In order for a service dog and person to work well together, their skills and needs must match, their personalities have to jive, and they have to adjust to each other’s oddities and idiosyncrasies. There is give and take in both directions because neither dogs nor people are perfect but each have their individual quirks and ways.

Sometimes it doesn’t work out. That’s ok. Imagine if you had to marry your first date! Or even the person you were with for a year before you broke up. Yikes. Its all part of the process of learning what one’s real needs are and what each partner brings to the table.

As an organization we have made many successful matches on the first try. But not always.  We have a small library of stories where the first match was not permanent. Most of them went on to find a good partner and though we like to pretend otherwise, a real partnership is actually a lot of hard work,  a constant effort, with vigilance, forgiveness, and growth from all parties. Its true with people and its true with service dog partnerships.

Matthew and Jasper had lots in common and did some beautiful work together but they had a few critical places where they did not intersect well. Try as we might, we couldn’t get the dance to work. Instead of dancing with the stars, we had stepping on toes.

Back to class, back to match.com, a little wiser and a little more informed.

This week our committee met and made an extremely difficult and agonizing decision to disqualify our Great Dane, Gryphon. Gryphon has had several incidents of growling at people in our training center. A growl can have many meanings, after all, our dogs can’t speak in a language we understand, but a growl may be a warning that if pushed harder, the dog will bite. As a person, I do not believe Gryphon posed a danger but as an organization, we have to interpret the growl as a worst-case scenario.

As Gryphon’s trainer and as his puppy raiser, the decision to disqualify him hurts. I taught him to walk gently and quietly beside someone who needed assistance with balance. He learned to take steps singly, on command. He could stand absolutely still while someone used him to get up from a fall. He learned to retrieve pens, pencils, paper, silverware, and much more. He could pivot in a tight circle, ride the Jaunt bus, take a bow and shake hands. He had a full repertoire of behaviors – some were fun and most were useful. But the growl was his Achilles heel and his career with our group was judged to be over.

Gryphon will return to his first home, his breeder, in Massachusetts. Luckily he doesn’t care if he is a service dog, his aspirations are to lie on a soft couch, play in the grass, and receive the loving touch of a human caregiver. These things will be his.

Thank you Gryphon. You made me a better trainer. I will miss you with my whole heart.

Reading with Service Dogs is based on the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program. Intermountain Therapy Animals, a nonprofit organization based in Salt Lake City, Utah, launched R.E.A.D. in 1999 as the first comprehensive literacy program built around the appealing idea of reading to dogs. The mission of the R.E.A.D. program is to improve the literacy skills of children through the assistance of registered therapy dog teams as literacy mentors. The program has been spreading rapidly and happily ever since!

Our Reading with Service Dogs program improves children’s reading and communication skills by employing a powerful method: reading to a dog. The dogs act as a catalyst for learning and help to cure children’s anxiety/attention disorders, as well as reading related problems. Reading out loud can be very intimidating to the child at first. Over time reading aloud transforms from a fearful activity to something fun. Our readers look forward to the dogs’ visits. It’s often the highlight of their week.

Service dogs in training are ideal for R.E.A.D. programs because they are comfortable being in public. They learn to feel relaxed around children and enjoy being petted over an extended length of time. Sometimes, our dogs place their heads or paws in the children’s laps while the child is reading.

Reading with Service Dogs is a unique and successful literacy program that benefits both our dogs in training and children in our local schools. We look forward to working with students from Madison House again this fall.

This post was written by our volunteer, Keith Halford. Thanks Keith!

As fabulous as Tunie is, Gail has encountered one problem that she needed help addressing. When they go out in public together, Tunie is very social and loves to greet her adoring fans. Although we train our dogs to be pet, for some dogs that attention becomes so rewarding that it can be a huge distraction and make it hard to keep the dog focused on their handler. Instead of petting, Gail is teaching Tunie to hand out information cards to the people who want to meet her. This allows curious passersby a chance to interact with this beautiful dog, and it gives Tunie a task to do that helps her stay focused on Gail. The next time you see Tunie, be sure to ask for her card.

Mary is committed to Service Dogs of Virginia and for that we are grateful. Thanks for all you do Mary!

Theo recently went to the Scottsville Lions Club Charter Dinner meeting. Elaine sent us an update after the event:

Theo visited with everyone around the room and loved the attention. He saw the big stuffed animal (lion) they had on a table and barked at it, trying to go play. During the Pledge of Allegiance ceremony Theo was sitting looking at me but I was looking at the flag so he barked once.  I know it was a “demand” bark but the Lions thought it was neat that he was trying to say the pledge.

With something to chew on to start with, he usually settles down at meetings and then goes to sleep. He enjoys coffee hour at church, with children and people. Horses really interest him and he wants them to play. So far, he doesn’t not seem to be afraid of anything. He’s curious about loud noises, TV, trucks, etc. His favorite toy is his KibbleNibble.

Woody is being raised by Nancy Koch. He is the first puppy that Nancy and her family has raised for SDV, and they’re off to a great start. Woody is already accompanying them in public to restaurants, doctors’ offices and shops.

Nancy tells us that Woody is getting along well with their two other dogs.

He focuses play time at our house with our dog Stella, rolling, chasing, lounging with and sometimes on her! Zoey, our Portuguese Water Dog, has taught Woody the ropes swimming. We have gone swimming with him twice now, and he followed Zoey’s right into the water! Woody also has made friends with our neighbors cat, Chandler, and we visit him regularly.

