vol. 1.issue 2 newsletter the monthly...
TRANSCRIPT
!!Welcome to the 2nd Edition of The Monthly Treat! Dogs for Diabetics (D4D) is pleased to launch this new format of communicating with all the people who have had an opportunity to work with the dogs provided to D4D, both Guide Dog Puppy Raisers as well as D4D Foster Care Providers. !Our primary objective is to provide regular information regarding the status of the dogs during their training and their initial placement with our clients. !As we go forward, we are going to include topics beyond the status of
dogs-in-training. We will use this newsletter to provide information to our fosters regarding upcoming activities and training topics. While our fosters meet weekly, this will provide a regular forum to address their needs and interests. We hope that all our Guide Dog readers will understand that some of these topics may differ from Guide Dog protocols, due to the differences that exist in the basic function and training of the dogs. As examples, D4D encourages the dogs to actively use their noses; D4D also utilizes a number of techniques to encourage the dog’s attention to be focused on their partners; and less on their environment. While these things differ from Guide Dog processes, they represent some techniques that we have tested and proven to help the dogs and our clients succeed in their partnership. !It is our intention to save the newsletter on our website. That way each newsletter will be available to anyone interested in the training status of our dogs. We hope that as the newsletter evolves, it will provide insight into our program and give everyone a better understanding of how these dogs are learning to save lives. !Waggin’ Wednesdays continue to be a great opportunity for Guide Dog Puppy Raisers to join us at D4D. Contact Carrie Skym at [email protected] to set up your visit!
September 2015
Puppy Raiser Newsletter
Look what your pups are doing!
The Monthly TreatThe Monthly Treat Newsletter
A Treat For All To Enjoy! - by Ralph Hendrix, Executive Director
Vol. 1.Issue 2
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Foster Care Program Update… Dogs4Diabetics September 2015 Newsletter
Schedule of Classes: !All classes run from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm at the Dogs4Diabetics training center located at 1400 Willow Pass Court., Concord, CA 94520. !Evaluator Class Schedule: !9/8/15 9/15/15 - NO CLASS 9/17/15 (Thursday with Foster Care 9/22/15 9/29/15 - 5th Tuesday NO CLASS 10/6/15 10/13/15 !Foster Care Class Schedule: !9/10/15 9/17/15 (Evaluator class to join) 9/24/15 10/01/15- No CLASS (1st Thursday) 10/15/15 We are currently in great need of Foster Care Providers who can bring dogs into the training center on a daily basis. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please invite them to a meeting or have them email [email protected]. Our website also has information for potential new fosters along with a foster care application www.dogs4diabetics.com/programs/foster-care-program/. Thank you for spreading the word and supporting our foster care program.
Above: Winifred (Winnie) and Stephanie Perkins !!The first ever ‘Dogs Days’ of Summer BBQ Party held on Friday, August 28th at Dogs for Diabetics was a tail-waggin’ good time. The evening was filled with lots of laughs, emotional stories from Fosters, a Foster Care presentation, and plenty of delicious food. We would like to thank our Fosters for all they contribute to our organization and helping people with diabetes receive a life saving companion.
!Above: (left to right) Lauren Sinz, Carrie Skym and Ralph Hendrix
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*New* Tuesday Night Evaluator Classes !We are so excited to be getting more dogs from Guide Dogs for The Blind. The increase in dogs has created the need for a group foster care providers to receive additional training and serve as Evaluators. When we get a dog from Guide Dogs, the dog goes to an Evaluator for 2-4 weeks and does not come in for training on a daily basis. This allows us to utilize our trained fosters who cannot bring in the dogs everyday in a new and exciting capacity. It also allows diabetics to be utilized because we are not scent training the dogs during the evaluation process. !During the evaluation process, the dogs are evaluated on very specific skill sets. It is during this evaluation that we determine if a dog is likely to be successful in our program. The dogs are handled in public settings and their
responses to their environment are noted. Responses to engagement, offering behaviors, and food find-it are also evaluated and noted. The dogs career-change reason is evaluated and a training plan is created. If the dog is deemed appropriate for our program, the dog will be transferred to a foster home for continued training. !In our Evaluator class, we are exploring new concepts and ways of teaching that will also be taught in our foster care program. Very exciting. We thank all who are participating in this new program! ! ! The contribution our foster care providers make is truly a selfless gift of love. Thank you to all foster care providers for your time, care, love and dedication to our dogs and to the mission of Dogs4Diabetics.
Dogs4Diabetics September 2015 Newsletter
Thursday Night Foster Care Classes Foster care class now meets in two groups on Thursday nights. We have made this change to better meet the needs of new Fosters joining our program. All people who are new to our Foster Care program meet with Mona and go through a 9-week training class. This class is designed to teach new Fosters all of our training techniques and philosophies including foster care basic skills, positive reinforcement, food rewards, engagement, obedience, daily expectations, self-control, relieving, and more!
Our advanced Foster Care class has been working on mastering their multi-tasking skills as well as their dogs self-control and engagement skills. Recently, we had Fosters do hands-free engagement while bouncing a ball AND food-rewarding (on the left side) if the dog stayed in proper position and did not get distracted by the ball. Check out the pictures….our Foster providers not only ROCK but they have some AMAZING dog handling skills!!!
