Dogs are amazing

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Erica
Posts: 2697
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:35 pm
Location: North Carolina

Dogs are amazing

Post by Erica »

Delta just keeps blowing me away with what he does. First he was detecting whatever changes occur in my body that make it unwise for me to shave or put deodorant on my armpits at certain times; he has a different alert for days when just those two actions will trigger the terrible rash, and for days when even gently scratching them will trigger it. I've tried tracking it against all sorts of things but Delta is the only reliable predictor. The consequences for ignoring Delta are not being able to move my upper arms without extreme pain, and if I do forget or ignore his alert, the next few days he alerts me multiple times a day rather than the once in the morning that he usually goes with, like "Hey, idiot, remember that you need to be careful."

I trained him to get me up out of bed, because I get very bad vertigo first thing after waking up, so the usual "alarm across the room from your bed" trick doesn't work. Originally I meant to train him to get me up at 8:30 after I woke at 8 (as 30 minutes is usually enough time for the vertigo to pass), but he took it to be 30 minutes after I wake up, which was nice for mornings after working late.

Then he got sick for a little under a week and had to go outside every two or three hours, even overnight. Sadly I couldn't train him to let himself out, so I had to fight this awful vertigo, leaning my full weight into the walls, stumbling through the house with no sense of which was was up, nearly falling over multiple times on each trip, and the accompanying nausea was really awful.

But after that week, he has started asking me to get up in the morning at seemingly random times - but every time I do get up, I feel fine. It may be 9 minutes after I wake up, or 23, but he is noticing whatever it is that gives me vertigo and telling me when it's gone. He is such a clever dog, and so tuned in to me. <3
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
JudyN
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Re: Dogs are amazing

Post by JudyN »

Wow, that's amazing, Erica :D
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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Nettle
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Re: Dogs are amazing

Post by Nettle »

What a lovely bond you have, that he chooses to help you in these ways. And it just blows me away how perceptive dogs can be. Erica, this is credit to YOU as well, because you have worked so consistently with him that - wow! - he is reaching for the stars with you.

Have you told his breeder? She'd be thrilled too.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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Sanna
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Re: Dogs are amazing

Post by Sanna »

Delta is an awesome dog! And you are an awesome trainer :D
Erica
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Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:35 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: Dogs are amazing

Post by Erica »

Nettle: re: telling his breeder, I've been slacking on taking pictures lately, so I want to get some nice ones to put in this year's update :)

and thanks all! Delta is constantly blowing any expectations I had out of the water. <3 He's such a star.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
MPbandmom
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Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 7:18 pm

Re: Dogs are amazing

Post by MPbandmom »

Wow, that is great news Erica. It must be such a relief to have Delta be able to help you with these issues.

Dogs are amazing. A friend of mine has been doing scent work with her dog. Not search and rescue just searching for certain trained scents hidden inside, outside, and in boxes.

The dog has on three separate occasions lead her to specific people, who were in locations unfamiliar to the dog, while the dog and owner were out for a walk and the owner let the dog take the lead for where they would go. The dog was not told to search for these people. The dog just apparently picked up on their scent and followed it to where they were.

The first one was a friend at home and the dog had never visited the home before. The second place was a mechanic shop. I was unclear as to whether the mechanic was a family friend or family mechanic. However the dog had not been to the mechanic shop before. The third incident the dog led owner to a store, where owner's father happened to be shopping.

I think that is pretty cool both on the level of the dog tracking the people and on the level of the owner just going with the flow and seeing where the dog will take her.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
bryanwalker
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Location: Sugar Land, TX
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Re: Dogs are amazing

Post by bryanwalker »

This is awesome your dog is amazing....
KathleneDewberry
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Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2017 4:02 am
Location: Louisville, KY, USA

Re: Dogs are amazing

Post by KathleneDewberry »

Dogs are really amazing! I just love them.
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