In the early 70’s a friend of mine was working towards her degree in Psychology. She owned a big black Labrador named Trooper whom she had trained to do some pretty neat tricks.  My friend got the idea for a study as part of her required university work, to look at the telepathic abilities between dogs and their owners.   Experiments were set up where an owner would give commands to the dog that was separated from his owner by a wall, while observers would watch and record what the dog did. For the most part there was no meaningful data to support that dogs had telepathic abilities.  Yet many owners report things like the dog getting excited a full 10 minutes or more before the car of their beloved owner even pulls into the neighborhood. They can’t hear it, they can’t smell it, no one has said anything, and it can be at different times of the day; how do they do it? Science might not yet be able to prove or even offer an explanation of how things in these anecdotal stories occurs, but I can tell you I saw some things first hand at the workshop that I am sure are real even if hard to believe.

DADs live and work round the clock to help their people monitor blood glucose levels. No one knows quite what it is they smell, but they are really good at it and regularly alert to changes long before the fancy glucose meters.  But they do something that no meter or any man made instrument can even come to close to comparing with; some of the DADs are capable of Remote Sensing.  I witnessed this phenomena first hand.  We were all sitting around a break out room at the conference. There were moms with their children’s DADs and then trainers like myself without dogs.  The children were about ½ mile away with adult chaperones splashing in the lake trying to stay cool from the blistering Mississippi heat.  There was a DAD lying on the floor between me and next to the mom of a diabetic child who was at the lake. During the presentation that was being given, I began to notice the dog  getting restless.  I watched as the dog got up, grabbed it’s training aid that was hanging from the mom’s belt which is an indication of an “alert”.   The mom quietly praised the dog and texted the adult watching the children at the lake to have them check her child’s blood glucose level.  In a few moments the mom got a text message back saying that the child’s level had in fact dropped and they were able to catch it in time.  The dog then lay back down. Things continued on as all was OK now with the child.  I just witnessed a miracle; a DAD alerting accurately on a child a ½ mile away. WOW. What do you say to something like that? I was so awe struck that it took me several minutes for the whole scene to sink in!

Here I am with Rachel Thornton who hosted the workshop. She is the backbone of the DAD movement, one terrific mom and a super DAD trainer.

I have read many stories about owners who had deep bonds with their dogs and some of the incredible things they have done, but nothing compares to the bond the DAD shares with their diabetic child and the mother.  To develop that bond requires a dedication of time, love and effort which these moms and their children have demonstrated will bring out these yet to be understood but truly remarkable abilities of these extraordinary canines.

We brought Gillie, our young Ranger son, with us for their training teams to evaluate. The school has never used chocolates before in any of their work or breedings and I was hoping they would overcome their bias against the color after they met Gillie. I handed over the leash to their trainer not knowing quite what was in store for my boy, but confident he would do his best. Gillie has the characteristic of always trying to understand what you want and then trying hard to please. While the team whisked Gillie away to other parts of the campus, our contingency was taken just inside the front gate, where the intersection of Independence Drive and Freedom Way lies. It is bordered by a series of pathways known as the Freedom Walk where several trainers with well schooled guide dogs were waiting for us. Everyone in our group got blindfolded and was given the chance to walk the streets of the campus with a dog leading the way. The trainers were right there to help us with commands and obstacles that had been set up all over the place for training purposes. It is quite an experience to not be able to see and be out on a sidewalk. There are bumps and things in the walk you never notice until you can’t see them. Our dogs were wonderful though and kept us out of harm’s way on the entire walk.

Being blindfolded you learn to trust the dog.

In the meantime somewhere on the other side of the campus Gillie was put in a harness and tested through many types of distractions and obstacles. The trainers eventually returned to our group with Gillie and had glowing reports of his success. They were ready to keep him! The report to the breeding staff was good enough that Gillie is now being considered for breeding with some of the SEGD dogs. This is great news and something to look forward to. All in all we had a most enjoyable morning, but with young pups waiting for us at home we felt we needed to get on the road as soon as possible. The dogs wanted to stay and play some more, almost as though they realized the trip home would be long. But true to their nature they never complained as they loaded up for the marathon drive back to Harpers Ferry.

By the time we reached the Double Tree resort near Sea World, where the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP) annual conference was being held, the girls were ready for anything. And they got just about everything in the way of experiences, too—sliding doors, elevators, bellboys with rolling carts, cleaning ladies with carts, rolling suitcases. You name it, they saw it. All their basic obedience training was now paying off, as they knew where to be in order to avoid getting into trouble. They just listened to the commands and life was good, since they got treats and praise.

