Hi all,
Two questions....
Assistance/support dogs. Anyone got one? How do they help, etc?
Lycra body suits? My OT has suggested fitting me with one of these.
Any information on the above two or anything else would be great!
Thanks
Does anyone reply on this site?
I've posted a few questions and got NO responses :(
There is a women in our support group that has a support dog. I'm not sure what he's capable of, but he helps. I believe that dog was tailored for her needs. Maybe you can look online to see if service dogs are available in your area. Try this http://www.cci.org/site/c.cdKGIRNqEmG/b.3978475/k.3F1C/Canine_Companions_for_Independence.htm
Assistance Dogs can do most things usually help with things like picking stuff up, opening and closing doors, helping with dressing and undressing. Even putting your card in ATM machine and taking cash out. They do tend restrict to certain amount of jobs and the dog maybe in training 4-6months once they have found you one.
There is a very long waiting list at the moment around 5yrs for Canine Partners and Dogs for the Disabled. If you have a pet dog there are two charities may be able to train them up for you DogAID and Support Dogs. However they also seem to have waiting lists and I don't think Dog AID are currently taking any new dogs to train up until further notice.
I train my own. Inca is trained to alert me to sound doorbell, smoke alarm and minicom/textphone and helps me around the house emptying washing machine/dryer, doors, light switches, fetching post, helping dressing/undressing anything really.
She is 12 next year so I just got new puppy who I'll be training up to take over.
Inca (left) teaching JJ (right) to sit at kerbs at side of scooter.
Kati
Inca and JJ are adorable. We have two yellow labs (untrained - 12 and 10 yrs. old), love of our lives.
I use a service dog. It has been the best choice for me! He enables me to lead an incredibly active life! I trained him myself because like Kati says the waiting list was just too long. I have trained animals my whole life so it wasn't outside of my scope. In fact I have been thinking lately that I need to find a place to volunteer. Mine helps with balance and vision so I can walk and most importantly keep up!!! He's a mobility dog. It may be that a dog trainer in your area could help. If you can, find one that has trained service dogs before. It helps if the person working with you and your dog understands your special needs. Everyone is different even with ataxia. For me I need my dog to walk at a certain pace and be in a specific position just a bit out in front of me and hold that position steady. He also needs to work as a vision dog and help me avoid obstacles because my oscillopsia(bouncing vision) is so bad when I walk that I can't see well enough to tell where things are or recognize people. He does both! he remembers all of our routes and the places we go, and and he takes me around any obstacles and he recognizes people that I know, which is huge because all I see is a blur of faces when I walk. I also can't read the street signs but I don't need to when I have him. :-) ^^
With the lycra body suit I am assuming that is for a proprioceptive aid? I used my wetsuit (light weight swimming style) when my proprioception was super bad. I haven't found anything else that helped though I do use little wrist weights from time to time. I use a surf leash with my dog because it wraps around my arm and I can feel vibration with it and that aids with my proprioception. Hope that helps. ;-)
I have a support dog called Alfie. He has changed my life. Before I had him I didn't go out much and felt tired and lethargic all the time. Just having a dog meant that I had to get up and go out every day, no matter how I felt. Almost immediately I felt better, just to get some fresh air made a huge difference also people talked with me and I didn't feel so alone. We got Alfie from a rescue kennel, he was 13 weeks and very naughty. He was very difficult to train and I had several days where I thought I'd made a terrible mistake.
Then I found a charity called Support Dogs, they train disabled people's own dogs to become qualified assistance dogs. They took Alfie for 4 weeks and then I went for another 2 then we practiced for about a year until we qualified. He picks things up for me, brings me the phone, picks up the post, opens doors, but even better than the task work is that he comes with me everywhere and gives me confidence in any situations. . I can go into strange situations and instead of nobody talking with me people always stop and ask about him. I am so grateful to the charity for making a huge difference to by life.
Thanks for the replys :) very helpful!
Judith did you get Alfie before you applied to the support dogs charity to train him?
Btw Innca and JJ are cute!!!
I'm curious about the lyra suit. Never heard of this. I had an occupational therapist suggest ankle weights to help my walking and to my surprise they did really help. Under stress I would lose my balance, and the leg weights seemed to focus my attention down to where my feet needed to go. I had a much better connection with what my legs were doing.
Hi Taryn,
you could also try to adapt your clothes by using Velcro as fasteners instead of buttons
There must be more companies selling special clothes adapted for people with clothing handicaps; i found one with webpage in German. You have to register to go into the online shop, so i could not find out the prizes.
Hope this helps and/or inspires..
