[RKDinOKC]

Good Morning. It ain't no Monday no more.

Woohoo we are getting some much needed rain!

Thinking very seriously about training Pepper to be Service Dog. Specifically a Diabetic Alert Dog.

One of the reasons is...

I have IBS and have episodes were I can't be very far from a toilet for several hours at a time. When I get up and rush to the bathroom I tell her I am going to the restroom or I gotta go do my stuff. Sometimes she is laying across my lap and I say I gotta go to the bathroom and he gets down and heads to the bathroom. While I'm there Pepper stands in front of me and says Hello and I Love You to get petted and scratched on.

Anyway, if one of these episodes starts at night while I'm asleep, or I fall asleep durning and episode and don't wake up in time to get to the restroom. I grumble and complain while cleaning up. The last couple of weeks Pepper has been waking me up with plenty of time for me to make it to the toilet. Even if I fall asleep watching TV or at my computer. Thought she was waking me let her out, needed water in her dish, or wanted me to make room on the bed for her, but instead she goes to my bathroom.

So...

Googled Service Dogs. First there is no registry or tests that a dog must qualify for to be a service dog. The only legal rules are that you have a problem and the dog or miniature horse performs a function that helps with that problem. Also that proprietors can ask that the service animal be removed from their establishment if it relieves itself, is barking, or is not behaving and bothering other people or animals.

You can buy service dog certificates, but they aren't valid. And you can buy vests, which help to get the dog in the door, but it's behavior is what makes it a real service dog.

There does however seem to be some training for Diabetic Alert Dogs that the American Diabetic Association provides vest patches for services dogs, and the vests also include pockets for testing, insulin and sugar. There still is not a registry, but the patch can only be gotten from the ADA from an approved Diabetic Alert Dog trainer. Trained DA Dogs cost around $30K. The is a program you can train your dog yourself that is $2000 and will make you an ADA trainer and get your dog that patch.

I haven't really taken many vacations because of my IBS problem has gotten so much worst since the foot ordeal. I took one week and a half vacation that turned out to be more embarrassment than it was worth. So thinking if I train Pepper to be a recognized service dog it would be really great to be able to take vacations and not have any embarrassing events.