 |
 |
>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