A dog’s perspective… on hypo dogs, seizure dogs, detection dogs, medical dogs & generally working with dogs.

Hi there, thanks for stopping by. I will begin by assuming you are reading this blog of mine because you’re a) interested in detection dogs, b) have (or know someone with) a condition where an alert dog like myself would be of great benefit to you (them), c) have heard about the charity I come from and want to learn a little more or d) find the whole concept of what dogs can be trained to do when assisting people and are interested in a little insider knowledge.

Well I am the insider you most definitely want to hear from: I am a hypo alert dog in training and have reached a phase of my life where I have been matched and placed with a lady…let’s call her L. L has type 1 diabetes and has had it for 26 years. Unfortunately she has lost her hypo awareness…this is where her blood glucose level falls and if she doesn’t eat/drink something to raise the glucose in her blood then she could potentially collapse and even fall into a coma. As she no longer feels the symptoms of when her blood glucose is dropping her life had become quite a scary struggle, especially as the number of hypos she’s been experiencing have also increased too and so that’s where I come into the story – Ta Da!

 Oh gosh, I’m sorry I forgot my manners…you might even be reading this as you are e) one of those great people who just love all things “dog related”…did I mention I love people like you <wagging tail>. Anyway L heard about a charity “Medical Detection Dogs” who train dogs to detect these serious medical episodes through scent and alert the person they are partnered with to it before it becomes a problem. So she contacted the charity several years back to see whether she would be eligible to get a dog. She proved to be eligible and so the journey of L, I & Medical Detection Dogs begins.

If I’m honest this is likely to be quite a long story… I just hope my paws are up to all the typing! You see you’re meeting me here after I’ve already been matched and placed with L, so if you’re interested in starting from the beginning I’ll go back, way back, to where this blog of mine should start in another post shortly: let’s call that one, The Story So Far…

Right…so where am I now? Oh yes, that’s right I am at the stage of home placement…which means I have been matched in terms of my ability, temperament and the lifestyle I need to fit in with in order for my partnership with L to be successful. From this match the Medical Detection Dogs staff have focused on my training to get me ready for my ‘public working life’ to ensure that I am happy and relaxed to visit all the types of places and events L will require I accompany her to. As a Medical Detection Dog I am very lucky to say we all receive the very best of this sort of training as we are placed with volunteer fosterers who will take the time and effort to introduce us to a variety of places and situations in a positive manner (the charity are keen followers of Positive dog training…) Some of us even get to spend time living with a variety of fosterers so that our social experience of different home environments grow wider. As with all puppies and dogs, the more experiences we encounter in a positive way the happier and more confident we become in new situations. This is invaluable for our work as assistance dogs where we are required to fit-in at school, offices, supermarkets, shops, pubs, restaurants, libraries, hospitals, doctor’s surgeries and all sorts of other places. The variety of dogs that Medical Detection Dogs has and works with are as mixed as you can imagine too. There are all sorts of us showing what great noses we have, regardless of our breed. Some of my friends so far are Spaniels, Poodles, Labradors, a wire-haired Viszla, and also a somewhat small Chinese Crested Dog who was named Tiny. We have all been, or are being, trained to detect different conditions via the scent it releases. When I mentioned earlier about my laid-back temperament and ability…another reason I was picked for L is due to my size. As she already had a large pet dog living with her she didn’t want me to be too small and risk being intimidated or stepped on by Bracken. I think if Tiny had been the match dog then life would have been…what do we say...interesting for sure. Bracken is my new dog brother and I like him a lot…he’s very good at sharing his toys and bed. The only thing I’m not so keen on is the fact he eats all of his food…and doesn’t leave any scraps for me. With me being a food motivated Lab I thought he would have better manners and would have welcomed me more into the home with a bit of food sharing! Anyway, here are a few pics of Bracken and I, from the first “Matching” weekend where I got to stay at L’s home to see what I made of it and how I settled in.

 Now I’m here as a more permanent feature I’ll be sure to add feedback on what I’ve been doing and where I’ve been visiting so you can watch my progress. I’ll include a few pics too so you can witness my journey as if you were there… Now we’re all caught up with the How’s; I’ve actually been living here with L, her girlfriend M, Bracken and my cat brother Molly since the 26^th April 2013. During this time I have been busy learning the new home routine, new home smells and noises as well as learning to Alert to L’s “live hypo scent” which just by not coming from a sample pot has a significantly different whiff to it I can tell you. Now don’t get me wrong and think I’m complaining, as I’m not, but that is A LOT of adjusting to do and it’s taking it out of me a little. I feel like whenever I’m awake I’m constantly processing information of smells, locations, commands, behaviour, routines and so much other information. Now I’ve been told that this is quite normal for a dog in training and that as each day passes I’ll improve and not feel tired by it. So each day I’m here I’m busy adjusting and settling into my new life.

Since I’ve been here I’ve had a few mini adventures. I caught the Cango bus into town when Lydia the Assistance Dog Trainer spent 3 days with us for home placement training. It was a nice sunny day and whilst in town we visited the library (apparently L intends to take me to visit the library (where everyone is sooooo quiet) frequently. I’m just hoping even though I’m bright with all this training she won’t be expecting me to learn to read too! I also took a run in the park, walked around the high street (where lots of people looked at me as they recognised what an important dog I am) and finally ended up having lunch out. Well I didn’t actually get to eat any lunch (food sharing manners seem to skip human’s sometimes too) but I did enjoy laying by the table and listening to the canal whispering past as the sun shone down. When we had to catch the bus back to our home it appeared someone had dropped chocolate on the floor. Mmmmm chocolate <drooling>…and this lovely chocolate (don’t worry, I’m not stupid and know chocolate is poisonous to dogs) had melted into a big delicious mess. I settled down on the floor of the bus as I’ve been trained, lying just in front of L’s feet. The sweet smell of chocolate wafted over to me and I tried to do a little stretch, just to get that bit closer without anyone noticing. I stretched as far as I could in my laying position but darn, my body wasn’t quite long enough to reach the messy feast on the floor. So I instead closed my eyes and dreamt as we continued our journey home. And even when we reached our bus stop, I resisted the urge to lick up the melted chocolate as we exited the bus and proved I’m “a very good boy”.

I also had fun attending a May Fair in Ecchinswell village, which is the next village along from where I live. We went to the Royal Oak Pub and the pub and its garden were filled to the beams with adults/children and lots of dogs. They had a number of stalls…including a cake stall which I think smelt fab. And a BBQ (mmmm…sausages) and music and activities all going on around me. I behaved impeccably (even when I went across to the lambing area and 3 little lambs bleated at me. They wanted me to play, but as I had my work jacket on I had to let them down gently to say I couldn’t… and to make things easier I just lay calmly on the floor next to their enclosure) and watched all the other people, dogs and activities going on around me. The lambs belong at the farm just across from my house…so on some days I have got to meet them without my work coat on. But as all good doggies should know, it’s never ok to chase livestock so I simply listen to their bleats and wag my tail happily.

I’ve also been kept busy attending the office too while L works. It’s not too bad…she has plenty of space around her desk where I can be busy sleeping. I’ve even got my own office bed there. And there’s another black lab called Snoop who is my office colleague. When the mood takes us we’ll pop out for a run in a nearby field or play chase around the office gardens during lunch break. Snoop is the Managing Director of Whitehorse Telecoms and he’s been very helpful in introducing me to office dog etiquette.

Anyway, thanks for your visit and I’ll keep you up to date with my adventures over the coming months.

Big tail wags till then, Frodo xx