It's August here, which aside from meaning that it is incredibly hot and humid, also means that it is time to begin getting Robbie back in shape for cart season. Cart season is an exciting time of year for us, full of hard work, fun walks, and lots of precision. Read on to learn more about cart season, how I help Robbie get back in gear for it, and his first day back in his rig.
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Intro About My November Awareness ProjectsNovember is recognized as CRPS Awareness Month. Every November for the last few years, I try to share facts about CRPS and how it impacts my life on my own personal Facebook page. Last year, I decided to start that trend with Robbie's page as well. So, last year was a fact a day about what a CRPS service dog was, could do, how they are trained, and various tasks or non-tasks one might do. Partnering with a service dog for CRPS may be untraditional, but it has the potential to be more difficult than most human-canine partnerships, but it brings with it a powerful force of hope that so many need. Sorry it took me so long to share the collective list of facts here on our blog, it’s been a full year! Robbie is incredible – part of his job is preventing pain flares before they happen by doing activities that are known pain triggers. When I do laundry, he tips the hamper over, digs the clothes out, puts them into a new basket, pulls the basket through the house into the laundry room, and puts things into the washer. Laundry used to be a definite pain jump to a 9 or 10. Now, with his help, it stays my average 8. And that’s just one of many ways that he helps me. Robbie has changed my life, and my decision to train him has changed the lives of others because it opens people’s minds to the possibility of a service dog being able to make life with CRPS more manageable. Here goes it… 30 Days of Service Dogs for CRPS For clarity, I’ll label the facts that represent specific tasks or non-tasks, but there will also be facts about a CRPS service dog’s life in general. Also, not all of the tasks listed are ones that Robbie does; for instance, he doesn't alert to flares, and I don't have seizures. *Task – an activity a service dog is trained to do for their handler *Non-Task – something that any dog does, such as provide comfort with their presence
Nov. 2: A CRPS service dog can be trained to apply Deep Pressure Therapy to their handler. DPT is a proven task that aids in pain and anxiety relief. (Task) Nov. 3: A CRPS service dog can be trained to open doors using ropes, pushing with their paws, and using buttons. (Task) Nov. 4: A CRPS service dog can be taught to leave a distressed handler to find another human, give an alert to that human to get their attention, and lead them back to their handler to assist. (Task) Nov. 5: A CRPS service dog can be taught all sorts of miscellaneous tasks including turning lights on/off, searching for a specific person or place & leading their handler to it, carrying objects from person to another, and more. It all depends on what their particular handler needs. CRPS affects each person differently, and doesn’t play by a rulebook like other conditions might. (Task) Nov. 6: A CRPS service dog can have the natural ability to alert to oncoming pain flares so their handler can take appropriate action, though not all have this ability. (Task) Nov. 7: A CRPS service dog can provide immense comfort during the worst of a handler’s pain flare. The dog’s presence makes the handler feel less alone. (Non-Task) Nov. 8: A CRPS service dog can be a large breed or a smaller breed; it all depends on what the handler needs. Many need a larger dog for mobility assistance, but some need a smaller dog primarily for alerting. Nov. 9: A CRPS service dog must never react when another dog (or other animal or person) hurts their handler. This may happen simply because anything and everything triggers pain for CRPS handlers. Other dogs may bump into the CRPS handler at the park, get rough during play, or could purposefully cause harm to the service dog’s handler, but the service dog must be trained not to react. If they react, they can’t be a service dog. Nov. 10: Sometimes, CRPS patients can develop seizures. If they can be paired with a dog who has the ability to alert to seizures before they happen, this can be an extremely useful task for a CRPS service dog. (Task) Nov. 11: A CRPS service dog can accompany their handler anywhere the general public is permitted to go. Certain places such as churches, private clubs, and private houses require permission. Other places like burn units and restaurant kitchens are off limits. Nov. 12: A CRPS service dog might go with their handler to therapy to participate actively, be ready to aid when necessary, or remain in a perfect long down throughout the therapy’s duration. Nov. 13: A CRPS service dog can be taught to curl their body on top of their handler in order to bring their handler’s temperature up during cold flares. CRPS affects the body’s ability to regulate temperature well, and this causes some with CRPS to get “Deep cold” which means it can take hours for them to be warm again. (Task) This is not a traditional task, it's one I needed special from Robbie. If I get too cold, I can slip into low level shock. Robbie lying on top of me helps to raise my body temperature, and keeps me grounded. My deep cold flares last hours typically. He is learning an at-home version, and a public version. We vigorously trained Robbie from day one that he wasn't allowed to put his paws on me, jump into my lap, or lay on top of me because all of those actions would be painful for me. This task idea came to me during 2017, and has taken a lot of work to teach him that when I ask him to, it is OK to lay on me. This isn't typical snuggling, because we trained him not to do traditional snuggling. It does hurt a bit to have him lay on top of me, partly because of his size and bony elbows, but the value of him preventing me from slipping into deep shock form my cold flares outweighs the short term pain flare up. Nov. 14: A CRPS service dog can be taught to help their handler stand up from a chair, get in/out of the shower, go up/down stairs, stand up after a fall, and more. We also taught Robbie to stand in the bed of our truck and brace to help me safely dismount a horse after therapy rides. (Task)
