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| Name: |
Ember
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Age: |
Nine years old
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| Gender: |
Female |
Breed: |
Australian Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix
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| Home: |
New Orleans, Louisiana, and New Jersey, USA |
Ember, fondly known as Dogmeat (and a variety of other silly nicknames),
is my CGC certified mobility assist service dog, who is now retired. She
is an Australian Shepherd / Golden Retriever mix. Before she became my
assistance dog, she was my pet dog and a valued member of our family. I
adopted her as a rescue when she was 1yr old, when her previous owners
could not keep her.
She is a highly intelligent and focused dog, who works very hard to
please. All of these things made her a very quick learner when we were
training for obedience and general interactive behaviors. She was always
top of her class. Her eagerness and willingness to work and learn was
extremely beneficial when we began training for service work. I trained
her myself, and sought local training professionals
for help along the way.
We diligently trained for service work and public access for about a
year and a half, while also undergoing an extensive application process
to join an owner-trained program with Can Do Canines, a local assistance
dog organization. Our hard work and patience finally paid off and we
were accepted into their program, where they helped us polish off
service oriented skills. We were tested for skills work and public
access, and are now a fully certified owner-trained mobility assist
team.
Ember had to retire sooner than we originally expected, due to arthritis
from a foot injury effecting her ability to work. She gets to be a
normal pet dog again, though she is still inclined to help however she
can.
"Why do you have an assistance dog?" is a question I get a lot, because
physically on the outside I look normal. I have some health issues that
have made things difficult for me. I have Ehlers-Danlos and
Dysautonomia, my own resulting in neurally mediated hypotension and
related problems that often cause balance issues. When I have symptoms,
trying to constantly compensate and correct my posture to keep from
stumbling or falling can be very physically draining on top of the
constant widespread pain and fatigue I experience due to Fibromyalgia.
I was once nervous to go anywhere without my significant other or a
friend in case I had an episode that led to full syncope ( passing out )
and falling.
Amazingly, before she was trained for any of this, Ember actually
alerted me to oncoming episodes and helped prevent me from falling on
several occasions. This was one of the many things that prompted us to
look in to information about service dog training in the first place,
thus learning about owner-trained service dog teams. We were fortunate
enough that Can Do Canines was local, and offered an owner-trained
program.
Since Ember was already obedience trained and bonded with me, we just
needed to take her training to the next level. Thus working to become an
owner-trained team was perfect for our situation. We had to meet the
same requirements of any program dog, including passing behavior
evaluations and medical evaluations including hip and shoulder x-rays.
All expenses to get this far have been out of my own pocket. I have been
fortunate that when finances were tight, people were kind enough to
donate to help cover the differences.
Ember has allowed me to be more independent again. With her help, I
don't expend as much energy keeping balance. I can do more and stay out
longer than I used to before I had her help.
Ember has also been trained to retrieve items on command, to pick up
items I drop, operate light switches, use push panels for access doors,
and to get an emergency phone or go get help from someone if I need it.
Training is not over simply because we got our certifications. Training
and learning keeps going, long beyond that. There is always room for
improvement, and always room to learn new and exciting things!
It takes a metric ton of patience, dedication, and repetition to just
get to the beginning foundation of what is really required to train your
own assistance dog. If you have come across this writing by searching
for information on owner-training, it is not an easy process and not one
to be taken lightly. I have spent countless hours reading, watching
videos, and having hands on experience to prepare for all this, and we
have hardly scratched the surface. That being said, don't let it
discourage you if you are really serious about it and can truly benefit
from such an amazing partnership.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I'm happy to help if
I can. You can visit our website to find out more about Ember and
assistance dogs: leopardwolf.com
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