Edition 31 December 2016 December Meeting December is the time of year that our members come together and we hold our annual Holiday Party. January, 2017 will welcome Lisa Ferrari as she talks with us about providing comfort to our dogs with massage. The Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound is a 501 (c) (3) organization. Our tax ID# is 91-2080563. WA Secretary of State Charities Program Registration Number is 24995 Website http://www.assistancedogclub.org E-Mail Address assist_dog_club@hotmail.com Mailing Address Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound 2522 N. Proctor Street, Box #459 Tacoma, WA 98406 Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound Board of Directors President Jeanne Hampl Vice President/Treasurer Sarah Keck Secretary Jack Pearce-Droge Treasurer Tanya Carter At-Large Members Janelle Ellen, Diane Funai, Pat Kessler Editor s Corner by Jack Pearce-Droge We are inching our way towards another new year. I was asked the other day how long I had been a part of ADC. I didn t have to give that much thought. It was in 2001 after I went out to Purdy Prison to learn how to work with my first service dog, Cheyenne. I met Jeanne Hampl and the tour began. There were so many questions for those of us who were an early part of the club. The questions just kept coming but the key was that we had been given resources so we could find the answers. So we all searched together. For those of you who happen to be in the early stages of this lifestyle, you are in a place that will help you find the answers. We received some great ideas for adventures, programs and activities at our October meeting and a direction has been put before us. I am looking forward to seeing what can be accomplished. This has not been an easy year for my family. Cancer is an evil that is affecting so many people that I know. My husband David fought it for 11 years. He joined with me as we looked for solutions to the issues that were presented to us as a family for these many years. A family with a new dog that would help me increase my independence. While that was the end result it wasn t an easy task. It never is. He shed as many tears as I did when Cheyenne and then Forrest passed away. They left a huge void in our lives. Chester made us smile and laugh again and he loves to work. When David s cancer returned Chester became so watchful of him. Cancer of the brain can cause so many problems that simply don t make sense. But it seemed that Chester knew. He watched David so carefully. I am so very grateful that this guy has been in our lives and particularly at this stage of our lives. David passed away on November 1 and now we are trying to reshape our existence. Hold your dogs close, protect them, work with them until you think you have no questions. If you find that you have a question about anything related to training, we do have resources. If we don t have the answer at our fingertips we can probably find it. Finally, let us all work towards having a positive year unfold in our future. Activities and meetings will be held at TACID unless otherwise noted. TACID s address is: 6315 S 19th St, Tacoma, Washington 98466 Mission Statement The mission of the Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound is to provide a safe, supportive, and educational environment that will enhance the partnership of persons with disabilities and their assistance dogs. Published through the generous support of the Dimmer Family Foundation 1.
President s Corner by Jeanne Hampl, President The Holiday season is fast approaching. Holidays are always a busy time for both Service Dog handlers and their dogs. Dogs can become overwhelmed with the crowds and the noise of the season. The abundance and availability of novel foods can tempt even the best-trained dog. Also the Holidays can be emotionally draining for many people. So remember to schedule some down time every day for the whole team to recharge. Remember that Holiday Party RSVP s are due by November 30. I am looking forward to seeing many club members and friends. There will be Santa for pictures and good food shared with good friends. As I look to Thanksgiving Day and all that I have to be thankful for I include all of the friends I have made and all of the dog fixes that I have received by being a member of ADC. Wishing all of our club members, friends and Newsletter readers a very Happy Thanksgiving! Future Meetings and Events Mark Your Calendar 2017 This is our calendar of meeting dates for the 2017 year. The Board has begun to organize meetings and activities that were discussed at our annual meeting. Please understand that we normally meet on the 4th Saturday of the month. There could be additions or changes depending on the schedules of our speakers or the availability of a venue. January 28, 2017 - Lisa Ferrari - Dog Massage February 25, 2017 March 25, 2017 April 22, 2017 May 27, 2017 - Hopefully the Fire Station June 24, 2017 July 22, 2017 - Annual ADC Picnic August 26, 2017 September 23, 2017 October 28, 2017 November 25, 2017 - Off! Happy Thanksgiving!! December 9, 2017 - Holiday Party Published through the generous support of the Dimmer Family Foundation 2.
