Welcome Home

The much anticipated arrival of your new puppy is an exciting event--  especially if you have never owned a dog before.  There are many different things to be considered before Spot comes home. What food should I get for him? Which toys will hold up to a vigorous chewing puppy? Should I get a crate? Collar style? Hopefully this post will answer some of those pressing questions.

Food:  Each breed and size is going to have a different required amount of food.  However, there are some guidelines that apply to all.  Don't leave the food down for your dog to graze on all day.  Feed your dog his portion in his crate (this helps to associate positive feelings with the crate) and leave him there.  After thirty minutes to an hour, take your dog directly to his spot and give him the elimination command.  This helps cut down on accidents as well as helps your dog to be regular.  We feed two times a day (three when they're younger).  Our favorite foods are either Diamond Naturals Chicken & Rice, or one of the Kirkland Signature Natures Domain.

Toys: There are SO many different choices and variations for dog and puppy toys on the market. First of all, Many vets and pet stores will do their best to convince you that rawhide chew toys are healthy for dogs. This is majorly incorrect! Dogs are not able to digest rawhide.  The process that is used to make rawhide is highly toxic for any animal. Here is a link to a cute video about how rawhide products are made. We would recommend any Kong toys. Another natural alternative to rawhide are antler chews. They are completely natural, and the dogs love them! They are very clean, and don't have the mess that some natural dog toys have.  We also sometimes will get knuckle bones from the grocery store for a very special treat.



Crates: Dogs are den creatures.  We believe that crate training is highly important in a young pup's life. A crate gives them a place to call their own, and somewhere to go when they need time to themselves. It is also a place for them to sleep at night that keeps them out of trouble. While they will whine the first couple nights, stick to your guns and don't let them sleep with you. This will begin to teach the dog to settle, and prepare him for car trips in the crate or time at the kennel while you are on vacation.

Collar & Leash: Just like everything else, there are many different variations in collar and leashes. Our favorite collar style is called a martingale collar. This style provides more control over your dog without the choking effect of a slip collar. First choice for us in the leash world would be a multifunctional leash. They are very versatile and handy to use.

Beds: Soft cushy dog beds look so comfortable for your dog. And they are! But we've found that if you pair a puppy with a stuffed bed it often results in room that looks like it's covered in snow! The best choice we have found is what is called a Kuranda bed. Orthopedic, chew proof, and super easy to clean it is by far the best bed we have found for our dogs. This bed is what we use to teach place. It works perfectly because it is raised off the ground so the pup is either off or on the bed. No more slowly creeping away.

The addition of a puppy to your home is sure to bring much joy, laughter, and fun. But don't forget to be prepared for your new fur ball before he arrives! Everyone will be much happier if you do.

Service or Cuddle Buddy?

"How do you decide if a pup is going to be a service dog or a companion dog?" This is a question we frequently receive from potential clients who are considering purchasing a dog from us. While all the dogs that we produce are incredible creatures, not every dog is perfect for the working life. The standards are so high for service dogs going through our program that we carefully identify pups with temperaments conducive to service dog training, detector dog training or those

better suited to in a
family dog life.

At seven weeks of age, we do what is called PAT testing, (Puppy Aptitude Test). We use a combination of the Volhard test and our own tests to determine if a pup has service potential or not. In addition to the Volhard test, we have added a couple problem solving and curiosity evaluations. Two of which are sound and smell tests. All of the tests are done in a room that the pup has never before been in, and the evaluator is a person the pup has never met. This helps to give a truer evaluation of who the pup is, and what his/her potential could be.

The Volhard test is a combination of tests that evaluate many different aspects of the puppy. Rated on a scale of one to six, they are tested on social attraction, social dominance, retrieving, as well as other things. Here is a video of one of our pups going through the Volhard section of the PAT test.

