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.

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!!

Major Success

 Some of you may remember Major from earlier posts.  He is a DAD (Diabetes Alert Service Dog) in California that we placed back in January. Right off the bat, he and his partner were working easily together and fast building a relationship. During placement, one of the things we trained him to do was to unlock and open the inside door and the outside screen door.  Our thought was when Marie, Major's handler, had her hands full, he could open the door for her. Another option was in the event of an emergency, Major could open the door for EMTs that might need to get inside. We took a video of Major just after he was trained to open the doors.

 

About a month ago, Marie fell and broke her hip.  This training came in handy as Major was a big help through this.  But enough of us writing. Marie wrote up her testimony and sent it to us. So read on! 

Last month, while picking up the balls and the Chuck It that is

Major's most favorite thing to do, I moved my foot to the left, didn't

lift it up enough, and caught it on a large pebble. I fell, tried to

catch myself, to avoid re-breaking my knee and ankle. I did that, but

broke my hip instead. Since I was out in my gravel driveway in the

country, I had to get back to the house on my own. 

As I started dragging myself to the house, I remembered I had something I didn't

have before, a new companion. His name is Major.  He is a English black

Labrador trained to be a Diabetic Service Dog. But he is turning out

to be so much more!

He nosed open the front gate for me. He then licked me all over the

face every time I stopped. At first I thought it was because he loved

me, but then I realized it was because he was trying to make sure I was

not going to stop or pass out!

We got to the house and he pulled open the front screen door and

helped me push open the front door. He would have gotten my cell phone

for me, but my land line is right by my front door. After calling 911,

I laid down and waited.  After assuring himself I was not passing out,

Major laid down and put his head on my stomach while we waited for

the ambulance. 

When it came, Major barked a little , unlocked the screen door and let them in. He then lay down and hoped for a tummy rub. He followed my transport to the ambulance, climbed in and again

lay down and put his head on my stomach. As we rode to the hospital,

the EMTs were amazed! I kept telling them, "That's my boy!" like a

proud mama. 

At the hospital, he followed quietly along with my bed and

sat quietly next to it when we stopped. My sister Maria

showed up and took Major out potty, where he peed on command. He was

sent home with her, not because he was not allowed to stay, but because I

wasn't able to have someone stay with me full time to take him out to

relieve himself. He got to stay at his litter sister Dropje's house

for the week! Dropje lives around the corner from my sister's.

He now walks carefully along side my walker and knows the words "slow

down" too.

Now, If that wasn't enough for him to do for me, this past Tuesday we

had another adventure. I was driving us to my primary care doctor for

a post surgery check up. On the most curvy part of the trip, my accelerator stuck and my brakes didn't work!

Good thing for my watching detective shows! I put it in neutral, hit

the brakes. Nothing. Did it again. Nothing. Finally, I stood on the

brakes, in neutral, pulled to the right side of the road and figured I

could slow down by side swiping the cement pile-ons. Luckily, the car

slowed some and I was able to shove it into park and turn off the key.

Major kept licking my face from his seat in back of me. I'm sure he

was proud of me and happy to be alive too like I was!!

So, that is the latest in the adventures of Marie and Major.

Hopefully there won't be any more like them......ever!

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!

Finding Their Voice

As a puppy grows MANY amazing changes take place in rapid succession of each other.  Some of these are not easily noticed such as day to day growth, however, others like the eyes popping open are very obvious.

Our new litter of Duty Dogs puppies are growing fast and are steadily changing.  Lately, the young ones have found their voices and are using them heavily. This chocolate in the picture to the right is particularly loud.  As the photo was snapped, he was yelling to the world his opinions on life.

Another new change that has taken place is the eyes are open.  They are beginning to get a hazy picture of this new environment.  Newly opened puppy eyes have a cloudy haze.  However, they will quickly clear up to look normal.

These puppies are on their way to being reliable DADs, and we have high hopes for them.  The Lord is truly blessing our family venture.

The Labor Day Chronicle

As the mom of six children, I've (Alicia) had my share of labor stories.  One of the things that I've learned along the way is to take good notes during labor and as soon as the whole event is finished, WRITE IT DOWN!!  Not only is this nice for posterity, but it's a very handy reference tool for subsequent labors.  So, here's Jackie's maiden birth story. . .

Waiting

"Just hold me."

Monday morning it was evident that our very pregnant chocolate lab, Jackie, was ready to get to business.  In addition to her temperature falling below 100F, which is indicator that labor is starting, she was looking for a place to nest.  Hannah took her into the whelping box, where she’d already spent some time getting used to it, and the two of them hung out for the entire day.  Normally not the snuggler, Jackie practically laid on Hannah’s lap all day, while Hannah read, listened to audio dramas, watched a movie, and ate all her meals.  I guess Jeremy did spell Hannah a time or two, and Jackie behaved the same with him.  At one point he remarked, “If she could crawl into my skin, I think she would!”

Ready to go

Water Breaks!

Shortly after dinner, about 7:00, the report came that Jackie’s water had broken.  All right!  Now it was time for the fun to begin!  Excitedly, we called our mentor Debby Kay in West Virginia to share our exciting news—it was kind of like calling “Grandma” since Bailey and Jackie came from her kennel.  Expertly, she briefed us on what to expect, the supplies we should have, and shared in our enthusiasm.  Thankfully, Hannah had done an excellent job preparing for the births, and we had everything Debby mentioned (perhaps Hannah will do a future post on supplies for birth).