Training Tips Keeping Your Dog Safe During the Holidays By Jeanne Hampl With the holidays just around the corner, there are many things to consider in order to keeping your dog healthy, safe, and happy. ~ Alcoholic beverages - Drunken dogs are very sick dogs. An ounce of a beverage that is 20 to 40 proof can cause alcohol poisoning or coma in a small dog. ~ Angel hair - This is made from spun glass. It can irritate the skin, cause cuts, and damage the eyes. If eaten, it can cause intestinal blockage. Tinsel can also be ingested with the same results ~ Artificial Snow, flocking - These are possibly poisonous, can cause digestive upset or be a respiratory irritant if inhaled. Spray only the upper corners of high windows. ~ Candles - Flame or dripping wax can burn dogs or singe their whiskers or hair. Also, they are a fire hazard if the dog knocks them over. Save candles for the dining room table. ~ Christmas trees Place your tree away from a normal traffic pattern. Tie the top of the tree with the fishing line and then secure this to the ceiling. By using this system the tree cannot fall over. Use non breakable ornaments on the lower section of the tree. Don t leave a gift containing food under the tree. ~ Costumes and dressing up - If you like to dress up your dog for the holidays, beware of anything which might cause strangulation or choking. Also be sure to introduce your dog to people in costumes. Let Santa say hello and give your dog some treats. ~ Electric cable - Dogs can be shocked, burned or electrocuted by chewing on cable. It is safer to run cables through PVC piping. ~ Decorations - Glue, rubber bands, staples, string, tacks and tape can cause mild pain, serious complications, or death if swallowed. Store them in a secure place. Discard used items when decorations are removed. ~ Decorative lights - Dogs can become tangled in the strands, leading to burns and cuts. They can create the same hazards as electric cables. ~ Fire/fireplaces, including ashes, popping wood - These can cause bronchial irritation, burns, skin irritation and digestive distress. Keep a fire screen in front of a fireplace while in use. ~ Food ~ Bones can cause choking, internal punctures, possibly death. Chocolate can cause Theo bromine poisoning, which is an over stimulation of the nervous system, and may be fatal. Chocolate also causes vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, hyperactivity and seizures. Fatty, spicy, or sweet foods lead to Keeping Your Dog Safe...(Continued on Page 5) Published through the generous support of the Dimmer Family Foundation 3.
Getting Ready for the Holidays by Veronica Sanchez Northern Virginia Dog Trainer It seems the holiday season starts earlier and earlier each year. While this is often a joyous time of year, it also can be stressful. Anytime people are stressed, their dogs can become stressed too. Add in changes of routine and erratic schedules and you have a recipe for dog behavior problems. Fortunately with a little planning, it really is not that hard to avoid dog behavior problems during the holiday season. Veronica and Sulu First realistically assess your pet s needs. If your pet is wary around unfamiliar people, then your pet may be better off confined to a quiet crate or room away from visitors during your holiday gathering. Err on the side of caution, I have lost track of the number of people who have shared that the very first time their dog bit someone was during a holiday event. Keep in mind that a long, late party or several holiday events close together can test the patience of even the most social dogs. Watch your dog for signs of stress and be ready to give him breaks when needed. Have a contingency plan for how to handle the unexpected. If your cousin plans to bring her pet to your home for a holiday gathering, what will you do if your dog does not welcome her dog? Discuss in advance where you have an extra crate or room for animal confinement in case the dogs need to be separated. I often keep some dog treats on a table and ask visitors please ask my dog to sit for a treat so that my visitors know what my expectations are for my dog s behavior. The treats also help prevent visitors from being tempted to feed my dog s table scraps. Because more and more people are growing up with minimal animal contact, I have learned never to make assumptions. Even people who say that they are dog people may not understand what your dog needs. Tell people how to behave around your dog but do not expect them to train your dog for you. If your dog still needs some training, use leashes, gates, crates and close supervision to make sure the holiday party does not end up being an opportunity for him to practice bad manners. Keep treats in your pocket and be ready to reward desired behavior. While a holiday gathering may be a great opportunity to practice and reinforce training skills, it is not the place to work on a serious behavior problem. The reality is that a dog with a serious behavior problem needs your full attention and you cannot do that when you are complimenting your aunt on her delicious cookies or reminiscing with your cousin about childhood memories. Instead manage your dog to prevent an unsafe situation and make arrangements with a qualified professional to address your dog s behavior problem. Getting Ready for the Holidays...(Continued on Page 5) Published through the generous support of the Dimmer Family Foundation 4.
