Re: Parkinson trained dog

[Bent Willow <lambs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>The assistance dogs for PD are relatively new.  The dog's function is (1)to
>help the Parkinson patient "unfreeze" by touching or stepping lightly on


Well, shucks, this is the perfect opening I needed to brag about Vaclav
Havel - our 2 year old Bouvier de Flandre.  Vaclav was a rather rambunctious
fellow when he was a puppy, so when I asked our 'doggy-school' instructor
(who also works with 'Paw-for-a-Cause) whether he would make a good
assistance dog for my husband Jamie, her immediate reply was 'probably not.'
But she really didn't know Vaclav's capabilites.  One day when Jamie fell he
called for me (I was out side) saying, "Help, help."  Vaclav got so upset
that he kept running back to Jamie and then to the door to find me.  When I
came back into the house Jamie had already managed to right himself, but
when he told the story of Vaclav's desire to help I decided that we just
might have an assistance dog in formation.  Using the 'help-help' command,
we have now trained Vaclav to come to Jamie's aid - particularly when he's
frozen in his chair and wants to get up.   Jamie calls the dog, grabs the
dogs harness, and then tells Vaccy, 'Let's go.'  Vaclav then moves forward
thus moving my husband into a standing position.  Vaccy then gets a
doggy-treat, for which he is enthusiastically grateful.

For those of you who have never seen a Bouvier, they are massive dogs.
Since Jamie is 6'2" and weighs in excess of 230 lbs,  Vaccy's size is a
definite advantage (25" at the shoulder and 90+ pounds).  We've always had
Bouviers and are familiar with their strong-willed nature.  They do require
a good deal of socialization and training, but are magnificent companions.

Right now, Vaclav's single assistive command is all that Jamie really
requires.  We will explore other areas where our dog can assist as need
arises.  The full range of a  true 'assistance dog's capabilities are not
our particular need at this moment - but we thought we'd like to share our
dog's special function in our household.
----
God bless
Mary Ann Ryan