| The Service Dog |
| So.... By now you probably are wondering exactly what this dog will do for Taehler. Well, let me tell you. The Dog will be trained in the following: 1. Behavior Disruption This means that when Taehler begins to act up, either Jim or I (or the current adult caregiver) will be able to give the dog a command (that it will have already been trained with), and that command will prompt the dog to go and nudge Taehler, either with its nose or paw, to disrupt the behavior. Therefore allowing her the opportunity to refocus, without the fight that would usually be caused if we were to physically stop her. This will be able to be used with all of her obsessive compulsive behaviors! 2. Search and Rescue Because Taehler has gotten out of and left the house before, the dog will be trained to locae her. This will prevent us from going the wrong direction looking for her. Because as she gets older, and her legs get longer, she will be able to disappear even faster. 3. Tethering This is system in which, when we go to town, I will be able to tie the dog (who will have a harness) and Taehler (who will also wear a harness) together. Currently, when we go to town, Taehler often will shut off all her ability to hear, because of the noise and stimulation. Then she can and will wander away. By tethering the dog and her together, she will not be able to leave me. 4. Sign Commands They will train the dog to respond to basic commands (sit. stay, down, lay, etc) in American Sign language. Since Taehler is not able to communicate verbally, they will teach it to respond to sign language, |
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| Other Benefits the Dog will provide Taehler: We have already found that Taehler is calmer and more relaxed when she has a dog with her. By her being more relaxed, she is able to make more vocal sounds. We hope that this will encourage her speech. It has also been found with many of the autistic children that 4 Paws has placed dogs with, that the children enjoy being verbal with their new friend and companion because they feel safe and comfortable. It is our hope that this will be the case with Taehler. And the biggest benefit...the ability to be a FAMILY! Right now we miss out on a lot with Taehler, and with being a family, because we are unable to go places together. Taking Taehler to town is such a challenge, and requires a great deal of our attention. This causes Sheneyah to also miss out on her parents. When we would take our other dog-Tohbi-Taehler did very well in town, and was able to maintain her calm. So we look forward to having a trained dog to assist her 100% of the time!! |
Dog's Name-when we receive it, we will put it here |
| Pictures to come.... As soon as we receive pictures of the dog that is being trained for Taehler, we will post those pictures here for all to see. We won't know for some time, as they have to make sure the dog will do what it needs to do. But as soon as they know, we will receive a picture, and we will show him/her off to everyone. |
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| For more information about the training the dog will receive, click on the logo above to go to the 4 Paws website. |