Getting Ready for the Holidays...(Continued from Page 4) Last but not least, do not let family dynamics get in the way of meeting your dog s needs. My clients have often shared that they have felt pressured to do something with their dog, that they did not actually want to do during a holiday gathering. Being assertive and honest and standing up for your dog s needs may feel difficult but can prevent an even worse situation. 2012 Louie Veronica Sanchez M.Ed. CPDT-KA, CABC is a professional dog trainer in Northern Virginia. She helps people train pets, service and therapy dogs. She also is a person with a disability and her smooth collie, Sulu, assists her as a service dog. Veronica started training dogs professionally in the 1990 s. She has degrees in education, psychology as well as dog trainer certifications. Her experience ranges from training pets, competition, service and therapy dogs to speaking to explosive detection dog trainers. Veronica is guided by her love for helping dogs and people learn together. Training Tips (Continued from page 3) Keeping Your Dog Safe During the Holidays By Jeanne Hampl gastric upset, dehydration and pancreatitis. Burns and mouth or throat ulcerations can result from hot food. Do not share your holiday goodies with your dog. If you can resist give a healthy treat. Do not leave cooking food unattended or set hot dishes near edge of stove or counter. Do not leave sweets or other snacks where your dog can reach them. ~ Gift wrapping - Ribbon, trim polystyrene foam packaging, wrapping foil and paper are dangerous if eaten by your dog. Always wrap packages in an area away from your dog. Collect and discard all the waste. Put away any wrapping paper and supplies you are not using. If you have any gifts for your dog, use plain brown paper, wrap loosely and supervise unwrapping. ~ Guests - Guests are more likely to feed your dog and just a little bite adds up to quite a lot of food. Always advise your guests not to feed your dog. Guests are also more likely to accidentally let your dog out an opened door. ~ Plants such as holly, ivy, mistletoe and poinsettia - These plants range from mildly upsetting to extremely toxic. If eaten they can cause gastrointestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, coma, central nervous system or cardiac problems, or even death. Remember your dog s crate. It is a safe place for a dog to be when you are too busy to supervise your dog s activities. With a little bit of planning you and your dog can have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season. 2016 Published through the generous support of the Dimmer Family Foundation 5.
