I have just finished reading a blog and the things they would have done differently training their Diabetic Alert Dog. This has got me to thinking about what I would have done differently...
One thing that I would have chosen to do differently is an alternative low alert signal.
As my fellow blogger stated, the paw swipe can be a somewhat 'violent gesture', resulting in bruising of one's leg, especially if not covered and the alert is received numerous times. This is also not ideal for a child but luckily for my son, Bailey mainly alerts to me. He has grown into a decent sized dog and as he has become more confident with his alerting, his paw swipe has become harder.
Over recent months, he sensed that his alerting was causing me pain after hearing me proclaim 'ouch' on many occasions and this resulted in him offering the alert (nose bump) without the follow up signal (paw swipe). The last thing I want is to discourage alerting, so I started to redirect him to swipe my hand instead of my leg. This has worked and as he also understands what the word 'gentle' means, has managed to modify his low alert to a softer swipe of the paw.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it is only in retrospect that we see how things really are. I have a blog reader whom also intends to train her own DAD, so when she asks me for my thoughts or advice on training matters, I can hopefully pass on useful information from the many lessons learned. When she recently asked about alert signals, I said 'go for the bringsel' (a short stick that is suspended to the collar and retrieved when alerting) and avoid the paw swipe!
One thing that I would have chosen to do differently is an alternative low alert signal.
As my fellow blogger stated, the paw swipe can be a somewhat 'violent gesture', resulting in bruising of one's leg, especially if not covered and the alert is received numerous times. This is also not ideal for a child but luckily for my son, Bailey mainly alerts to me. He has grown into a decent sized dog and as he has become more confident with his alerting, his paw swipe has become harder.
Over recent months, he sensed that his alerting was causing me pain after hearing me proclaim 'ouch' on many occasions and this resulted in him offering the alert (nose bump) without the follow up signal (paw swipe). The last thing I want is to discourage alerting, so I started to redirect him to swipe my hand instead of my leg. This has worked and as he also understands what the word 'gentle' means, has managed to modify his low alert to a softer swipe of the paw.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it is only in retrospect that we see how things really are. I have a blog reader whom also intends to train her own DAD, so when she asks me for my thoughts or advice on training matters, I can hopefully pass on useful information from the many lessons learned. When she recently asked about alert signals, I said 'go for the bringsel' (a short stick that is suspended to the collar and retrieved when alerting) and avoid the paw swipe!