Hello Cathy, How good is pup's nose at finding things? If pup has good scenting ability, there is a good chance you could take saliva samples during times of heavy fatigue, freeze those samples, teach pup an alert on cue, then have pup sniff the sample, give pup their cue- like nosing you, then reward. As pup improves, you would have pup sniff the sample, wait seven seconds to see if pup will alert without the verbal cue - like nosing you or whatever alert you wish you teach, then reward if pup alerts and give pup the verbal cue if they don't alert and need the hint. You would practice this until pup alerts consistently to the right sample, then add in normal saliva samples during practice, only rewarding correct alerts to the fatigued saliva sample. As pup progresses, you would hide the sample on yourself, like in a pocket and reward if pup alerts to that, then practice that at random times when pup isn't in training mode and reward if pup detects it, then add in distractions and public locations while practicing with the samples. This type of training is often used for training a dog to detect heart abnormalities, anxiety, and seizures ahead of time. Often the scent of the body will change during certain events when your body chemistry changes, allowing a dog to learn to detect that change based on scent. Honestly, with CFS I don't know if pup will be able to detect that change in you. It depends a lot on whether your body chemistry is always at that state or there is enough of a change during fatigue events for pup to tell the difference between constant stressors on your body and a higher stress period. In theory, a dog with a sensitive nose should be able to do it but it will be a bit of a gamble. If you notice certain things you do subconsciously when heavily fatigued that you don't normally do, like leaning on your hand, slouching a lot, breathing different, ect... You can also make note of those differences in your body language and teach pup to alert to those body language cues by practicing acting them out while giving pup a verbal alert cue you have taught, like the nudging, then practice until pup will alert to those body language changes without the verbal command, working up to pup doing that around distractions and in public locations, rewarding correct alerts, until pup can do it consistently. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

June 24, 2022

Hello Abby, How is pup with other people, dogs, and general distractions? How is pup's nose with scents? To qualify as 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 - diabetes should qualify. Blood sugar detection training is typically done using saliva samples taken during times of high or low blood sugar and frozen for future training use (don't put yourself in danger with too high of a low or high). The dog is taught an alert, such as Sit, paw, bark, or nose. You then practice having the dog sniff the sample, give their alert, 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, then you reward. Once pup can alert really well on the sample, then Saliva samples taken during good blood sugar read times and saliva samples taken during highs or lows practiced together - with the dog only being praised and rewarded for alerting to the high or low 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. If you want to teach pup to alert for highs, in addition to your lows, like in some diabetic cases, I would teach the things you are most concerned about - like a low first, wait until pup is reliable with that, then teach pup a second alert cue, like nudging for the first and pawing you for the second, and then work on teaching that second alert - like high blood sugar, separately, so pup is learning two skills really. You can also teach additional things that benefit you, such as pup going to get help if you pass out, or fetching insulin or glucose. 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 if you can only work on one area at a time. While doing that, you can certainly reward pup's natural alerts right now to further encourage them. 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

June 23, 2022