Nov. 17: A CRPS service dog’s handler might be ambulatory, might use a wheelchair, or might use a cane or crutches. Nov. 18: A CRPS service dog is extremely difficult to train oneself (but not impossible), because every time the handler works with the dog while the dog is learning, the dog has a very high chance of accidentally causing a flare or making the pain spread. This may happen from something huge such as pulling the handler down during a walk, or something as small as standing on their handler’s foot during paw awareness training. Nov. 19: A CRPS service dog might not be socialized to select places. For instance some dogs might not be trained in movie theaters, if their handler experiences sensory overload, sensitivity to vibrations and cold, or can’t sit for long periods. There would be no reason to train for something the team will never encounter, and would be extremely difficult for the handler to train in an environment that worsens their condition, while remaining in calm, confident teacher mode. Nov. 20: Sometimes a CRPS service dog handler will experience flares that make it impossible to touch their service dog because the handler’s nerves make the dog’s soft fur feel like petting needles, and their warm tongue feel as rough as industrial strength sandpaper. Nov. 21: A CRPS service dog has a very difficult job. They will sense that their handler is in pain all the time, and has to learn to tell when the pain is worse. They must learn to be exceedingly gentle with their handler. They can never become protective of their handler, even if another person does something to make their handler’s pain worse, like a doctor giving a shot or taking BP. Most dogs are naturally protective of their packs, and CRPS service dogs must ignore that instinct more than most service dogs because their CRPS handler’s body exists in a constant state of agony, higher adrenaline levels, and stress. Such physiological conditions would normally inspire the average dog to protect their handler at all costs. A CRPS service dog must ignore that drive. Nov. 22: A CRPS service can be trained to block, as a task where the dog uses their body to put space between oncoming people and their handler. This can prevent their handler getting bumped or feeling overwhelmed. However, the dog must also be trained that blocking is not the same as guarding, and if someone comes to help, like a paramedic, the dog needs to listen to cues to stop blocking. This is not the same as "guarding," as that's a protective behavior not allowed for service dogs. (Task) Nov. 23: Currently, there are no CRPS-specific service dog training organizations anywhere in the world, which is a shame, because there are countless who could benefit from the daily assistance of a service dog for their CRPS management. Additionally, other countries typically do not allow for the option of owner-training a service dog. Nov. 24: A CRPS service dog might need to be trained in very creative styles because many with CRPS do not have the strength, energy, and focus to train their dog within traditional parameters. For instance, it would be easier for a CRPS handler to train gradually throughout the day, a few minutes at a time, than it would be to set aside multiple 20-45min training sessions to plow through. Lots of training is done in short bursts, with games, from bed or a chair, during playtime or walks, and more. Nov. 25: CRPS service dogs undergo years of thorough socialization training in order to learn how to adapt to new surroundings, and maintain handler focus in the busiest of places. This training must be continued for the duration of the dog's career to maintain their skills. Nov. 26: CRPS service dogs can be trained various actions to respond during pain and sensory overload flares to help ground their handler during the flare. (Task) Nov. 27: CRPS service dogs can be trained to help their handler get dressed or undressed. (Task) Nov. 28: CRPS service dogs can be trained to help with everyday chores such as laundry, loading the dishwasher, tidying the house, and putting things away. (Task) Nov. 29: CRPS service dogs have off-duty time to be a dog, but must always stay vigilant with their handler because their assistance may be needed at a moment’s notice. Nov. 30: CRPS service dogs have long, playful, and fulfilling lives with their handlers who all cherish them dearly. CRPS is a beast of a condition, but working with a service dog truly does make life open to more possibilities. Stay tuned because this year I’ll be sharing facts about what is “normal” for a CRPS service dog’s life to include each day of the month starting November 1st. Once the month is complete, I’ll do my best to share the complete list of that on here as well.
