Hello Jada, First you would teach pup whatever task you want pup to perform automatically on command. So if you want pup to nudge you when you are nail biting, lean against you while pacing, or climb into your lap to give pressure therapy, then you would first just teach that behavior on cue like you would when teaching a trick with lure reward or shaping training using treats. Once pup can do that behavior on cue, then begin pacing or pretending to nail bite while also saying the cue for pup's new behavior that helps with that. Praise and reward pup with a treat when pup obeys your command and pretend cues. Practice for a while with both the pretend anxious cues and verbal commands. Once pup is really reliable at alerting at those times, then do just the nail biting or pacing without saying the cue. Wait seven seconds then, to see if pup will do their comforting behavior without having to be given the verbal command. If pup does, praise and reward. If they don't, give the verbal cue also and still reward if pup obeys. Practice until pup starts to anticipate the verbal cue that follows and does their new helpful behavior before you have to tell them the verbal cue, just in response to your pretend anxiety actions. Practice that then until pup is consistently doing their behavior when you pretend without needing the "hints" of the verbal command anymore. Once pup can alert, then begin practicing around distractions, starting with minor distractions like your front yard on leash, and working up to gradually harder and harder distractions like your neighborhood, calm parks, busy parks, friend's homes, outside shopping centers, inside stores like pet stores and hardware stores. If pup is being trained as a service dog, then you would also work on pup's overall manners and behavior in public, so pup would be allowed public access places without being a nuisance. Assuming you would be working on that part of the training also already, then you could start incorporating pup doing their tasks in those locations too, to alert for things like nail biting and pacing and other anxiety signals. At this point in the training it will just be a whole lot of repetition to gain reliability and focus from pup no matter the location you are in. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Sept. 9, 2021

Hello Katharine, What is the fainting associated with in this case? Generally fainting is associated with something happening in your body, such as a panic attack, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, ect...So in this case, what's the underlying cause for the faining? Often a person's body chemistry changes before the fainting occurs because of whatever is causing the fainting. That change in body chemistry can often be detected through scent for a dog with a good nose. I would certainly not allow the episodes to happen intentionally, but when you do wake up when they do happen, you can collect saliva on pieces of gauze and freeze those samples, to use in the future to train pup to detect the smell of your body chemistry at those times. You can also take samples of saliva at times when you know those changes are occurring in your body but you are not at the point of fainting yet - like when you notice blood sugar is getting low and you are about to eat something to improve it, when you realize you are feeling very anxious, when you feel the need to sit down before getting too light headed with low blood pressure, for example. You don't have to wait until you are at the point of fainting or after fainting to collect samples. Whatever you do, don't intentionally put yourself at risk to collect samples though. You can also pretend to faint and teach pup give you a cue like sitting, and have pup sit then faint right after, rewarding pup at the end of the sequence. At first this will be insignificant to pup as far as connecting it to a real episode, but as they learn on their own that a certain smell precedes the fainting in real life, many dogs will learn to alert on their own before a faint happens, sort of like the dog who sits before you tell them to sit because they notice the changes in your body language and interaction that always precede you telling them to sit, so they sit on their own to earn your treat pre-emptively. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Aug. 30, 2021

Hello Kenzie, Where you would start depends a lot on whether you are wanting pup to become an emotional support animal or service dog. The training for a service dog will require more general training for public access. With either training you can teach specific tasks to support you. For a service dog, first, pup needs to be allowed public places - this means working on pups general obedience, socialization, and manners, so that pup can go places, get along well with everyone, and be well mannered enough not to disturb others. Joining a Canine Good Citizen or Intermediate obedience class is a good way to work on those things. How is pup around kids, various ages, races, and personalities of people, new objects, noises, other animals? Pup needs to be able to be calm and not distracted by those things. Pup should be able to handle a child or adult suddenly running up and hugging or petting them (although someone should never do that to a service dog - it probably will happen at some point when in public with pup so often). The socialization and manners part of Service Dog training is actually the hardest part many times. Without it a dog can be asked to leave places by restaurant and building owners for causing a disruption and they won't qualify as a service dog. Pup will always be a dog still, so will never be perfect at all times but should do very well! To qualify as a Service Dog a dog needs to be well mannered in public as mentioned above, and be able to perform at least one specialized task that directly assists with the medical or psychological condition they are trained to help with. The person also has to have a doctor approved medical or psychological condition that qualifies - anxiety attacks, depression, PTSD, ect.. should qualify. For the task training, you can teach an emotional support animal and a service dog the same tasks. Some dogs are able to detect anxiety based on scent. This is done using saliva samples taken during times of high anxiety. The dog is taught an alert, such as Sit, paw, bark, or nose. You then practice having the dog sniff the sample, tell them their alert cue, and you reward with a treat. Practice this until you don't have to tell the dog to alert but they will simply alert when they smell the sample if you wait, then you reward. Once pup can alert really well on the sample, then Saliva samples taken during anxious times and saliva samples taken during normal times are practiced together - with the dog only being praised and rewarded for alerting to the anxious sample, and not the normal sample. Ignore incorrect alerts and don't reward them. Practice this until pup can reliably alert to the correct sample only. Once pup alerts consistently, you plant the sample on yourself and practice with the scent somewhere like your pocket - rewarding alerts. You then plant the scent on yourself at random times during your day and in different environments to help pup do the alert when they aren't in "training mode" to teach them to pay attention to you in various environments and be ready to alert at all times. You can also teach pup to alert to your anxious "cues", finding things you tend to do while anxious, like bite nails, rub arms, wiggle a leg, ect...Those cues will be unique to you and probably subtle. Pay attention to what yours are. Ask those who know you well if they notice any patterns. Once you know them, tell pup to alert you whenever you act out those behaviors so that pup will also alert when you do them subconsciously while anxious. Typically that's the initial anxiety alert task trained to qualify pup. You can also teach additional things that benefit you, such as pup doing pressure therapy - like pup laying on you. Leading to exits during times of high anxiety. Helping initiate social interactions for those with social anxiety. Laying under your legs and chair to provide a comforting presence and stay out of the way in public places, as a few examples. Social media, such as instagram and facebook is actually a good resource to connect and follow other owner-trainers who are teaching their own pups tasks too. It can be a good place to meet others in your city doing the same thing to connect for practicing things with people doing similar training with their dogs. There are trainers who offer remote and in person service dog training assistance - whose role is not to take the dog and train it entirely themselves (which is great but much pricier), but who can guide you in training your own dog as needed for a lower price. Youtube is also a resource to find service dog trainers who share some how to videos on teaching specific tasks to help you trouble shoot as you go. For now, I suggest starting with pup's public access - with socialization, manners, and obedience. You can work on task training at the same time if you have time, but obedience and socialization is often more time sensitive. In the United States there is no official certification required for a dog to pass as a Service Dog. A qualifying medical or psychological condition, great behavior while in public, and at least one task that directly helps with your condition is all that is required. Carrying a copy of ADA law regarding service dogs, pup's vet papers, a note from your doctor simply stating your need for a service dog (you don't have to disclose what condition you need help with to anyone), and a vest for pup letting people know pup is a working service dog can help people allow pup into places more easily though. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Aug. 23, 2021