The expectation for a cuddle buddy is not nearly as intense as it is for a service animal. Since they don't have to be constantly working, and they don't need to have an incredible sense of smell, picking companion dogs is a much easier process. When we have puppies that have shown that they would better fit as a family dog, we will then look for a family, couple, or individual that best suits that particular puppy. Some pups have lots of energy and exuberance! Others are snuggle bugs and love to relax. We do our best to place pups with a family that matches their personality. Energy and wiggles thrives best in a busy family with active kids. The more relaxed calm puppy may do better with an elderly couple.
Sometimes we will have a puppy come through our program that is a bit higher drive. In those instances, we will do our best to place those pups in drug or explosive detection work. Detection dogs need to have an incredible sense of smell, while oozing confidence and work ethic. We have found our pups to excel in this line of work.

As you can see, there is much forethought, time, and energy expended as we do our best to place our Dutydog puppies and dogs in their ideal home.

Curbing Destructive Chewing

The problem of chewing is prevalent in many dog owner homes.  Dogs, especially puppies, LOVE to chew.  For most puppies, however, they are not just being destructive, but trying to ease the pain of teething.  Providing them with safe, quality, toys they enjoy, will greatly diminish the temptation of your favorite slipper, the leg of your suede couch, or the garden hose.  

There are many different toys on the market, some that are durable and some that fall apart in the first week.  We love the Kong brand.  These toys will provide a challenge even for the most avid chewer.

For Christmas, we bought beef knuckle bones for our six month old pups.  You can pick them up at your local butcher for a reasonable price.  The dogs LOVE these!!!!! While we unwrapped presents,   we had a pup on "place" with one of these knuckle bones.  He stayed there for three hours!! He never even looked at all the tempting presents and paper flying around him.

A note on bones, you should never offer your canine friend cooked bones.  Cooking makes the bones brittle and more apt to splinter and cause choking.

Another reason dogs may be destructive, is an excess amount of energy.  A tired dog is a good dog.  ten minutes of ball retrieving, a good fast walk, or a jog may help your dog to quit destroying your home.   If you still are having problems after trying these, you may have a dog that doesn't fit your life style.  I know that might be a hard one to hear, but dogs have been bred for different purposes.   A husky was bred to run all day pulling a sled, while a shit-tzu is much happier sitting quietly in your lap.

Before you get that adorable lab mix your friends are giving away, think about your life style and how much time you will have to devote to him. Remember, a tired dog is a good dog!

Summer and Service Dogs

With summer already here the heat is quickly rising!  Although we can put on cooler clothes, our service dogs are stuck in their beautiful coats. Because of this, we need to keep in mind ways to keep our dogs cool.  Especially if the service that your dog is performing for you includes scent work.

Unlike us, dogs don't have sweat glands and can only lose body heat through panting.  Keeping our dogs hydrated is imperative.  There are many different travel bowls/bottles that make watering your pup easy. Also, at home you might think about getting a wading pool if your dog loves to play in the water.

Another thing to keep in mind during summer is asphalt and concrete.  They get HOT!!! Next time you are in a parking lot and the temperature is above 85-90 degrees feel the asphalt with your bare hand or foot. This will give you a feel of what the dogs are dealing with on their poor paws.  Perhaps that is why your pooch doesn't want to get out of the car!  It BURNS! One way to deal with this if you are a passenger, is to have the driver drop you off at the entrance of wherever you are going.  This way you can greatly minimize contact with the hot asphalt. 

However, this may not be an option for you.  Many service dog websites carry dog booties.  These can be perfect for you and your dog to handle the summer heat.  Your dog may need some time to get accustomed to wearing them, and you may need to do a bit of training with him.  But it should help to take care of that hot asphalt on those paws.

                                       Stay cool and enjoy your summer!!

The Devoted Dog- Part 3, Training Weekend

Jason's large family headed north and joined our even larger family for a weekend of training, fellowship, and fun!

Upon seeing each other again, Timber happily rolled over and welcomed a good tummy rub from Jason.  She let him love on her awhile, but then she was right back at Jeremy's side.

Our daughter taught Jason how to make his own hands-free paracord leash.

What was intended to be a weekend to teach Jason how to scent train Timber, turned out to be a wonderful Type 1 Diabetes Retreat for both families.  Both of our families have lived with diabetes for several years and have established habits and routines.