Ruby, you shouldn’t have done that.

One of their first experiences was in the hotel restaurant the day we arrived. Florida was considerably hotter than West Virginia, so the girls and their Uncle Gillie were panting a lot more than usual. Our waitress noticed the pups panting under our table and offered to bring a bowl of ice water for them. Harley politely drank a little and went back to her place to lie down. Ruby drank a little and then decided, in true Labrador fashion, that water is much better when you are in it. She tipped the bowl, getting the ceramic tile floor nice and wet with the cool water, then laid in it. I could hear the “ahhh, that’s better” sigh as she made a huge mess on the floor. I was glad we were outside!

Everywhere we went, the girls were a big hit. I think they knew they were ambassadors for the Chilbrook dogs as they seemed to have a certain air about them I hadn’t noticed before. There were hundreds of people around the hotel and conference, so they got a good dose of how to behave in a crowd. Since I was speaking for two sessions at the conference and Sam was busy manning our table selling books and sniffer supplies, I was concerned about the girls getting the attention they needed. Then it dawned on me—I was at a convention of professional dog trainers! Maybe one of my fellow IACP members wouldn’t mind taking a puppy for the day. I didn’t have to look far to find volunteers to nanny the girls for the days I was speaking. We caught glimpses of them shopping the vendors, trying out all the new toys, learning to walk on the doggie treadmills on display, and going to and from lecture rooms. Around dinner time, we managed to wrangle them back. By the end of the day, they were happy to go to their crates and crash.

Gillie really wanted to go swimming with the sea lions.

I can’t count the number of photos people from the conference have sent me of Harley and Ruby. I know now that when they see a camera they just stop and smile. I guess that’s something I can add to the list of things they’ve learned but I’m not sure how that will enhance their résumés. On our last day at the resort, we happened to be in the room when the cleaning person stopped in. We learned quickly that she was terrified of dogs, so Sam and I decided to take the girls with their Uncle Gillie, who was also with us, to Sea World. Gillie would enjoy a chance to dive into one of the many pools there since he was affected by the increased heat as well. I think the girls were just happy to have all the attention of the crowds of people who couldn’t resist petting them.

If I didn’t know better, I would say their egos were pretty big by the end of the morning.  Next stop, the South Eastern Guide Dog School in Palmetto, Florida.

Debby

First he brought in Ruby to get weighted. This is a weekly routine for our puppies. We could easily have a scale at our kennel but then the puppy would miss out on the car ride and the chance to visit the vets office. We use the visit as a great opportunity to teach the pups how to have at the vets and not to fear going there. Usually by the second visit they will hop up and sit politely on the scale to get weighed.  They also get use to the vet tech walking them away from us which prepares them for one of the parts of the AKC Canine Good Citizen test.  Add treats to the picture and you have some very happy puppies. On this first visit to the vets Ruby’s weighed in at 14.8 pounds.  Sam took Ruby out and came back with her sister Harley. The vet tech looked at Sam and said, “Did you want to weigh her again?” Sam replied, “This is a different puppy”.  You could see the skeptical look on the young lady’s face grow even more skeptical when Harley weighted exactly 14.8 pounds too. To us, the pups are very different; we understand though that for many others they are nearly identical.  Sam just smiled.

The girls have been getting quite a variety of experiences. This week they spent a hour at the airline freight terminal while I waited for a new dog to arrive.  The girls heard the jets taking off, got to do obedience exercises around the forklifts and freight trucks. I think they enjoyed the open back metal stairs the most. It was quite the game to run up the stairs and loop around and run down a nearby loading ramp. Nothing in the freight terminal seemed to bother them, they appeared comfortable around everything.

They got quite excited though when our new dog Pearl arrived. Pearl is a 3 year old yellow Labrador. You could almost image them saying “Oh boy, another yellow, we are not the only ones!” as they energetically welcomed Pearl to our part of the country. Pearl seemed happy to see everyone and we hope in the near future she will be producing potential service puppies for us.