Remy was placed with Jacob last year. He has done a fantastic job as an autism dog. He accompanies Jacob in public and has facilitated his speech therapy. Although things are going well, Jacob’s mom had a concern. Jacob is prone to seizures and she’s worried that she may not always hear him in the middle of the night. The timing of administering his medication is crucial, and she was terrified that she might not hear him when a seizure starts. Would it be possible for Remy to wake her up when Jacob starts to seize?

I know this sounds like SDV would be training its first seizure alert dog. Exciting as that might be, it’s not the case. Seizure alert dogs have the ability to warn a person of an impending seizure minutes or hours before the person shows any clinical signs. How these dogs detect an oncoming seizure is still a bit of a mystery. Some people think that the dog perceives changes in a person’s body language or behavior. (We all know how perceptive dogs are at reading body language.) Some researchers think that the dogs may be able to detect subtle changes in scent before an episode occurs. Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence to prove these theories. It seems that a dog’s ability to perceive oncoming seizures is not a behavior that can be easily “trained” in the traditional sense; instead it must be identified and encouraged. Thus, the training of seizure alert dogs is still a new and evolving field.

So what is it we’re trying to accomplish with Remy? Over the course of four sessions, Peggy and Kelby have been working to get Remy to recognize the symptoms of a seizure and to then alert. We stated by trying to simulate the environment where we would need Remy to alert. In the training center, we’ve created a makeshift bed. Kelby plays the role of Jacob, and Peggy plays the role of his mom. Kelby imitates some of the symptoms that Jacob has during a seizure. They taught Remy, through positive reinforcement and clicker training, to wake up Peggy by pawing her or jumping on her when Kelby exhibits seizure-like behavior. It didn’t take him long to learn what it was they wanted him to do. The next step is to take the training to Jacob’s house and to work with he and his mom to begin to refine Remy’s recognition and alerting.

Peggy and Kelby have also been doing some nose work with Remy. We use scent work to train our diabetic alert dogs. Since there may be a scent associated with seizures, we figured that it wouldn’t hurt to encourage Remy to start using his nose in a more directed manner. They’ve been working with him to find scents hidden on their person and around the training center. The goal is not to get him to sniff out seizures, but just to be more aware of scent detection.

Although this is a new training experience for the trainers at SDV, it’s built on the groundwork that we use to train all of our dogs. We look forward to keeping you posted on Remy’s training and the exciting new way in which he may be able to help keep Jacob safe.

Ten Hot Weather Tips for Dogs

1. Keep your dog hydrated. Ensure con­stant access to clean, fresh water. If your dog is crated, try switch­ing to a water bowl that auto­mat­i­cally refills. Make sure the toi­let lid stays down, or dis­con­tinue the use of any type of cleanser or chem­i­cal that stays in the tank or bowl.

2. Keep your dog well groomed. If he has long hair, cut it to about 1 inch long dur­ing warmer weather. Do not shave him down com­pletely as it can increase the risk of sun­burn. For dogs with fine, short hair, a sun­screen for use on animals is recommended.

3. Let your dog check the weather. Allow your dog to step outside and “feel” the temperature. Instinctually, the dog will know that it is too hot or humid to expect a long walk. When walk­ing a dog on the streets, avoid black­top, man­holes and any other metal sur­face. These sur­faces can eas­ily scorch your dog’s foot pads.

4. Exer­cise your dog early in the morn­ing and late in the evening. If you take your dog to the dog run in the after­noon, make sure he has access to water and shade. Even though he might not like it (at first), wet his coat with cool water. He will feel refreshed and energized. Remember that darker coats absorb more heat than lighter coats.

5. Never, ever leave your dog in a parked car during hot summer weather. The temperature inside a parked car without the a/c running can quickly reach in excess of 115 degrees. That will result in heat stroke or death. In many states it is illegal to leave animals unattended in parked cars.

6. Find innovative ways to cool your dog. Don’t have air conditioning? No problem! Find a spot in the shade and set up a kiddie pool. One of our clients fills two-liter bottles and freezes them to carry on trips so that her dog has something cool to lay his neck on. You could also lay down a wet towel for your dog to lie on. Remember that dogs cool from the bottom up. So a wet towel to lie on is more cooling than if a towel is laid directly on top of your dog. Or place a fan in front of a pan of ice. Misting a dog will also help it stay cool. Make sure to spray the paws and stomach which is more beneficial than the just focusing on the top or back.

7. Get your dog a check-up. Take your dog to the vet for his spring/early sum­mer check-up. Ask your doc­tor to rec­om­mend a safe flea and tick con­trol program as summer is prime time for biting critters.

8. Don’t make your dog “hot under the collar.” Like humans, when it’s very hot, many dogs may get grumpy and grumpy can become agressive. Take extra care when your dog is around kids or other dogs to recognize when they’ve had enough.

9. Remove bed­ding from your dog’s crate. If your dog is crated, he will surely be much more com­fort­able lay­ing on the cool crate bot­tom rather than a thick pile of blan­kets or towels.

10. Change to summer feeding. If your dog’s activ­ity level decreases, make sure you cut down on his food. An over­weight dog will have a much harder time cop­ing with hot weather.

Special thanks to our volunteer, Keith Halford, for coming up with these tips.

Louie has learned “leave it,” “watch me,” “touch,” and “sit.” Right now, he’s working on learning “your mat” and “down.” He enjoys working, and is great out in public. He walks nicely on leash, and is so focused and calm. People are amazed at how young he is.”

Louie will be going with Janet and her husband to Northern Virginia to attend BrickFair in August. He will spend the weekend in a hotel, visit lots of restaurants, walk around a huge convention center, and probably ride the Metro into Washington DC. We look forward to keeping you posted on all of his adventures.

Louie with Keswick and Ella.

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