Good Boy Flip!

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Boots, Sparkles and Tink Bridge dogs, Tuffy, Blueboy, Pudge, Maddie, Broker, Jet, Baily, and Reva

I'm new to the board, but not new to service dogs. I really enjoyed this thread and how solidly your dog is alerting so quickly.

What I wanted to address is your concerns about the dog in public. I have had a service dog since 2008. Taking a well trained dog into public is really not that bad. Don't worry. True, there are people who look at you like they are judging you but there are just as many who applaud you. It balances out. One bit of advice though is to stand up for your dog. I have had people literally tell their children to go play with the dog in a WalMart. I have had people saying "I know I shouldn't pet . . ." while reaching for the dog. I have had lots of "drive-by" pettings where they just pet on the fly in passing. By and large, I don't encourage people to pet the dog. We are there to achieve a task and not socialize. Every so often I stop and allow petting like my dog loves elderly women because his puppy raiser was an elderly lady it is just warms his heart to be petted by someone who reminds him of his lady, but by and large it's best to be armed with a quip phrase like "The doggy is in school today and when you are in school you can only listen to the teacher and not be talking to lots of people. I'm the teacher". The adult version is "I'm sorry the dog is doing training today and we are focused on achieving some goals". I don't want people petting the dog anymore than I would want them touching a wheelchair. I have heard horrible things like people knocking people down and kicking the dog, but I have never had anything really bad happen. My favorite is while standing in Walmart alone with the dog looking at photo frames a guy coming up and saying "So you're blind, huh?". When I said no, he said "So what's wrong with you?". Just practice what you want to say and how much you want to reveal. Don't push the dog too fast, start with off-peak shopping times and work up to busier stores or stranger places. Always be aware of if the dog is enjoying the activity or exhibiting stress responses.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing more of your thread and encourage you to continue. Have a blood sugar alert dog is fabulous.

So in the first post I mentioned that I was nervous about doing testing on myself, as going into a low hypoglycemic state is what I'm trying to avoid. I went in today for testing after fasting overnight. I recall feeling lightheaded, then all the talking around me turned to fuzzy mumbling and everything went black. Next thing I know I'm waking up, flat on my back, surrounded by nurses. I have no recollection of the person drawing blood calling for help or anyone pulling me out of the chair and onto the floor. So that was kind of scary. But I got some glucose gel in me and then had chick-fil-a for breakfast so all is well

That pretty much zapped my energy for today, so the only training we did was some stays tonight.

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Jodie

AJ's Maiden By the Sea CDX RE (Annabel - retired)
Mud E Paws UDX OM2 RE OBHF (Conner - retired with 28 OTCH points)
Sunfire's Flying Head Over Heels UD BN RA (Flip)
And the odd one of the family - Colby Jack Teeter Smack CDX GO RA (Colby - Lhasa Apso)

Wow. Please be sure to look after yourself, even though you were in a medical facility purposefully testing this time so that was an unusual circumstance.

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Cara & Kasey + Shay (GSDxMcNab)

I hope you are feeling better today.

I just read through this thread and I want to say how admiring I am of what you're doing. Flip sounds like an amazing dog, and how great that he can help you like this.

Regarding taking him out I public, and what people might or will say--I hope you can get to the point where it's a non-issue. It's kind of like wearing a flag that says "I have something wrong with me." When I see people out with service dogs I think, "Look how that person is getting on with their life" (after my first thought which is I want to pet the dog but I must not! LOL).

Strangers can be rude, intrusive, just curious, clueless, and sometimes all of those things together. I hope you can let their issues run off you like water off a duck's back.

I look forward to reading the adventures of Flip!

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Kathleen, mom to one human, age 17, three canines, and a bunch of fish.

I always want to pet them but, as Outwest says, I must not. I have always been fascinated with them because they can do so much for someone. I hope Zuca can one day be a Therapy dog. I would like to bring joy to people and I know she brings me a lot of joy. I hope Flip will learn quickly to help you. Don't worry, most people feel the same way we do about service dogs--that they are providing a wonderful service to people who really need them.

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Elizabeth

Jodie, please be careful! I'm glad you're okay and that it happened in the hospital where you had instant help. I hope someone is driving you to these types of appointments when you have to fast. You and Flip are going to make an awesome team! My son came home last week from his doctor's visit and the doctor suggested a therapy dog. Like you, he doesn't physically look like he needs one. Now the trick is to find an organization who will work with him...

Yesterday I went to do some obedience training at a building about an hour from me. I brought along one of the scent cloths. It was his first time doing any of that alert work away from home. I was a little nervous because it was also the first time anyone else was watching us (everyone in the building stopped to watch us), and sometimes dogs don't perform new behaviors their first time away from home. Wanted him to look good for everyone! But he did it like a champ, picked up the scent within a few seconds and started hitting my hand.

My mom is flying out to see her new grand baby in a few weeks. I think I'm going to bring Flip to drop her off at the airport as our first "non dog place" trip.

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Jodie

AJ's Maiden By the Sea CDX RE (Annabel - retired)
Mud E Paws UDX OM2 RE OBHF (Conner - retired with 28 OTCH points)
Sunfire's Flying Head Over Heels UD BN RA (Flip)
And the odd one of the family - Colby Jack Teeter Smack CDX GO RA (Colby - Lhasa Apso)

This thread is so awesome! I think it is great that you are training Flip to help you with this, I don't think you should be concerned with what other people think. Anyone who has something nasty to say about a service dog shouldn't be listened to anyways. I also think it is absolutely fascinating to learn about how you are training this - I look forward to continuing to follow your progress!

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-Valerie