In doing some of the advanced obedience training with the girls they have had to learn 2 things that I find quite interesting. The first is how to work together. There are some things I insist they both must do together or no one gets a treat. So they have learned to work in tandem and simultaneously. There are other things we do that one will have to wait in the crate while the other works. This is no problem for Harley who has the patience of Job. Ruby on the other a hand feels there is no benefit in her watching her sister work.  After all, according to Ruby, she can do it faster and better anyway; just ask her. She is learning patience though and more importantly self control. It is this latter trait that I wish to develop in all my dogs but especially in ones with personalities such as Ruby’s. A lack of self control can lead to all sorts of behavior problems down the road if not caught early enough. Ruby is making brilliant progress so I do not anticipate any problems.

The girls were very curious as Sam and I prepared the many boxes of materials we will need for our workshop in Florida next week. I told the girls to get their favorite toys to take with them on the trip because it would a long time riding in the car. They tried to understand what I was saying, but gave up and went back to playing with a rope toy. Little do they know what adventures lies ahead for them on this trip.

Ruby learning to balance on the disk

Charlie watching the ball game.

As a professional trainer, I am often asked what dogs think about. I don’t really know no one really does.  I can only imagine what Charlie thinks sometimes; today however there was no doubt in my mind about Charlie’s thoughts. 

He was as excited as I was to arrive at his new home, after all this is what he and I have been training so hard for over the last couple of  months. He passed all his puppy tests, passed his Canine Good Citizen test, got a clean bill of health from his veterinarians, and was doing great scent work as a diabetic alert dog. The time had come for Charlie to live with and start working for his new family.  Little did we know that they took to heart my suggestion that many toys make a teething puppy a happy puppy.  His eyes widened and his tail wagged as he discovered, much to his delight, basket after basket of toys of every kind and description.  He was sure he had just hit the big time doggie Lottery! 

There were training treats too, container after container of every flavor and variety a puppy could ever want. There were several large fluffy dog beds around the house, just perfect for a young pup to nosedive in and roll around. The family was definitely prepared for his arrival. I think Charlie was as happy a puppy as I had ever seen.   Everyone seemed delighted at his arrival. I was especially touched when the grandparents of his new family, had a special floral basket & card sent to the house filled with specialty bake goods from various local dog bakeries. What a lovely gesture!  I guess that made it official then, Charlie now had his own forever family.

Charlie meets the team

Over the next 3 days he had a schedule to rival any celebrity. He met all the school classmates of his new family’s daughters. He attended the local school basketball game to watch his new owner in the play offs and then get his picture taken with the teammates. He went for walks. He had a play date with the neighbor’s Brittany and his new canine “cousin” a miniature Poodle. He accompanied a whole car load of young ladies to the nail salon.  He went out to lunch with us at the local eatery, and in and between he had obedience lessons and scent work lessons with the girls. It was a full weekend of nonstop excitement. By Saturday night he was one pooped pup, I was a little worried we had done too much. But typical Charlie style, he bounced right back on Sunday morning after recharging his batteries with a nice long night’s sleep.

Relaxing under the table at the local eatery

 As the time drew near for me to leave I thought about the time we had spent preparing Charlie for this moment. According to the log book we put in over 1400 hours of one on one training hours with him, we logged many miles of car riding time, miles of city walks, and countless nights of interrupted sleep to take a puppy  learning his housebreaking routine outside in all types of weather. All these things led to the moment I was now witnessing. Charlie was relaxing in the kitchen where we all stood saying our last goodbyes.  He really seemed to be one very happy puppy who understood perfectly when I said to him, “This is what you have been training for Charlie, you take care of these girls and their family, don’t let anything happen to them.”  I’m not worried, I know he is loved and will be cared for, but that didn’t make it any easier to leave for the long lonely drive home.

Soft toys are good when a puppy is teething

Charlie has been a bit irritable lately; he is teething. It’s a tough time for any puppy but he is taking it pretty well.  His toys are not. I have picked up the third one this week and tossed it in the trash after he chewed it up trying to satisfy his need to gnaw on something. I can’t complain, Charlie is still performing his lessons well in spite of the obvious pain.  It has to be confusing for a puppy, they are growing at an incredible rate, their mouth hurts as teeth erupt endlessly week after week, and there are all these house rules to learn and lessons to master.  It would be easy for a good puppy to go bad at this point.

Ask any person waiting at a bus or train stop who has raised a puppy and they will wince a little when you mention your puppy is teething. It seems a natural response that people just can’t help. They all have stories to tell too of how they survived puppy teething. One man who spoke as he petted Charlie told me his puppy shredded his sofa, chairs, and pillows then proceeded to chew up the rugs.  After he got rid of all the remains the pup took to eating the drywall and cabinets in the kitchen.  He said it was quite a mess until the pup got through the teething stage.  His story unfortunately was all too common.  Puppy teething does not have to be a stressful horrific event in anyone’s life.