Akita
No when we applied we had to go through aptitude tests , both for Alfie and me. You have to have the dog first. They like you to have the dog before you approach them. Some other owners had luck with getting Guide dogs that didn't quite make the standard needed. I got Alfie from Wood Green Animal Shelter.
The other place is Dogs for the disabled. They come 'ready cooked' already trained but there is a long waiting list.
Taryn Cotton said:
Thanks for the replys :) very helpful!
Judith did you get Alfie before you applied to the support dogs charity to train him?
Btw Innca and JJ are cute!!!
Inca, JJ and Alfie are adorable!!! I don't have a dog at this time, but appreciate all the information, as I may need one in the future...,thanks everyone! ;o)
Ahhh Alfie is soo cute! Do you mind me asking afew questions about you, Alfie and the training please Judith? I'm just thinking this would be the best road for me to go down, getting a dog then training him/her. When you got Alfie and applied to Support dogs how long did it take? I'm guessing the wait was dramatically reduced from the wait for a 'ready cooked' dog from dogs for the disabled! I would like a dog to help with my mobility so I'm thinking a large breed? Does having a dog cost much? I'm really new to this ha so any info is greatly received :)
Abit information.... I've already contacted dogs for the disabled and they have told me that they have temporarly closed there waiting lists due to the number of applicants :s I've also contacted Canine Partners and they have told me I can still apply but could wait upto 2 years.
Thanks again
With such a dog it would be wonderful if my state would deteriorate further. But i have been allergic for my whole life, - i wonder if this would be possible- owning a dog. And by my lazyness- this would be big change for me going out of the house with the dog twice daily...?
There a dogs that you can have even if you are alergic. Alfie is a Lhasa Apso and he doesn't molt so the breed is good for sufferers, also Poodles and some other breeds I think. Of course there are the cross labradoodle, bred for assistance dogs that don't shed. But it will cost you. Try they guide dogs training school they may have one that's not made the grade.
It costs to have them clipped every 2 or 3 months but its worth it not to have fur everywhere. I got Alfie before I was too sick, you have to spend time training and making a bond with them. The trainers said it was a good idea. I would talk to a local dog trainer and ask if they could go with you to choose a dog from the shelter. explain your needs and go for it. As I said Alfie changed my life.
I got Alfie from the dog shelter. He was 13 weeks and a bundle of trouble! I had to wait a year after I applied so I took him to a local trainer and went to classes each week which helped me do the basics.
Look up clicker training, its magic! You get him to sit by holding up a treat over his head, and the moment his bum hits the floor you click and give him a treat. after 2 or 5 times you give the command 'sit' still clicking and treating. When he sits on command you slowly phase out the clicking and treating. Its the same for any behavior Look on youtube there are lots of videos to watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESZozdpmQMs
So he was obedience trained before I applied - support dogs like that so they don't have to work from scratch.
I definitely recommend you get in touch with a local dog trainer and get them on your side, they will come with you and help choose a suitable dog.
The dog food is about £4 a week, I use dry food so it goes further. The most expensive thing is the grooming which costs £30 about every 3 months. Then there is pet insurance £10 a month and inoculations about £60 once every year. Once you have qualified Support dogs pay for the inoculations. Contact guide dogs for the blind, not every dog makes the standard they want but are fine for us.
Can you say where you live? or email me jmmargolis@yahoo.com
Taryn Cotton said:
Ahhh Alfie is soo cute! Do you mind me asking afew questions about you, Alfie and the training please Judith? I'm just thinking this would be the best road for me to go down, getting a dog then training him/her. When you got Alfie and applied to Support dogs how long did it take? I'm guessing the wait was dramatically reduced from the wait for a 'ready cooked' dog from dogs for the disabled! I would like a dog to help with my mobility so I'm thinking a large breed? Does having a dog cost much? I'm really new to this ha so any info is greatly received :)
Abit information.... I've already contacted dogs for the disabled and they have told me that they have temporarly closed there waiting lists due to the number of applicants :s I've also contacted Canine Partners and they have told me I can still apply but could wait upto 2 years.
Thanks again
Here is a youtube of a really well trained balance dog. My dog does all the commands left,right,forward,back,brace,stand, and also has excellent path finding skills. He can take me through the grocery store lickity split! So much faster than using a cane!!! He's a cane with brain! I would choose from the working breeds or at least a working breed cross, Shepherd, Collie, Lab, Poodle and even New Foundland's have been trained to be great mobility and balance dogs. I would look for a dog that matches not just your physical pace but your lifestyle pace. I chose a German Shepherd because I am a fast walker and I lead an active life. I needed something with a lot of agility to navigate turns and tight spaces. You are young and you want to be active so think about what size and breed will work well for say, going to restaurants and or doing shopping and or fitting in a car with you. All these things need to be taken into consideration.