From our trainer in Austin, who is working with Meghan, who suffers from PTSD, severe anxiety/depression, and fibromyalgia. Meghan had eloquently described her condition, and I thought I would share it (with her permission) because I think a lot of us can relate to it. Meghan wrote:
“Most nights when I sleep, I have severe nightmares and wake up every few hours. The anxiety from the PTSD, nightmares, flashbacks causes severe panic attacks. The anxiety leads to depression, which makes leaving the house difficult. At times, the fibromyalgia leaves me exhausted, affecting my ability to stand and my general ability to function or concentrate. I’ll collapse or have to sit down wherever I’m at. My speech can even become slurred. I also am in constant pain. I am disabled and have a part time job but only work 16 hours (4 hours days) due to a doctor recommendation. This at times leaves me with little or no energy. My boyfriend has had to assist me in writing this because of my Fibromyalgia impeding my concentration.
My psychiatrist recommended that a Service Dog might help me with panic attacks, PTSD, and even the depression. Recently, my physician suggested a Service Dog for both my PTSD (panic attacks) and fibromyalgia.
A Service Dog would be a constant companion I could rely on – helping me realize when the PTSD is causing me to hallucinate and have flashbacks. My companion would help me focus my thoughts in these moments. He would also help me to keep from becoming overwhelmed by my surroundings. A companion will be able to give me more confidence when I step out because he would be able to notify me if I am having a panic attack or starting to disassociate with my surroundings, forcing me to focus on him instead of my fear. He would also allow me to exercise and function better outside of the house. Part of my fear is if I become tired or have a fibro spell, I will have no help. Most days I will not leave the house without my boyfriend. A Service Dog could also help for when the fibromyalgia leaves me with no energy and I start to collapse, by giving me someone to lean on physically and emotionally. I have also heard that they can help comfort you when the PTSD causes nightmares and can help with the nightmares. This would be wonderful as I sleep very little, especially at one time. I wake up some nights and am even afraid to go to the bathroom or I lay awake afraid to go to sleep. Having someone there to remind me what is and isn’t real, that will stand by my side will be an immense relief. He would help me function better when I go out and perform daily activities.”
I was just so impressed with this detailed, well-thought out description of what someone with these particular issues deals with on a day-to-day basis, that I knew others could relate. The fact that both Meghan’s psychiatrist AND physician prescribed a Service Dog gives me hope that the medical community is starting to realize the value of these dogs in our lives.
Our trainer writes:
“I just finished a session with Meghan and Precious. We did our first public training outing at Petsmart!
I let Precious go in the store and explore first before we began our training, just to desensitize him and make sure we got his full engagement after he had smelled the store. We worked on loose-leash walking before we started on heeling. I had Meghan focus on rewarding Precious for not pulling and for checking back in with Meghan to make sure she was ok. We also worked on down/stays and sit/stays. Precious is strong in sit/stays. His down/stays need more work, but overall, he did great! His heeling was wonderful after after we got into the rhythm! He needs to work a bit on his self-control when out in public. Precious loves other dogs and people, so this is something we will be constantly working on so that his focus remains on Meghan and away from his surroundings.”
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR STORY, MEGHAN – YOU ARE DOING A WONDERFUL JOB WITH PRECIOUS AND OUR TRAINER!
“Sonya, Princess and I really worked on engaging Princess to “Wa
They will continue the “sit” ritual on each of her walks and playing the “leave it” game (with increasing temptation), “watch me”, and “touch” to keep Princess engaged and excited about her sessions and time with Sonya.”
Well, I have to admit I have absolutely fallen in love with Mastiffs of all types as Service Dogs. I have worked with so many recently, I am completely amazed at their perfect combination of sweetness and intelligence. I have had the wond
That being said, I want to talk about my first English Mastiff SDIT, Beatrice! Beatrice’s handler, Elizabeth, went into the training obviously very unsure if Beatrice would do well. Beatrice far surpassed all my and Elizabeth’s expectations. We had our first session at Elizabeth’s home, where we discussed Elizabeth’s need for a Service Dog and her expectations. On our first public outing, we went to Petsmart. Beatrice left me in awe! She can “sit’ and “down” no matter how many people or dogs are around her with the proper tone of voice and hand signals. She “loads” and “unloads” perfectly with a wait signal. Beatrice will sit and wait at doors until told “go through”. She knows “watch me”, and “heels” perfectly on just a regular flat collar! Beatrice performed several meet and greets with children, adult males and females, sitting first, then being petted or having the stranger offer a treat. She LOVES all other dogs – small, tiny and large dogs, and is submissive to dogs she meets who seem afraid of her large size. She will even go into a “down” if she feels the child or dog she meets is a bit nervous! We practiced 20 ft off-leash sit/stays and down/stays and she was marvelous. She also stays in a heel position when the leash is dropped for a few steps. I would say Beatrice’s only fault is her occasional massive drool when thirsty or excited!!! It was completely a dream to train Beatrice – who even ignored created distractions. Poor Beatrice recently suffered from a prolapsed uterus, and had to have major surgery. But she has healed just fine!
Unfortunately, I didn’t get pictures at Petsmart because I was so amazed, but here are some from our first meeting at Elizabeth’s house.
I just had my third session with Lee and Hagger tonight. They are doing very well Lee wanted to work on Hagger’s possessiveness/resource guarding with dinner and his bone towards their friend Johnny. Hagger gives a little growl anytime Johnny walks by him while he is eating dinner or chewing on his bone. So I worked with Johnny on being in Hagger’s space while eating dinner and had him reinforce Hagger for not growling, positive reinforcement for no reaction. Same thing with his bone as well. I also questioned if it was because Johnny would stand over him and if that was a trigger for his growling, so I told Johnny and Lee to watch if he growls when Johnny sits down at Hagger’s level or only when he stands…..
We also worked on his Hagger’s heeling in the parking lot; by that time, Hagger the Humungous was tired from training. I also give Lee some tips on what to do when Hagger forges ahead. I taught Lee the close position to bring Hagger back to place. His eye contact was good. After talking with Lee and keeping up with his Facebook posts on training, I know they are ready for the PAT in the next couple of sessions. I am so proud of Lee for being committed to the training and Hagger is doing a fine job!”
SO PROUD OF YOU, LEE AND HAGGER! YOUR CONSISTENT WORK, STRONG BOND, AND BELIEF IN THE PROCESS IS PAYING OFF! WONDERFUL TRAINING BY OUR TRAINER IN AUSTIN!!!!