Another point we make no exceptions on during this chewing phase of a puppy’s life is they are never left alone loose in the house when we are not there to monitor their whereabouts. If we go out and leave Charlie at home for example, he goes in his cage where he cannot get into trouble. He is given all types of safe things to occupy him while we are gone. Never trust a teething puppy in the house alone and you will never come home to a chewed up house! At this stage of their growth that type of freedom is not an option.

The last great trick we have learned to help us survive puppy teething is frozen treats. We use a variety of things including a small puppy Kong™ stuffed with different Kong™ fillers like chicken or liver flavored pâté like fillings. The pups especially like Frosty Paws™ a frozen dog treat found in the ice cream section of the grocery store. I think Charlie’s favorite though is small raw marrow bones whose hollow center are filled with peanut butter then frozen. Usually every night as it is time to put him to bed I will ask him, “Charlie are you ready for bed?”  He will jump up and pad over to the freezer drawer of the refrigerator and stand there wagging his tail waiting for me to fish out a nice cold bone. Once he sees it in my hand he will prance beside me all the way to his cage.  I will tell him, “Go to bed!”, and toss the bone inside his cage by our bed, whereupon he happily dives in after it. He will instantly settle down for a cool treat with no fussing.  Several things are accomplished by this routine that makes it easy to deal with puppies.  First we have a routine, which is always helpful for a dog of any age, but for teething puppies it takes away one layer of stress. Also the routine takes away any anxiety about going to bed and being left “alone”. The treat eases the teething pain and helps him satisfy a need which eventually helps him fall asleep peacefully with a pleasant experience as the last thing on his mind.  He is learning to follow rules and they are not so bad. It sets the tone for later more advanced training that will earn him the freedom of the house one day.

While playing with one of his toys today, Charlie lost a puppy canine tooth.  Being the worse kind of sentimental, I had to save the tooth; especially since it is not that much longer before Charlie will leave me to go to his new home.  I have the glass vial with the tooth near my desk. I remember as a child I use to put a tooth under my pillow at night with a note to the tooth fairy spelling out my wish for something I really wanted.  I usually woke up to find a quarter instead.  I wonder if I put this tooth under my pillow if the tooth fairy would bring me another great puppy like Charlie.

Hi!

Charlie is growing up with our cat Annie, a 13 year-old stray we welcomed into our house as a kitten. Annie is “dog wise” and in recent years has become one of our best teachers for the dogs. She instills lessons of self-control. She makes no excuses for the puppies or dogs either. Her lessons are clear and to the point. When teaching self-control, she is always careful to make the lessons appropriate for the puppy’s age. We have witnessed this time and again.

At 19 weeks Charlie is approaching 40 pounds, so when he greets Annie with his increased size and bulk she makes sure he minds his manners. A slip on his part and her corrections are much more forceful than when he was smaller. Charlie is a quick learner though and approaches with respect by sitting, allowing Annie to make the first move toward him. Self-control is important in training dogs. People often forget and overindulge their puppies, which eventually can lead to behavior problems.

I am THE CAT, don't forget that.

Charlie showed much self-control in the midst of many temptations at the Canine Good Citizen test he participated in this past weekend. For a young pup, his focus was very good even if some of his turns were a little wide. He watched me and kept up with me as he was supposed to. What I’m very pleased to see in this puppy is his willingness to please. He really tries hard to do the right thing; not all dogs do. That trait sure makes training easier—and I think more fun for puppy and handler alike. It’s a trait we choose when doing breedings, and we try very hard to keep the trait in the lines. When this trait is coupled with a strong sense of devotion and a good measure of intelligence, you have a hard combination to beat for a top service dog.

I think it’s his good genetic start that gives Charlie the edge when it comes to learning his tasks as a working service dog. Far too often I read or hear about programs that get dogs from good kennels or breedings but those kennels are not selectively breeding dogs that excel at this type of work. I’m reminded of something that Doug Lipp, former head of training at Disney’s Corporate Headquarters, taught me at aseminar I attended. He called it “three rights that equal success.” He pointed out that to be successful, you need:

ahhh...

1. The right person for the job.
2. To give that person the right training.
3. To be sure that person gets the right treatment.

