Working dog question, am I nuts/

[Jennifer and Jack]

The post about our dogs having natural instincts, knowing when we are sad or having a sixth sense about them really got me thinking. I know Jack knows when I am about to get sick, l have a pretty serious lung disease that is made worse by being deathly allergic to what we think is latex.

 

Anyway, Jack knows when I am getting sick, he is clingy to me and won't leave my side for a second. No matter how tired he is, he will follow me everywhere.  Okay I am getting to the point now, (your welcome) Do you think Jack could be trained as a working dog to sniff out latex, and warn me when it is around? Like for example, I obviously know to stay away from the bike section and stuff in Walmart, but often times I am caught off  guard and run into by accident, which leads me into a severe coughing fit.

 

What do you think? Do you have any idea where I would go or who I would call to ask about that?  I mean right now, my ability to go out into the real world has been greatly limited because when I do I am taking a big risk of my airway shutting down, which in the past few months has lead me to being on life support twice..

 

Input anyone?

 

[Carol and Banjo]

Jennifer, I don't have any knowledge of "working" dogs, but I would think if you were to do a search online in your area you'd come up with some kind of organization that could lead you in the right direction.    I'm sorry to know about your condition and sending you big doodle hugs.   It would be wonderful if Jack could be your 1st line of defense!!!

[Bridget B]

Jennifer,  I just saw an article about a dog who was trained to sniff Gluten for her owner who had Celiac disease.  Unfortunatley, the dog was trained in Slovenia(!) but maybe looking at the article can give you some clues to finding your own service dog trainer. 

See this article on Celiac.Com:  Dog Detective Sniffs Out Gluten

 

good luck!

[Lynn D.]

Dogs can be trained to sniff out peanuts, cancer, explosives etc. A dog can definately be taught to sniff out latex! Mine is pretty intelligent and feel reasonably certain that he could be trained to sniff out latex very quickly. I think it would take longer for you to get his service dog papers so that he could be with you everywhere!

IMHO, you NEED this! (FYI, I am a nurse) The next attack could be worse than being on a vent. I would start by researching service dogs. Who tests the dog? Ask the testers who they reccommed to help you train the dog.

Ask your doctor to write you a letter stating that it is medically necessary for you to have a service dog. It's possible that your insurance will pay for the training. And the rest you might be able to take as a tax deduction.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Thank you so much!!! I am going to look into it and ask around.. It would greatly benefit me to be made aware of things I can not see, because now it has gotten to the point, just walking by it is making me ill. PLUS the added benefit of being able to take Jack everywhere with me would just about float my boat for the rest of my life....

 

Thank you for the links, if anyone else has information, please chime in. You guys are great.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Lyn, Thank you so much, I too am an RN. So being an RN and being deathly allergic to latex do not go together at all. I just read the working dogs program located right here in Columbia SC, and it looks pretty easy to get papers. Jack just has to be trained through a trainer and I have to be labeled disabled. Unfortunatly, I am on disability. I am considered the working disabled because I refuse not to work, so I work one day a week, or I should say I will once I am off my oxygen from my last intubation that caused me to have a PE. Not fun.

 

I know what you are saying, the doctors all have told me, each exposure is getting worse and worse and pretty soon being on a vent isn't going to be an option.

 

So being that I am disabled because of this condition  I have a good shot at it. I just need to find a good trainer to teach him to smell it out,. The thing is, I can not be anywhere near it, so he will have to be trained without me being there.

 

Thanks for your help, I didn't realize it was so easy to do. I am going to call them tomorrow to see about getting a trainer to work with him. It is worth a shot.

 

Thanks again, Nice to meet you, what type of nursing do you do? My back round was  Emergency/Trauma for both Pediatric and Adults, and now I do some cardiac nursing.

[Lynn D.]

Jennifer,

A thought just occured to me as I am allergic sensitive to Latex as well. But not anywhere as bad as your reaction.

 

>Eating a Bananna within 48 hours of exposure increases your reaction./p>

 

I have done a little bit of everything. NICU/Nursery mainly, with some Ob/GYN Surgery, ALF Director, flu shot clinics, school nursing, Fertility Clinic, etc. Please join us in the nurses woth doods group!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

When I had Guinness in his "Nose/Tracking" class, there was a woman in the class who was training her dog to detect the "nut" scent because her daughter had an allergy.  The dog did extremely well, and by the end of the six weeks was definitely able to find the scent hidden throughout the training facility.  I do believe the owner was working with the dog often between classes, but I was really impressed with how quickly this dog caught on.  Look for a trainer who has done this before.  Our trainer did all the search and rescue dog training in the area, so she had a solid background.  Good luck, and I'm so sorry that you're dealing with all this.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

Yes, Jack should be able to be trained, the key is to find a good reputable person/place to do it.  You might check to see if there is a facility for training dogs for the blind in your area and go from there.  Make sure you get references too!!

 

good luck Jennifer!

[Adina P]

I definitely think he can be trained.  Here is some of what I found googling:

 

http://landofpuregold.com/blind-schools.htm#South%20Carolina

Carolina Canine Companions 1961 White Oak Rd. Camden, SC 29020 Tele: [phone] Dogs for Disabled Executive Director: D.H. Dannheisser, Training Director: Connie Cleveland P.O. Box 25628 Greenville, SC 29616-0628 Tele: [phone] Southeastern Assistance Dogs (SEAD) 811 Pendelton Street Greenville, SC 29601 Tele: [phone]   Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services (PAALS) PO Box 25679 Columbia, SC 29224 [phone] email: [e-mail]   Obviously you'll want to individually research each place to be sure they are legit and actually give you what you're looking for.  But these places might be good places to start.

[Adina P]

Oh and scent discrimination and alerting to latex might be something a very good trainer could help you train Jack without the use of a whole service dog training facility.  So do a search for trainers in these two websites as well:

 

http://www.dogpro.org/  -- and -- http://apdt.com/ -- you can search in both places by zip code.

 

This place offers assistance dog training too: http://www.highlandcanine.com/

 

But again my disclaimer is I just searched online and I can't vouche for ANY of the above programs.

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

What a great idea!!  Latex would be a really difficult allergy and that would be so much help.  I have a severe nut allergy (anaphylactic shock to peanuts and tree nuts) - I can't imagine taking Hunter into the grocery store or a restaurant for something like that but you could really benefit huge from that!  Let us know what you find out!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I have attached an article/video about a one year old Labradoodle, Roxie who is trained to sniff out and alert for peanuts.I saw a previous video about this dog and in that one it appeared that a third party was needed to take Roxie around the facility to insure safety before the boy with the allergy entered. This might also be the situation if you train or have Jack trained. Some one else may need to take Jack into the store or section of the store you intend to visit to inspect it before you come in. Otherwise, by the time he alerts you, you may already be too close and exposed to the latex.

 

I've noticed that the video sometimes starts late so give it a little time and it usually will play! Good luck!

 

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Boy-Brings-Peanut-Dog-To-School-693...