Retrieve covers a wide range of reasons and activities for us. Helping with laundry prevents a flare from repetitive movements and bending over. Picking up dropped items or bringing me certain things, like shoes, means I don't have to bend over which could cause me to lose my balance or trigger intense jaw pain. Being able to play fetch inside & outside gives us a good way to help him de-stress, release energy, and practice his retrieve skills without the pressure of formalities. Each time we practice retrieve, no matter the exercise or reason, it boosts his confidence with the command and hones his skill with it.
Retrieve has been an uphill battle since day one. I've written about our challenges before, but now I want to share a bit about where we are now and what we are working towards with regards to both playing fetch for fun and doing task based retrieves. Robbie found his retrieve drive last month with the help of his newest dog friend, a Jack-Chihuahua mix named Miles. While house sitting & dog sitting Miles, I would often play fetch with the little mix on leash because his recall is a tad shaky. At the start of each play session, Robbie was less than enthusiastic, but something about watching another dog get to play with a toy made him want to play as well! Every day, we would play fetch with both dogs inside, and after a week of that I tried it with Robbie off-leash outside and he was AWESOME!!! He would run after the toy, pick it up, and return. If he got distracted, I could say the command again to refocus him and he was right back in it. Finally! His outdoor fetch drive still needs some work, and he doesn't want to do it every day, but we are getting more confidence and more drive from him which falls in with task work beautifully! His MethodWe must be patient. If we are in the heat of an exercise it takes him about 3-5 seconds to process the request, but if we are starting from a nap, or general release, it may take up to 30 seconds. Ideally it should always take about 3-5 seconds, but I have discovered that with Robbie, if I push too hard with corrections and increasing tones, he will shut down and refuse to take. So sometimes, I stand with my arm out pointing to an object for close to 30 seconds... then he POUNCES ON IT! Once he is engaged in the task, he pounces on the object, and usually paws at it once or twice before picking it up and handing it to me. For this reason, we are practicing right now with objects that he can't break and that won't make startling sounds when he pushes on them, like empty water bottles. We will work our way up to those! Robbie is proof that traditional rules of teaching won't always work on your dog. You should always aim to follow the rules first, but you should be willing to accept that your dog is different and may need a different approach. Do I like waiting 30 seconds for him to decide to pick up a shoe? No, not really, it's super tiresome for me, but if he needs that time to decide to do it and then he actually does do the task and he does it well, then ok. As he gets increasingly confident in retrieves, we will press him more for shorter processing times. For now, I can wait. Dropped ItemsRobbie has begun helping me with dropped items, which is a huge help to me. Bending over can often make me dizzy or unstable on my feet, and reaching my arms down always causes hand numbers and shoulder pain spikes. Robbie can't yet help with every object, such as small items or breakables, but so far he has helped pick up a lot of things for me! He will even leave nap time or play time to help retrieve a dropped item. Here's what he has picked up so far...
Help with LaundryNow that he has a retrieve, I've been able to incorporate his assistance even more into our laundry chore. Once he tugs the hamper over and digs or tugs the clothes out, I ask him to "Take Cloth" or "Take It", pointing to the piles of clothes. Once he grabs something, I mark with "Yes" then direct him to another basket and ask him to drop the item into the basket. He has gotten so proficient that I no longer need his drop cue, I can simply say "basket" and he knows what to do. While right now, this exercise is tiring because it requires a lot of energy from me to keep him engaged, I know we will get to the day where I can do less and he does more - that's how it is with Robbie. We have also been able to finish off his "reach" cue and have begun teaching him to drop one of his ropes into the washing machine as practice for helping me clothes into it one day. He is doing great! The more retrieve games we play, the more he is growing to love it. Miscellaneous Retrieve ExercisesRobbie has also learned to...
Bracing can be an excellent live saving task for any mobility dog to have in their arsenal. It's versatile, dependable, and easy to teach. Read on to learn about what bracing is, criteria needed for a bracing dog, why we taught Robbie to brace, how we taught it, and the numerous ways he braces for me everyday!
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My Name is Sally...I have a condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. This blog is about my journey training Robbie, a dog who helped me regain independence, confidence, and achieve the impossible in the face of my disability. It continues on with the training of Austin, Robbie's successor. Check Out... - "More than a Dog" was published on a site called The Mighty Categories
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