Cubicle Dogs by Martha Hoffman We thought maybe it was because of the trolls. Trolls traditionally live under bridges, but perhaps there is one called the Bad Behavior Troll, who lives under desks in cubicles, and un-trains our Service Dogs. Now I blame the evil inventor of the Cubicle. Cubicles give dogs a very small space small enough to feel cornered and trapped in. Yet, large enough to be a tiny territory to defend. Within this defensible perimeter, dogs find a hiding place under a desk. Cubicles have people walking by quickly, and perhaps the dog stares or growls. Often, the dog feels it chased them away with its silent or vocal vigilance. Cubicle openings allow people to barge in fast, talking urgently, carrying papers. They ignore the dog, interact with the owner, then rush out again. Are their ankles retreating in fear? Do they need a bit of hurrying, with a nip? Some people come in squealing with excitement, and thrust their faces and hands at the dog under the desk or in its bed. Some dogs love these folks, and jump around happily, but disrupting their trained focus on their partner. Some dogs dread them. They build stress with each intrusion, until that dread malady, Trigger Stacking, sends them anxiously into a pre-emptive strike. Breaks to walk outside are fun, and dog-starved co-workers beckon, while the dog-hating fearful tense up and back away. How the dog interprets this, all depends on how the dogs owner manages interactions. Banish Cubicle Trolls! Let s redesign your cubicle to be dog-friendly, and redesign your co-workers to help train your dog get even better at its job. Is your Hearing Dog quiet and friendly? Get a remote wireless doorbell, and tape the button outside the cubicle. Set the ringer on Low, on your desk. A sign invites visitors to ring first. They can watch delightedly while your dog alerts you and gets a treat. Once your dog is focused on you, invite your visitor inside. Now your dog is awake, in training mode, and prepared to greet guests politely. In addition, the guest is under your control. For either Service Dogs or Hearing Dogs, visitors can call your name, and your dog can nudge you and get extra practice on its Go Get Help or Name Call alert. Cubicle Dogs...(Continued on Page 7) Published through the generous support of the Dimmer Family Foundation 6.
Cubicle Dogs...(Continued from Page 7) Is your dog anxious about people invading the cubicle? Or new on the job? Set up a dark safe cave. A crate under your desk, soft-sided and covered with a blanket. Your dog will understand it is safe from petting hands waking it suddenly. A Hearing Dog can learn that it should ignore sounds when in the cave. When it s out, you can orchestrate all its interactions and experiences. A baby gate keeps pushy people from barging in. Set up your dogs bed or crate as far from the doorway or gate as possible. Barrier frustration can lead to aggression and territoriality, so your dog should not be charging or jumping on the gate. Image is everything: spend some extra dollars on a wood or dark metal baby gate that looks professional, not like a daycare center. Set the dog bed out of view. Impress the boss with your invisible dog. When coworkers are swarming your dog, your boss does not see therapy going on. She sees time wasted and productivity lost from a distraction. There are always ways to lay you off, with no way you can prove it was because they disliked you bringing your Service Dog to work. Let your dog interact only in break areas or outside. Avoiding interactions in the workplace also gives your cranky co-workers less reason to complain about dog hair or allergies. If they do not see the dog, they won t focus their irritation on it. One smart partner had a green leash and a red leash, and trained her co-workers: Red leash meant Dog on duty, no petting or talking. Green leash meant Lunch or walk time, come say hello. Soundwork Alerts Offices are aural confusion as many phones ring, often in the same ringtones. Do you get a few calls the dog can alert to, or so many that the dog would be exhausted? Will your dog habituate and stop alerting at home? Do co-workers ringtones mimic sounds the dog needs to alert to at home? If you need sound alerts at work Set your phone to a distinct ring if possible, and reward alerts to it. Ignore alerts to other peoples phones. Dogs can tell the difference. No need? Let your dog stay in its cave, and save its alerting energy for home. Set your phone to a flasher light or vibration, or to a musical soft tone you can hear, that your dog has not been trained for. Most dogs ignore music, since they get so habituated to it around them. 2016 Martha Hoffman is the Training Director for the Hearing Dog Program. She has trained several hundred Hearing Dogs and tested over 20,000 shelter dogs over the course of 25 years. She is the founder and lead trainer at Martha Hoffman Hearing Dog Academy (MHHD) and the author of the highly respected text on Hearing Dog training, Lend Me an Ear. Published through the generous support of the Dimmer Family Foundation 7.