How true is that is for dog training, too? I follow this example for all the service and special task dogs I train, and I believe it’s key to the success I’ve achieved. It’s a simple idea that Disney used, and in my mind simple is always the best approach.

I’m sitting here looking at Annie and Charlie interacting again. I think if Annie could talk she would agree.

Debby

Handsome isn’t good enough though for service dogs. They have to demonstrate through their training that they know and understand the tasks they are being trained for. Their obedience must be impeccable under all circumstances. They must live up to a higher standard. As if that is not enough for any dog to master, we go one step further and ask a service dog under certain circumstances to make a decision which goes against their training, which says, always obey the person’s commands. This is known as “intelligent disobedience.”

A graphic example of this concept is a dog guide leading a blind person down a street. The dog is taught to go in a straight line when given the command “forward.” The dog is not supposed to deviate from that straight line. But what if the straight line down the street would cause the person the guide dog is leading to walk into an open manhole? The blind person can’t see that hole, so what’s a dog to do? This is where intelligent disobedience comes in. An intelligent dog determines he has to disobey the command to go forward in order to keep his person safe; so he goes around the danger in spite of anything the person does or says.

Charlie has shown me this intelligent disobedience already at the tender age of 17 weeks. He is very devoted to me and realizes that when the odor of low blood glucose is present, his alerting takes precedence over anything else he is told to do. I’m very impressed with his persistence, too. I cannot ignore him; he will not let me.

“Good Boy, Charlie!” As his trainer, this is very satisfying. I know he will never let his future handler down.

Hi, there!

Charlie had no idea why I was rushing around like a mad woman, packing a suitcase, stuffing his carry bag with his toys, chew things, food, dishes, water, leashes and the dozens of other things necessary for an overnight trip. He knew it was fun though to follow me as I dashed around the house. Several times he took opportunity to steal a toy from his packed bag to play with. Soon enough, we would be off on his biggest adventure yet. This trip would start with a visit and overnight stay at his cousin’s house. The next day, he would meet his new family for the first time.

Charlie’s “cousin” is a lithe 9-month old chocolate Labrador beauty who is sired by his half-brother Ranger. It was love at first sight for Charlie. Piper is sleek and coy with the darkest of coats, and typical of all Lab puppies—always ready for a good play session. She didn’t have to do much to engage Charlie in a game of chase. He quickly figured out his bulky build could not keep up with her as she zoomed around the yard so nimbly and skillfully at lightning speed. But Charlie is a thinker, and he developed his strategy to even the playing field. He found places along her circuit through the yard where he could crouch down nearly flat on the ground and lie in wait until she rocketed by, when he would pounce on her like a great lion attacking its prey. It took him a few attempts to perfect the technique, all the while offering great entertainment for Piper’s owner and me.

Charlie meets his new family.

Later inside, the pups contrived games involving a pile of toys and a very large open-door crate in the room where all the people sat talking. I am always fascinated by dog games. They are so creative, and the rules are pretty clear even to those of us not participating. I suspect they would have played all night if we had not put an end to it and gone to bed. Once tucked in with his favorite blanket, Charlie fell into a sound sleep. Good! I wanted him to be fresh for the big meeting in the morning.

After an hour drive the next morning, we arrived at the home of Charlie’s new family—and were greeted by a very excited young lady who would be his new partner. This is always the most anxious time for me, even though I’ve gone through it a thousand times before. Will the dog and person I am trying to match up be the right fit? It took only a few moments to realize that Charlie was indeed home. He walked in confidently, looked around, then glanced at me as if to say, “Yes, this will do just fine.”

Hmmm....

Charlie got the full tour of the house. He was a little taken aback by the largest stuffed toy he had ever seen in front of a television, something else he had not seen since we don’t have one at home. I imagined him calculating, in typical Charlie style, just how he was going to play with this thing and move it to where he thought it should be. I’ve accused him of being a decorator at heart, as he constantly moves his bed from one spot in my office to another for reasons only he knows.

The best part of his first visit to his new home was meeting all the friends and family anxious to see him. He handled his near celebrity status with composure and cool you could only admire. Everyone had cameras and videos pointed at him, everyone clamored to get in a photo with him, and he patiently complied with all requests.

It was difficult to leave, but I could see Charlie was getting tired, and we had a long trip home. He still has much to learn before he returns here ready to take on his duties as a diabetic alert service dog.

Debby