International Service Dog Week!

It's International Assistance Dog Week! What is IADW, you ask?
International Assistance Dog Week was created to celebrate all working dogs who help people live a normal life. 

While many people are familiar with Guide Dogs, those that assist people with vision loss, not as many people are aware of the other types of assistance dogs working today. Here is a description of the various types of assistance dogs:

Guide Dogs – Assist people with vision loss, leading these individuals around physical obstacles and to destinations such as seating, crossing streets, entering or exiting doorways, elevators and stairways.

Service Dogs – Assist people with disabilities with walking, balance, dressing, transferring from place to place, retrieving and carrying items, opening doors and drawers, pushing buttons, pulling wheelchairs and aiding with household chores, such as putting in and removing clothes from the washer and dryer.

Hearing Alert Dogs – Alert people with a hearing loss to the presence of specific sounds such as doorbells, telephones, crying babies, sirens, another person, buzzing timers or sensors, knocks at the door or smoke, fire and clock alarms.

Seizure Alert/Seizure Response Dogs – Alert or respond to medical conditions, such as heart attack, stroke, diabetes, epilepsy, panic attack, anxiety attack, post-traumatic stress and seizures.

Medical Alert/Medical Response Dogs – Alert to oncoming medical conditions, such as heart attack, stroke, diabetes, epilepsy, panic attack, anxiety attack, MS attacks and post traumatic stress disorder.

I am a Service Dog that takes my job seriously. I am a medical alert/ mobility dog. I am often asked how long it takes to train a service dog. My answer is you never stop training. You can teach them the basics of helping a human but as years go by, there are times when the humans health or condition changes. That is when the dog needs to learn more ways to be a assistant. 

Service dogs help a person to live a close as normal life. When approaching a service dog please do the following things:
1. Ask to pet - If they are like me, they may back away from your touch. Don't take this as a insult. It may be the dog is sensing something isn't right and doesn't need a distraction. 
2.Don't stare the dog in the eye-This breaks concentration. If you were taking a very important timed test and someone was staring at you the whole time , could you finish the test in appropriate time? 
3.Don't offer a treat-It's fine to offer a treat to the handler to give to the dog later but do not try to feed the treat to the dog without the handler's permission. 

These are my Personal rules:
1: Ask to pet me 1st. Don't put your hand in my face. I don't want to sniff your hand just like you don't want me sniffing your butt
2.Don't ask "Where can I buy a service dog?" There are times when my handler doesn't mind to suggest some sites or says that you need to speak with your doctor to see if you are qualified to have a service dog. 
3. Don't ask "Can you train my dog to be a service dog?" My handler is not a qualified trainer. Not all dogs are able to be service dogs. It takes a certain dog to be able to be trained in a way to make life better for the handler. Many of these dogs can be found in shelters also. 
I am not saying I am special but some dogs are better qualified then others.
4. Don't make barking or rude noises when I am working. I can't count on one paw the times I have had kids barking at me, running in front of me in stores , or poking my eye. 
5. If I back away from you before you pet me, don't take it as being rude. I am working. 
6. When I am at a restaurant and I am under a table, please don't let your child run up to my table and bother me. We always try to get a booth but there are times there is not one available. There is nothing worse than having a small child climbing under the table with me. I am resting while I wait for my handler to eat and I am not making a scene but your child is. 
7.When I am in a store please don't stop my handler and ask a 100 questions. We sometimes don't mind but there are times we just want to get what we came for and we want to leave.