Autism Service Dogs

The following will follow the trials and tribulations of raising an autism service dog puppy for a young child. The raising of a dog destined for such important work requires patience and is sometimes chaotic. But with enough effort, a solid knowledge base, a good support system and a sense of humor, a service dog for a special needs child can bring untold benefits that can last a lifetime. And so we begin…

[Check back often to get the latest on her development.]

Bubbles is the 7th service dog pup I’ve raised in the past 10 years. She is the 2nd puppy I took on for training in the month of January. In Cleveland, Ohio. What am I thinking????

ARRIVAL & FIRST MONTH

January 2011 (click for photos)

Bubbles arrived at the tender age of 10 weeks on January 18th, 2011. She was escorted on a flight from Los Angeles to Cleveland by my very kind and dog loving sister Amy who picked her up from the breeder. It was a challenge to wrest the pup from Amy’s loving arms – in only 2 days she had fallen hard for the little fluff ball.

What a face!

The pup’s confidence, sweetness, intelligence and looks are all stellar. She was carefully selected after exhaustive searches all over the country for the right “make and model” of puppy to place in a home with a special needs child — in this case autism.

I was delighted to find a breeder who thoughtfully combines nature and nurture — producing healthy and stable puppies from great lineages with all the right sorts of early stimulation, care and socialization to get a good start in life. Of significant importance was finding in Barbara Hoke, the breeder, a kindred spirit who truly understands how to match a potential puppy buyer’s needs with the right pup. She patiently answered all my questions, produced at my request some video of the pup which confirmed her claims and sealed the deal, and followed through with obvious concern on how Bubbles was adapting to the cold and snow of NE Ohio from the warmer, much warmer, grovelands of Southern California.

January was spent adapting Bubbles to her new home and fellow house mates — the dogs, the cats, the kids, me.

This young pup is a sponge for learning and is getting The Six Pillars approach. Creating a clear and consistent routine (Pillar 4) and using proper management (Pillar 5) as well as teaching basic manners (by both voice command and hand signals) — she now knows “touch”, “sit”, “down”, “go” as in “go to your crate”/”go potty”/”go” play, stay, and is working on both on and off leash manners while out in public (SEE VIDEO BELOW).

She loves riding in the car and enjoys new challenges. She figures things out by watching — she figured out the dog door without any assistance. She responds well to clicker training and is learning new fine and gross motor skills. She started a group class with 9 other pups and dogs and is most definitely this teacher’s pet!In between all the learning and adventure there is plenty of time for rest and playing. She’ll have to grow into her role over time and with care, patience, opportunity, balance and thought. Stay tuned for more!