With Debby’s encouraging pep talk, we were ready for a night of labor.  Of course, everyone in the family was anxious for what was to come.  So, we decided to let the littlest Becker be the first birth attendant, and promised the rest that we would wake each of them up one at a time to witness the miracle of birth.  

                                                         First Puppy

Puppy #1

Little 4 year old MJ quietly watched from the chair while Jackie experienced her first wave of powerful contractions.  Just as Debby predicted, you could watch the contractions cause her sides to “heave”, and then after a few moments, they would relax and her panting would ensue.  This continued for about thirty minutes before a black form, encased in a sac, emerged nose-first from the birth canal.  At Debby’s recommendation, we jumped to work aiding this little creature in experiencing its first breath of life.  Carefully, we broke the sac and immediately suctioned any fluid from its mouth using a bulb syringe.  Unfortunately, the placenta did not deliver and the cord was already torn from it, but we still tied what remained of the cord roughly 3/8” from the pup’s body, and then cut the excess with sterilized surgical scissors.  After drying it vigorously with paper towels, we weighed the little guy, put a blue ribbon around his neck and then put him back in the box with Jackie.  However, Jackie was very wary of this little creature and growled as we introduced him to her.  This went on for several minutes until she reluctantly consented and allowed him to latch on and begin to nurse. This behavior concerned us; perhaps she would be one of those who didn’t take to mothering naturally.

Second, Third, and Fourth Pups

Introduction

After MJ was put to bed, his bigger 6 year old sister got to join the Birth Team—and boy was she needed!  About half an hour after Puppy #1 was delivered, Jackie began another wave of contractions followed by tearing up the newspapers in her box, and the heavy panting.  Soon, another dark sac emerged, back feet first, and we followed the same routine for this little chocolate boy.  Thankfully, the placenta was delivered as well.  This time however, we didn’t whisk the pup away immediately, but allowed Jackie the time to lick her pup and make the connection.  This turned out to be a good decision, because Jackie allowed this little guy to snuggle in and find a spot to nurse without growling as she had done before.

growing nursery

Shortly after, Puppy #3 was delivered.  And #4 right on the heels of #3!  That was when we were very thankful to have our super little helper JF available to help with drying pups and putting them in the “nursery”.  She did just as she was asked and didn’t get in the way of all the activity.  We added her permanently to the Team and allowed her to stay up while her big brother JJ was roused for his turn.  So far we had a black male, black female, and two chocolate males.

About half an hour later, JJ got to witness his first pup being born, another black female that came out back feet first.  The “nursery” was growing!

Trouble

"Is it almost over?"

Following these deliveries, part of the team decided to sack out on the floor.  At 1:AM, Jackie had a drink of water and shortly began another series of contractions.  Unlike the previous births, her pushing didn’t produce anything.   Unsure what to do, I checked the birth canal to see if a pup was “stuck”, but felt nothing. Growing concerned that something wasn’t right, we woke up Jeremy to get his opinion.  She didn’t seem distressed, but the clock was definitely ticking and nothing was appearing for her efforts.  We thought a trip outside for a “break” might help.  When we returned, Jeremy did a “check” and could feel a tail at the entrance to the canal. At 2:20, we called our friend who is a vet to get his counsel (thanks so much, by the way for the middle of the night consult).  Still no pup.  Finally at 3:30, before calling the emergency vet in Fresno, we called our breeder Debby since it was 6:30 in West Virginia to get her advice.  She highly discouraged any kind of checking in the canal due to the introduction of germs (oops!), and helped us realize that our only viable option would be transporting Mom and pups the hour drive to Fresno to the ER Vet for a c-section.  Most likely, we would lose the pup, but in an attempt to preserve the remaining three and Jackie’s health, this seemed like what we needed to do.

Hooray!!!

I began gathering all the supplies we would need in case a pup happened to be delivered en route. While Hannah monitored Jackie, in another room Jeremy looked up the number for the ER Vet and made the call.  Just as the vet’s office answered and Jeremy said, “Hello,” Hannah hollered, “MOM, get Dad now!”  He cut it short and we both raced to the delivery room, just in time to see Hannah holding another black sac-enclosed pup.  Despite my jubilation, I fully expected this little stuck pup to be expired.  But he wasn’t!!!  As I suctioned his little mouth, I just kept saying, “I can’t believe it!  Thank you Lord!”  He was so merciful to save us (and Jackie) the trauma of a long ride to Fresno, a possible c-section, and of course, the ER bill!

With #6 safely out of the way, the remaining three pups got busy and made their way into the world.  A nice 30 minute pattern developed, until finally, exactly at 6:AM, #9 made her appearance, ending the eight hour delivery of nine healthy pups.

The Wrap-Up

A much slimmer Mama happily enjoyed a bowl of kibble mixed with yogurt.  After sharing the final delivery status with Debby, she recommended oatmeal with a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses to help restore some of the minerals Jackie had depleted during labor.

Thankfully, Jackie had adjusted to the concept that she was now a Mama and these puppies were hers to protect and nourish.  No more growls, well, except when the pups first latched on to the tender “nozzles” as one of the kids calls them.  But ANY mother of ANY species can understand that!!

The full line-up