This is the beginning of Dray’s scent training for TMAU-specific work, using a cotton ball with a TMA-rich urine sample on it. Cotton holds and absorbs scent better than anything else. Up to now, Dray has been trained for other scents to develop the desired alert behavior; and now, it is geared to TMA specific training, and eventually, other body odor-related scents. The TMA sample was donated by a university lab that handles TMA-rich urine samples, and they asked MeBO to not disclose their identity as they wish to remain anonymous.
TMAU SALIVA and/or SWEAT SAMPLES NEEDED From symptomatic volunteers who have TESTED POSITIVE FOR TMAU
In order for Dray to have a well-rounded concept of TMA scent, Liz is asking for volunteers who have tested positive for TMAU and are certain that their saliva and/or sweat (collected in separate containers) would have TMA on it, by drenching a cotton swab with saliva or sweat and placing it in a zip lock bag and inserting it in a plastic container like the one Liz is working with in this video, covering it tightly with its proper seal. You can purchase these cheaply at your local grocery store. It would be greatly appreciated if you would then mail it to the following address:
Pawsibilities Unleashed Pet Therapy of Kentucky, Inc. P.O. Box 5316 Frankfort, KY 40602
We thank Liz and Charlotte for having spent countless hours, days, weeks and months in the development of this TMAU Service Dog Program. To think, WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN; THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!
Hey there. Nice of y'all to come.I’m Dray and I'm from Kentucky; I'm learnin' to be a TMAU Service Dog.
I’m with a new family now who loves to play the most funnest games ever, especially Charley. She wants me to smell the daggonest stinkiest things; and then she likes to play hide and seek with 'em too! I must tell ya, my favorite is when I track down those kids past the barn. I just love lickin' their sweat off when I find em, and they worked up a good one runnin' around with me in the blazin' sun. I reckon I’ve entered into Dog’s Utopia or somethin'!
Whilst most humans love to wash off odors, not mine. Charley, she just socks 'em to me, and then tells me, “Go find it”. Off I go to find it with my out-of-control tail followin' me. And when I get a good whiff and let her know I found it, lo and behold, she tells me how great I am! Go figure! I just reckon I’ve died and gone to heaven...Yes siree! That's what I've done.
Dray is training to find similar scents in response to the command 'find another'
Since TMA is the only current body odor scent used to diagnose a body odor condition by scientists and medical professionals at this time, Dray is being trained to identify TMA, and to discretely alert to it even without being asked. But we all know that not all sufferers have a fish odor all of the time – not even those diagnosed with TMAU. So since we don’t know at this time how to reproduce all the odors we have in our community, we can ask Dray to help us begin a 'classification process' by grouping us into small groups based on the common scents of individuals by using the 'find another' command as demonstrated in this video.
Once Dray’s training is more advanced, we can begin using his conditioning to perform our own self-study. We can organize a meetup of volunteers who are willing to eat their respective odor-producing trigger foods prior to attending. Then, we can ask Dray to smell any one of us randomly, and then give him the command, “find another” to create a subgroup of those he identifies. Then, he would go on to another member of the group and perform the same command. This will help us see how many different scent groups he can detect out of our large group. We may not know which specific compounds he is detecting, but we will see whether he determines that we do indeed have different types of odor distinctive enough for him to distinguish from amongst them.
We thank Liz and Charlotte for having spent countless hours, days, weeks and months in the development of this TMAU Service Dog Program. AND WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN, THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!
Once our respective odors are grouped together by Dray and we are in the small groups 'Dray assigns', each group can take a group questionnaire/survey to compare symptoms and test results of each member (positive or negative for TMAU, Gut Dysbiosis Study results, other tests, digestive symptoms and diagnosed conditions, diagnosed allergies and sensitivities symptoms, autoimmune diseases, etc.) in order to find commonalities amongst each small group member to see if they differ from the other groups.
MeBO has approached various scientists who have wanted to help with research if we could only provide funding. One of the doctors was initially willing to write a grant proposal for us, but as we explored research options, it was determined that aside from TMAU, it became evident that basic data categorization of specific volatile odorous compounds have for specific body odor types has never been compiled in a scientific manner, and that categorization of the various body odor types is also nonexistent. In the absence of this data, there is no clear starting point or hypothesis with which to begin serious research.