David A. Droge November 8, 1947 - November 1, 2016 David was born on November 8, 1947 in Escalon, California. On November 1, 2016 we lost a giving and caring man after an 11 year courageous and hard fought battle with cancer. A loving husband, parent, brother and uncle and friend was lost far too soon. David came to the University of Puget Sound in 1979 to work to build the social science curriculum in communication. He was educated at San Joaquin Delta College (A.A.) and San Francisco State College (B.A., M.A.). David completed his Ph.D. in 1983 from Northwestern University with an award-winning dissertation on communication and social support in epilepsy self-help groups. It was through that work that he met his wife of 31 years, Jacki (Jack) Pearce-Droge. Following a thirty-year career at Puget Sound, David opted for career change in December 2009. He then completed the M.Ed. program in Counseling in preparation for work in the Tacoma Public Schools. David s concern for others was a personal core principle. His extensive community involvement included being a member of the Board of Directors of the Epilepsy Association of Washington, the Special Education Advisory Council for Tacoma Public Schools, Puget Sound Kiwanis Club, Student Educational Equity Dollars for Scholars, Special Populations Advisory Council of Tacoma Metropolitan Parks District and the Tacoma Area Commission on Disabilities. With devotion and pride, he coached his son, Burtt in various Special Olympics basketball and softball teams. David also supported his wife, Jack as she welcomed 3 mobility assistance dogs into their home as well as supporting his wife s involvement in the Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound for 15 years. Cancer did not stop David from enjoying life. He played his dulcimer, raced remote controlled cars with Burtt and enjoyed meals and coffee with close friends until his final days. David will be deeply missed by his family members. His brothers, Dennis and his wife, Virginia (Stockton, CA), Nick and his wife, Beth (Fresno, CA) and John and his wife Jennifer (Lodi, CA) and his nephew Josh provided a great source of laughter and comfort during his last several months. David and his family also received a tremendous amount of support from Jack s sisters Marilyn (Sheila) from San Antonio, TX and Raven (John) from Gainesville, FL and their families. Those smiles will never be forgotten. In addition, they took a great deal of time to provide support to David and Jack s son Burtt, the family s Special Olympian of many years. David s Celebration of Life will be held at Kilworth Chapel at the University of Puget Sound on Saturday, January 14th, beginning at 4:00 PM. Published through the generous support of the Dimmer Family Foundation 8.
Support ADC While You Shop If you are interested in supporting the Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound there are a few options that are available to you! ADCPS has entered into a partnership with both Amazon.com and Fred Meyer. If you would like more information about both options offered by these two corporation you will find it on ADC s website, [http://www.assistancedogclub.org/home/support] complete with links that will guide you through the process. Published through the generous support of the Dimmer Family Foundation 9.
Informational Websites On Behalf of Service Dogs Given that the partnership of a person with a disability with an assistance dog is governed by legal requirements it is beneficial that each of us have access to as much material as possible. The discussions at the January meeting included suggestions that can be misleading, inaccurate or legally correct and helpful. It is critically important that each of us become our own best advocate. Here are some websites that are accessible to you that will provide you with valuable information. Many of these websites are also available on ADC s website on the Favorite links page. The link for our website is: http://www.assistancedogclub.org/home Legal Description of Service Dogs: http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm Legal Clarification on Rules for Assistance Dogs: http://www.workinglikedogs.com/2011/03/u-sdepartment-of-justice-rules-on-assistance-dogs-to-become-stricter-march-15-2011/ Medical information: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions Veterinary questions: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/pethealth/index.html http:// http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/ (credit card for veterinary care, people have 1 year to pay, use it if you have no other credit card for emergency surgery.) Service Dog Information: http://www.iaadp.org http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org http://www.servicedogcentral.org/content/ http://www.assistancedogclub.org/ Service Dog Gear: Service Dog Training: https://www.bridgeportequipment.com https://www.sitstay.com/ http://www.boldleaddesigns.com http://www.kurgo.com/ http://www.lakeerieassistancedogs.org/ http://www.cooperativepaws.com Also remember that the Assistance Dog Club has a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/assistance-dog-club-of-puget-sound-155317554486927/ Be sure to friend us for the latest information about all things service dog. Additional Information: http://www.anythingpawsable.com/ http://www.allthingspawssible.com/ Published through the generous support of the Dimmer Family Foundation 10.