn in my direction)
Heel (walking next to me or returning to the heeling position)
Say Hello (his command to sit and greet someone)
Back
Go Potty
Uh Uh (if he is doing something undesirable)
Crate
Alright (his release word)
Leave It
Paw/Other Paw (will be changed to push when performing a task)
Drop It
Load (getting into the car)
Enough (to stop whining or barking)
Some task commands he is learning or already knows:
Pressure (deep pressure therapy)
Block (body blocking in front of me)
Grab it
Give
Tug
Meds (to retrieve a bag of emergency meds)
Push
Find (find the car, the door, help, etc)
Hold (hold an item he picked up)
Open (open a door with a tug)
Also, here is a list of some current tools I am using to help me train Linc:
Clicker (various)
Click Stick
Old Starbucks card (instead of an actual credit card)
Starting last night, Northern Illinois was hit by snow storm/blizzard Linus. We got over a foot of snow. I personally am happy, because it's beautiful outside now and the dogs are thrilled. While it was still snowing and early enough in the day, Mac, Linc and I went out for some fun. Mac saw our neighbors dog and ran into their yard while Linc followed. I had to run through over a foot of snow to retrieve them. Linc has an awesome recall, but sometimes, Macs recall seems optional.
Linc having fun kicking up some snow. This is the first time he has been in this deep of snow.
There's something out there! I wonder what it could be!
On Friday evening, Lincoln passed his CGCA test at Forest City Kennel Club. CGCA is Canine Good Citizen Advanced or now know as AKC Community Canine. This is an advanced title that Linc will have after his name once he is neutered and given a PALS number. Linc is not AKC registered because he is a working line Australian Shepherd. This never bothered me. Many individuals have their dogs take this in order to advance to a therapy dog class and eventually be part of a therapy dog program. I am taking Linc as far as I feel necessary in obedience classes and tests.
On the day Linc took his CGCA test, he was diagnosed with a rather severe yeast and flora bacterial infection of the inguinal area. The photos are a little graphic and yes, he is still intact until he turns one.
He is currently on three oral medications and one topical ointment. One of the medications he will be on for 3 weeks, just to make sure the infections clear up. Luckily, the two main meds (the third is Benadryl), are only once a day, so I use turkey hearts as pill pockets.
A better view with his testes out of the way. He has spots on his inner and outer thighs. The worse part is behind his testes.
For the next couple of weeks, Linc will be wearing the soft cone. Funny enough, he is acting the same way as before. He is way too happy to be wearing the cone of shame. Hahaha. I love this puppy!
Mac, Linc and I went to see the Hobbit (3) again. I wanted to see how having both with me would be. I also figured the Hobbit wouldn't be busy. Mac slept and Linc only whined during the dragon sequence. He didn't understand the noise. He glanced at the screen through the seats while laying down. Other than that, he did fine. He also left Mac alone, which made me happy. His behavior when it comes to loud noises is quite impressive. He is staying calm and just shows some normal curiosity. I am extremely proud of his progress.
Lincoln is currently in agility foundations again and advanced obedience. In this class, we are working towards his Advanced Canine Good Citizen title. His task training will become more intense after he is neutered and has his hip and elbow prelims. His public access training is going extremely well. As you have read, he went to multiple different museums, stores and got new experiences over New Years week.
I also weighed him this week. He is 55.5lbs at 9 months old. He is still 22". I am hoping that he grows one more inch, but his size is not a huge issue for counterbalance. Once his OFA prelims are done, I will hopefully order his Bold Lead Designs basic harness to begin training in.
Lincolns trained tasks will include:
Counterbalance
Behavior interruption (pawing when picking at skin)
The puppy is growing like a weed! He was 38.2lbs last week when I weighed him and is around 20" tall. He's a big boy!
Linc's task work training is going very well. Here is is today working on "pressure" or deep pressure therapy at the grocery store.
His long stays are wonderful!
Another long stay while I emptied out the cart. He didn't budge!
Here are some of the boys' recent meals: beef lung.
Beef liver, duck head, turkey back and some Blue Ridge Beef.
Norwegian mackerel and some Blue Ridge Beef.
Gwen's tumors on her right jawline are growing. They are now ulcerating inside her gingiva and so her gums are bleeding. Her personality and body condition are great, but we don't know how long it will be until she stops eating. We have upped her chemo to twice a day and she is back on the Doxycycline. We aren't sure if she'll be here for Thanksgiving. =(
Meet my new Australian shepherd puppy, Lincoln. Linc (for short) is currently 3 months old. I picked him up on June 28th from his breeder south of Decatur, IL. He is a calm little guy, but has his spunky moments where he's a bullet.
Linc was originally weaned onto Royal Canin. He has been on a raw diet since he came home. He has definitely taken to his new diet with vigor. He is fed twice a day, about 1lb per meal. He is estimated to be between 55-70lbs when full grown (yes a huge range). His current diet consists of about 15-20% fat, 40-50% bone (for the calcium) and 20-25% organ meat. The rest is red muscle meat. The only time he gets poultry meat is with his bone (he eats chicken drumsticks and duck wings mainly). He is fed between 2.5-3% of his estimated adult body weight.
In this post I will explain his diet and why I feed him the way I do. Puppies need a much higher calcium content than adults, they need meaty bones to be almost 1/2 of their overall diet so they absorb enough calcium for growth. Excess calcium is excreted in urine very easily, so it's not a concern. I did not start with one protein source and then slowly add in new ones. Linc is a puppy and they can bounce back easily. Adults tend to have more issues with change.
I started him off on Blue Ridge Beef's Puppy Mix. This mix has almost everything he needs for growth (except other offal). He has also had some of Northwest Naturals ground mixes.
Here are the ingredient lists and analyses of these two ground mixes:
Puppy Mix: Ground Beef, Ground Chicken, Ground Green Tripe, Ground Beef Heart, Ground Beef Liver, Ground Chicken bone
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min) - 16%
Crude Fat (min) - 12%
Crude Fiber (max) - 1%
Moisture (max) - 72%
Lamb, Lamb Heart, Lamb Liver, Ground Lamb Bone, Broccoli, Apples, Carrots, Cantaloupe, Egg, Ground Flaxseed, Fish Oil*, Apple Cider Vinegar, Blueberry, Cranberry, Inulin, Dried Kelp, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Chloride, Ginger, Parsley, Garlic, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Mixed Tocopherols (as preservative), Vitamin D Supplement