This very valid reality was a clear indication that research would never take place and thus, we would never get answers to the causes of body odor conditions not only in non-TMAU sufferers, but also conditions TMAU sufferers may have in addition to their genetic disorder. This is where Dray and other TMAU Service Dogs can come in handy to help us begin with the very basic odor-type classifications, so that we can then study to see if any patterns emerge from the subjects in each odor-type classification. Hopefully, this data would then allow scientists to determine which hypothesis should be tested and what course of action to take.
This is only one idea for now to help us initiate an odor classification attempt that can hopefully be used for future studies and possibly research projects. I’m certain that we as a community can come up with many more uses of Dray's very sensitive olfactory system.
Charlotte, Dray's handler, has come up with a very good idea on how she would like to measure Drays ability to detect her own odor before humans begin detecting it. We shall see how that turns out after she and Dray give it a shot.
We thank Liz and Charlotte for having spent countless hours, days, weeks and months in the development of this TMAU Service Dog Program. To think, WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN; THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!
Charlotte has not only adopted Dray, but has also spent a great deal of her time training him under Liz's direction, to be MeBO’s first TMAU Service Dog in an effort to help our community understand TMAU and other types of body odor conditions. Charlotte has frequently traveled a significant distance to Franfort, KY from her hometown for training lessons every week or every other week since our Nashville meetup in March 2010, incurring significant gas and hotel expenses, in addition to having committed to provide for Dray’s food and veterinary care for the rest of his life.
If anyone would like to donate to this cause to help Liz and Charlotte with the expenses they incur for our TMAU Service Dog Program, you may use the Donate button to do so. You support is greatly appreciated.
DRAY IS ALERTING FOR A SPECIFIC SCENT, so that whenever he detects it, he will alert without a command.
Liz Norris, Master Instructor and Founder of Pawsibilities Unleashed*, is demonstrating how well Dray's training is coming along in alerting for whatever specific scent he is asked to find. Dray is trained to find any scent he is given to smell, whether it is TMA, or any other odor a sufferer may have, as long as he is then asked to "find it". Eventually as the training progresses, he will automatically alert to the scent without a command.
What we're doing is we’re taking a ‘diabetic high’, which is a blood sugar high. This is saliva, we have put saliva on cotton balls, frozen them and thawed them back out so we can use them to fake it. This little boy is not diabetic, but we’re going to use the scent on him, Dray is going to go over and show us if the child is high or low. He’s going to indicate that from the scent; and the scent is hidden in the little boy’s shoe.
'Dray, find the high, where's the high, Dray, show me, where’s the high. Yes, Searching, good boy, good boy – searching, where's the high. Yes, oh, good boy, Dray. That was a good 'find a high'.
OK now, we’re going to try again and you ask him, 'Am I high?', [Liz tells the boy raising the his hand.] Show him, 'is he high?' [she says to Dray,] 'Good boy, yes.' 'show him again.' [Dray raises his paw indicating that this is the high diabetic scent. The low diabetic scent is different, and the dog is trained to nudge with his head to indicate a low diabetic scent.]
There you go, so what he did is he showed the little boy , and if this were my son, and my son were ignoring him because children don’t [always listen to the dog]; then he would come to me and I would ask him, 'Dray, what is he, is he high?' And Dray would say, 'Yes, mommy, he’s high.' So the dog would come back and tell the parent that the child is high.
Awesome, Yay!!!
Liz is a former U.S. Air Force K-9 unit trainer, including search & rescue (SAR), cadaver detection, drug detection, and K-9 obedience. She has also trained Malamutes as sled dogs, shown on the AKC circuit, been an AKC judge, and has volunteered with her own dogs in multiple SAR missions...
Dray takes the initiative to alert two people who are each emitting a 'high' diabetic scent in the same room, which is the scent they are working with to train both dogs during that session. The scent could be very easily substituted for any other scent, and the learned behavior to alert would immediately be applied to the new scent introduced.
This is how a dog can be used for search and rescue, he's just given the new scent of an individual, and asked to find it. The behavior is already learned.
There are sufferers who believe that their type of odor changes, sometimes a burnt rubber smell, other times fecal odor, and other times fish odor, for example. A sufferer can take saliva swabs during each flareup, label them and freeze them. Once all the various possible odors are collected, they could be thawed out, put in separate containers with a lid with holes on the top, set on the floor and have Dray smell the sufferer and asked to 'find another'. It would be interesting if Dray indicates that the there are any swabs that agree with the sufferer's odor perception, and if he identifies all or some of the swabs as having the same or different odors.
