Training separate alerts- Low alert

After much thought and some false starts, I'm finally starting to train Senator to distinguish between the high and low blood sugars with his alert.

I originally wanted to use the left hand low and right hand high for the alerts.  I even began training him to mark left/low and right/high.  Then, I decided that they were too similar and that it would be too easy for me to lead him towards the correct hand.  So, I changed my mind and am going to train him to do a down for low and a sit for high.  Both would follow the initial alert which is for him to paw me.  He has this down so well and even has learned to escalate it at times.  So, I don't want to change that part.  My goal is for him to first paw me and then do either the down or sit to tell me which it is.

I began by holding a container with the low scent in my hand and having him smell it.  I would say "touch" for him to paw me and then "down".  I'm using a separate treat (cheese) for this training.

I've done three sessions now.  The second session was similar to the first.  This time, I had him first find the low on me and then went through the same routine with me commanding the touch and down.  I say "yes" when he does the down and this is when he gets the cheese reward.  I repeat this about 6 or 7 times.

The third session, I again had him find the low on me.  Then, he pawed me and I said down for the first time.  For the remaining 6 times, I didn't say "down".  He just did it.  I did lead him a little with body language, but he seems to be making the connection.

On the fourth session, he did the down with no verbal or physical cues.  He has definitely made the connection between the alert and the down.  I'll continue to do this for awhile before I start him on the alert for high blood sugar.

Trip to Daytona Beach as a service dog

Our annual family vacation was at Daytona Beach this year.  My Dad gets us all places to stay using his time share points.  Its wonderful.  We usually number in the 20s and everyone has a great time.

I decided to bring Senator with us.  A week is just too long to interrupt his training.  So, we drove down with him in the back seat of our little car.  He did just great.  He was excited for awhile and then just slept for the rest of the trip.  It was quite hot.  I had to relent and turn on the AC so he wouldn't suffer the heat.

I had been worried about the check in.  I called twice to let them know that I would be bringing my service dog, and both times they said that it would be fine as long as I had the proper paperwork.  I didn't know what they meant by that so posted the question on the diabetes alert dog forum.  The answer was that there is no such paperwork and that shows how little they know.  I brought a copy of the Florida law on service dogs, but I never needed it.  They didn't ask me any questions at all and had arranged to have me on a lower floor as I had requested.  That worked out well because the elevators were usually very busy and crowded.  We could take the stairs if we felt like it.  The rest of the family was on the 18th floor which would have made that very difficult.

He behaved very well.  It was different having to have his vest on so much of the time, but he was good about that.  People that we met were very interested to hear what he could do.  I met a few diabetics who were excited about the prospect of a DAD.  Mostly, we had people approach us who were missing their own dogs.  A few even had me look at pictures on their cell phones.  And he received countless hugs from kids.  It was fun.

Really, his only weak point were the birds.  Seagulls mostly.  He wanted to chase them.  And they were everywhere and used to people.  I think that if I had had more time, I could have got him used to them, but it was a challenge.  Fortunately, he could walk right by people and toys with no problem or attempt at interaction.  We enjoyed our walks and I let him experiment with the waves somewhat.  At first he was afraid and backed away.  Then he got used to them and waded out farther.  A few broke on him which sent him back toward shore.  But, he liked the water and I think it cooled him off too.

We continued to practice our alerts.  Everyone was anxious to see how he did them and he put on a good show.  He had a few natural ones on me too.  All in all, it was a good experience. I was curious to see what it would be like to have to have him behave as a service dog so much of the day.  I did have to miss out on a few things to be with him, but there were more times that I was glad he was there.