Above: Winifred (Winnie). Photo by Yellow Neener Photography
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Dogs4Diabetics September 2015 Newsletter
Foster Care Featured in Upcoming Video! Dogs4Diabetics recently filmed the footage for a new video that documents a dog entering our training program until graduating with a client. Of course a HUGE part of that time involves our foster care program! We had a filming crew following us during one of outings as well at one of our training classes. Our Foster Care program leader, Stephanie Perkins (pictured bottom right) was also interviewed and asked to talk about the details of our foster care training program. We all had so much fun being a part of this processes! Thank you to all fosters who participated. Look forward to seeing the completed video early next year.
Foster Care Monthly Reminder: !October 1, 2015- Flea Control and HeartGuard Wash Service Dog Vest Report are Due! Please email foster care reports to: [email protected]. Email all evaluator reports to: [email protected] and [email protected].
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Dogs4Diabetics September 2015 Newsletter
Chief Canine Ambassador- Hollis
Breaking News! !Hollis has been elected to the Dogs4Diabetics Canine Board of Ambassadors and named Chief Canine Ambassador. The past few weeks, Hollis has made three trips to Washington, DC, along with trips Richmond Virginia, Portland, Oregon, Salt Lake City, Utah, Dallas, Texas. and Denver, Colorado. Hollis has some big paws to fill following Founder Canine, Armstrong. Hollis had his official portraits by Yellow Neener Photography (www.YellowNeener.com). Hollis was raised by Pam Winchell of Stockton, California. Watch for more news about Hollis' adventures in upcoming newsletters.
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Buy your tickets DOGtöberfest 2015:
d4ddogtoberfest.dojiggy.com
SUPPORTING D4D GREAT SERVICE DOGS
3RD ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF BEER AND DOGS
Monday, October 5th
5:30pm ~ 9:00pm
Lagunitas Brewery Company
in Petaluma
Live Music from
Scary Little Friends and
the Internationals Bands
Delicious German Theme Food
Tickets $35Includes admission,
food and music
Team Testimonial
Join the Lagunitas Brewing Company and
Dogs4Diabetics in Petaluma for
DOGtöberfest!
The event will be a festive mix of beer,
service dogs, music, food and fun.
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Dogs4Diabetics September 2015
New Client/Dog Team- !Pete & Sonata
Pete was placed with his Medical-Alert Assistance Dog Sonata on August 25th at Dogs4Diabetics. It was such an awesome day at D4D. A very special Thank You to our beloved GDB puppy raisers, D4D foster families, and to everyone who helps makes these life-saving partnerships possible.
Congratulations to our new client/dog team, Pete and Sonata!
Newsletter
New Kids on the BlockNew Kids on the Block
Winifred (Winnie) Joust Pax
A warm welcome to Joust, Pax, and Winifred (Winnie). They have all passed their two week evaluation and are starting to learn how to bringsel on cue. All three are doing a PAWSOME job so far in our program. Keep up the good work Joust, Pax, and Winifred!
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Dogs4Diabetics September 2015
Dogs-in-Training Dogs-in-Training Flynn Mars
Newsletter
Left: Flynn working on a food puzzle Right: Flynn bringsel training - he’s a natural.
Flynn is doing a fantastic job in phase B2. He has been working
hard distinguishing between scents- Go Flynn!
Ravenna Topanga
Left: Mars is in the “bone zone.” Right: Mars alerting successfully on a low hypoglycemic scent.
Mars has advanced to phase C5 and is currently waiting for
placement with a diabetic client.
Left: Topanga outside bringsel training. Right: Topanga is so happy about Dogtoberfest.
Topanga is showing her strong skills in phase C4. She has passed her Bringsel test this week- You
Rock Topanga!
Left: Ravenna bringsel training Right: An afternoon training session in front of D4D.
Ravenna is in phase B-1,3 and kickin’ tail discriminating the
hypoglycemic scent. Keep up the good work Ravenna!
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Dogs and clients working on meeting graduating requirements.
Newsletter Dogs4Diabetics September 2015
Norton and his human
basking in the sun on a beautiful
warm summer
day!
Left: Rialta and her human were out roller skating and Rialta alerted her human of a low blood sugar. Go Rialta!
Right: Rialta and her human first day of school.
Izumi and her human enjoying each other’s company while at
the beach this summer.
Left: Chassis and his human in Disneyland with Goofy.
Bottom: Chassis and his human ready for an afternoon nap.
Left: A very special Happy Birthday to Persimmon! She enjoyed plenty of delicious dog treats on her birthday.
Right: Persimmon and her human take a selfie.
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Dogs and clients working on meeting graduating requirements.
Newsletter Dogs4Diabetics September 2015
Kellen and his human having special bonding time while
at the beach.
Left: Fitz curled up on the cat bed.
Right: Fitz at the Oakland A’s “Bark in the Park”
baseball game on August
6th.
Left: Schroeder and his human
taking a rest by the lake.
Right: Schroedor posing for a picture while sitting on the
rocks.
Mystery and her human having fun together. Picture perfect Kodak
moment.
Left: Hatcher and his human posing in front of an artist sculpture.
Right: Hatcher and his human with an Albany
fire fighter.
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