I've been to Type 1 support group meetings and have many friends who also deal daily with the disease.  But to spend almost three days living together with another Type 1 family was an enormous blessing.  There was time to discuss so much that a family living with this condition deals with everyday that no one else can quite understand-- emotions upon initial diagnosis, transitioning primary care from parent to son,  watching them make mistakes, the scary lows and troublesome highs, managing supplies, and of course what to eat.  And cooking together was just fun!

Another highlight was seeing my son not be alone in his battle.  For once, he wasn't the only one in the room who had to check his blood and give a shot before he could enjoy popcorn with his movie on the big screen. Watching the boys compare numbers after a meal of Dreamfields pasta and enjoy a scrumptious Samoa cookie that was practically carb free (with no artificial sweeteners either) was just plain fun for this Mama.

Saturday morning, Jeremy gave Jason a step-by-step instruction on scent training.  After doing a session with Timber, he brought in Henry, our nine month old DAD-in-training to demonstrate.  This gave Jason a visual of what he was hoping to accomplish with Timber.

That afternoon, the dads, boys, and dogs went to town to work on Public Access.  Although Timber has good manners, it's important that the family be trained what to expect of her in public and how to handle certain situations.  Lunch out, a stop at the meat department of the grocery store, and some ping-pong at our Rec. Center provided great opportunities to work on what to expect of her in public settings.






 On Sunday morning, after a last scent training session between Jason and Timber, the families said good-bye.  The devoted little dog jumped into the mini-van and rode away with her new person.

Here are links to the other parts of Timber's story. Part 1 part 2.

Timber, Part 1

Can an old dog learn new tricks?  We'll see.

A few months ago we had an interesting inquiry.  A woman from a nearby town contacted us about a service dog that she had "inherited" so to speak.  It seems that Timber, a Blue Heeler/Australian Shepherd mix,  had been "working" for a veteran who had passed away.  Through a series of connections, Timber came to live with Sherry*.   Sherry had been fostering the dog for several months, but really desired for Timber to be serving in her given capacity as a service dog, although it wasn't clear exactly what service Timber performed.  She asked us to evaluate Timber as a Diabetes Alert Dog, because Sherry suspected that's what she was.

When Timber arrived, it was clear she was a Service Dog.  Her obedience was precise and she was completely tuned into her handler, following her every move.  However, when presented with the scent of low blood sugar, she gave a cursory sniff, but didn't get excited about it as our labs do.  Regardless, we agreed to work with Timber to see if she could develop or redevelop her nose for diabetes.

A word about Timber before proceeding.  This medium, reserved, white and black dog is so different from our lively, gregarious labradors.  Although she has an exceedingly sweet disposition, she is a one-person dog.  Once she decides who that one person is going to be, she establishes herself as a permanent shadow.

Sherry knew of a family with a Type1 teenage son in Colorado that she would like to see Timber serve, if indeed she was a DAD.  Both Sherry & Timber and a Duty Dog's team paid a visit to the family to see if it was a good match.

Timber picked Jason*, the T1D as her person. Good start.  And Jason, of course, fell in love with this devoted little dog that dutifully followed him everywhere during her weekend trial.

It was decided that Timber would come and spend a few weeks with Duty Dogs and work on scent training.  And so, Timber found herself north in Wyoming once again.

Growing up!

Puppies have been growing SOOOO fast!!!!  Last Sunday they turned four weeks old, and really turned a corner in their maturity.  We are beginning to see personalities showing in different individuals and they are really beginning to look like little dogs!!  Super excited to see how this litter turns out, they are looking fabulous so far!

Growing up is such hard work!!

I know it's in here somewhere!

I'm watching you...

Future shed dog?

Snuggles...

Papa Bailey loves his puppies!

HA!!

Coffee and cream...

I've got the ball!

Spring Babies

Springtime means new life and babies.  On Sunday, Duty Dogs welcomed a new litter of puppies.

Icy, the dam

We've been eager for this breeding between Chilbrook Dreamlover (Bailey) and Chilbrook Black Ice (Icy).  Dog breeding is a wonderful study of genetics.  In order to get chocolate and yellow pups, both parents have to carry the gene for each color (remember the Punnett Square from high school biology?).

