This blog will be for updates on the process of Mackenzie's Diabetic Alert Dog (D.A.D.). Mackenzie's D.A.D. will be a Comfort Retriever out of Luna and Einstein. The puppies were due December 31, but came 4 days early on the 28th! Luna is a fantastic mother, and is great about letting us handle her pups which makes the process much easier.
On the 29th I began imprinting the pups. I did this by mixing purified water with a swatch with Mackenzie's low blood sugar scent of 56. I put the mixture in a spray bottle and sprayed Luna's bag with it. The purpose of this is to try to have the pups associate the scent with food from a very early age. Ideally I would like to do this 3-4 times per day, but it isn't possible because of the 30 minute drive to the breeder's, so I am just doing it once per day, I'm not sure if once a day will make a difference, but I don't think it will harm anything. When the pups are 1 week old they will be coming to my house, so I will have more access to the pups.
Yesterday I emailed someone about her manual on training diabetic alert dogs. She (Dee - deethedogtrainer.com/services/diabeticalertdogs .html) called me when she received my email and offered to be my mentor and I can ask her questions throughout the process! I am so excited and relieved. With such a huge task, it gives me a little more peace of mind knowing that I have someone that will help me through the process.
Yesterday, I read about "Super Puppies". It is a series of exercises that the military came up with for their dogs. The excercises are done with the pups when they are between the ages of 3 days old to 16 days old. The purpose is to create dogs that are less stressed and more adaptable throughout their life. There are three main exercises that are done with the pups. The first is rubbing their paws with Qtips to stimulate the nerves in their paws. The second is placing them on a cold washcloth for 3-5 seconds. This is to stress them for a short period of time without overwhelming them. The third is holding them upside down, on their back, and other positions to get them accustomed to weird positions. When the pups are 1 week old they will be coming to my house, so I plan on implementing these exercises with the pups and doing my best to create a suitable service dog.
Below are pictures that I took today (Day 4) of some the pups - there are 9 in the whole litter.
Libby
On the 29th I began imprinting the pups. I did this by mixing purified water with a swatch with Mackenzie's low blood sugar scent of 56. I put the mixture in a spray bottle and sprayed Luna's bag with it. The purpose of this is to try to have the pups associate the scent with food from a very early age. Ideally I would like to do this 3-4 times per day, but it isn't possible because of the 30 minute drive to the breeder's, so I am just doing it once per day, I'm not sure if once a day will make a difference, but I don't think it will harm anything. When the pups are 1 week old they will be coming to my house, so I will have more access to the pups.
Yesterday I emailed someone about her manual on training diabetic alert dogs. She (Dee - deethedogtrainer.com/services/diabeticalertdogs .html) called me when she received my email and offered to be my mentor and I can ask her questions throughout the process! I am so excited and relieved. With such a huge task, it gives me a little more peace of mind knowing that I have someone that will help me through the process.
Yesterday, I read about "Super Puppies". It is a series of exercises that the military came up with for their dogs. The excercises are done with the pups when they are between the ages of 3 days old to 16 days old. The purpose is to create dogs that are less stressed and more adaptable throughout their life. There are three main exercises that are done with the pups. The first is rubbing their paws with Qtips to stimulate the nerves in their paws. The second is placing them on a cold washcloth for 3-5 seconds. This is to stress them for a short period of time without overwhelming them. The third is holding them upside down, on their back, and other positions to get them accustomed to weird positions. When the pups are 1 week old they will be coming to my house, so I plan on implementing these exercises with the pups and doing my best to create a suitable service dog.
Below are pictures that I took today (Day 4) of some the pups - there are 9 in the whole litter.
Libby