Bailey, the sire

Our other Mama dog, Jackie, does not carry the gene for yellow, so all of her litters have only produced black and chocolate. 








 BUT, Icy carries the gene for all three colors, so we finally have some Bailey Juniors!

Puppies started arriving on Sunday afternoon, catching us by surprise.  We weren't expecting them until the end of the week.  Although it was Icy's first whelping, thankfully it wasn't ours.  We knew how to jump into whelping mode and quickly got the new Mama situated in the whelping room.  Her first pup, a black male made his appearance shortly after 3:00 and the last, a yellow male finished up the pack five hours later.  No complications to report from this whelping.  WHEW!

The final tally was seven little bundles of sweetness-- three blacks (2 male/1female), three yellows (2 male/1 female), and one chocolate female.

As we expected from this sweet tempered dog, Icy took right to being a Mama.  She's so devoted to her pups, it's hard to get her to come out of the whelping box to take a "break" and get a stretch.  Mother and babies are doing fine.


Puppies will be available at the end of May.  Contact us if you're in need of a pup to train for service work.  But you better hurry-- they're going fast!

Major

Major, our almost 7 month male black lab, has been progressing fast in his scent training.  Passionate about food, he loves his training time. Recently, he has begun checking us for the "low" sent.   He will come over to one of his trainers and smell them.  If he finds the scent he will get an excited
expression and begin to paw our thigh.   This checking without being asked is a HUGE part of being a Diabetes Alert Dog (DAD).  The job of a DAD is to constantly be in tune with his diabetic and always on the alert for that "low" scent.  Major's checking in with us often is the beginning of that amazing duty he will one day serve his diabetic.

Recently, our diabetic came up from his room and sat on the couch.  Major jumped up from his "place", went directly to our son and began excitedly smelling him. Then Major alerted him by pawing, just as we have trained him to do.  A quick finger poke revealed that our son's blood sugar was below the safe range.  It was Major's first live alert and a very exciting moment for all.

We are happy to see that Major's training has made sense to him, and he is beginning to apply it practically.   Though he still has a lot of training ahead of him, we are confident he will make an amazing DAD for some fortunate person.

Basic Training Begins

We’re so busy training puppies, that there’s just enough time for the rest of life—cooking, cleaning, and schooling!  But, we have a lot to share that’s transpired in the last month of our puppies’ lives.

We left via Yosemite.

Cody, just outside of Yellowstone.

Three weeks ago, we traveled one thousand miles from California to Wyoming with eleven dogs and six children. That experience has its own blog post in case you missed it.  Needless to say, it was an experience we won’t soon forget!

A pit-stop in Nevada

Since then, we’ve settled into our new location in Cody, Wyoming and hit the ground running!  Basic obedience training began two weeks ago for each of the puppies who were just at the 10 week mark.  It is so rewarding to train a smart dog!  

We have a training rotation in place to rotate all of the future service dogs between our four lead trainers.  This allows each of us to concentrate on one or two dogs each week (depending on the trainer) and really develop a connection with that dog.  Then the next week, we rotate dogs so that each dog is experiencing a different handler and their different training mannerisms.  Although we all as trainers have a consistent method of training, we are each unique in our particular style.  This gives the dogs the opportunity to adjust to different personalities and respond appropriately.

A junior trainer ready for action.

Always ready for training.

As I worked with my charge today, a sweet chocolate male who reminds us of his Papa Bailey, I was quite pleased with how well he had “come”, “sit”, and “down” mastered.  We worked on “stay” and he picked it up so quickly and eagerly.  These dogs are so eager to work and pick up basic obedience readily.  As with child training, consistency and kindness accompanied with firmness are key elements to successful training.

Kindness and Consistency are Key for children and dogs!

Puppy Pictures, One Month

The puppies are growing fast, so here are some updates.  They are starting the weening process this week and are LOVING the puppy mush. Jackie is also happy to have more free time away from the pups.