A Service Dog's olfactory system can answer so many questions. He could help us classify the various odor types to begin with.
Progress Report on Dray, First TMAU Service Dog in training MARCH 18th, 2010
"Dray show me, find another"
This week (5/11-5/18/2010) we got our First, "Alert" on Dray's own. Charley walked into room with the TMAU urine scent pad in her pocket. She gave no commands and went on about her business. Dray got up, came straight to the pocket and indicated on it.....gave her a, "High 5". It was his first, "drive by" alert.
With no commands, Dray got up, came straight to the pocket and indicated on TMA ("T") scent and gave Charlotte a, "High 5". It was his first, "drive by" alert.
In other words he took it upon himself to come to the scent, (with no command) and gave the, High 5, which means, I found the "T" scent. Awesome progress in short time frame. This was his first automatic, "Check me".
Test Results show he can find the, "T" scent 100% of the time in a room, no matter where you have it.
Training 4-month old Vallie at Pawsibilities Unleashed, Pet Therapy of Kentucky, Inc., Training Center, 1410 Versailles Road, Frankfort, KY 40601 MARCH 18, 2010
Even though this young pup is hesitant to go where the 2 cats seem to have their domain for the moment, even allowing the cats to eat the treats intended for her, she is gently and lovingly coaxed (and even carried) to a position in which she assumes the more dominant role over the cats, as a service dog should. Then she happily wags her tail as she goes through tunnels (initial lesson for seek and rescue), finally learning to go down the slide to learn to play with children. As she comes down the slide, the cats move out of the way...
Vallie (Valentine Snow) initially doesn't care to walk on the ladder, but is lovingly coaxed with treats and does so with an excited wagging tail. An SD needs to get comfortable with all kinds of terrain.
Finally, she takes it in stride practicing walking on a treadmill as she is rewarded with a glob of peanut butter placed in front of her nose. This trains her to walk on moving sidewalks and escalators. MeBO Research
Forensic Science Communications July 2004 – Volume 6 – Number 3 Research and Technology Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Unique Odor in Identical Twins
The issue of genetic makeup and human odor was studied using scent-discriminating canines and scent collected from three sets of twins. The test subjects included fraternal twin baby boys on the same diet, identical twin baby boys on the same diet, and identical adult twins on different diets. Dogs were able to correctly identify the fraternal baby twins on identical diets and the identical adults twins on different diets, 89 and 83.5 percent respectively. The dogs were able to correctly identify the identical twins on the same diet only 49 percent, which is no better than chance (Hepper 1994).
It was found in scent lineup tests when the scent of identical twins is offered to dogs in succession, the dogs could not differentiate between the twins. In tracking experiments in which two scents are offered simultaneously and mixed up, the dogs were able to distinguish between the two identical twins (Kalmus 1955). These studies show that dogs can differentiate between identical twins, especially when the twins are living apart. However, discrimination is more difficult when the differences were genetic (Schoon and Haak 2002A)...
Forensic Science Communications July 2004 – Volume 6 – Number 3 Research and Technology
Specialized Use of Human Scent in Criminal Investigations
Blended Odors A scent item with multiple human odors is a contaminated-scent article. The term contaminated-scent article, however, is a misleading description. Due to the resiliency of human scent, there are few evidence items that carry only one human scent. The items used for scent articles are manufactured, transported, stocked, and sold by people who, by touching them, contribute additional scents. Scent canines have the ability to work accurately with an article containing blended human odors.
European studies have demonstrated the ability of properly trained scent-discrimination dogs to accurately match a target's scent to a contaminated-scent article. These studies established the basis for use of scent identification lineups as reliable evidence in criminal proceedings. In one study using scent-identification lineup dogs, it was determined that dogs, "like other animals, are capable of discerning the odor of different individuals on an object, and can use these odors in scent identification lineups" (Kalmus 1955; Schoon and Haak 2002B)...
Dogs can identify a person's odor that is blended with other human odors. Using a variation of tracking known as trailing, bloodhound handlers use dogs to differentiate a trail of specific human odor from all other odor trails in a search area. The trailing dog is trained to identify and follow the human scent presented to it by the handler. This scent is presented as a scent article containing the unique scent of a suspect or missing person. If a trail of scent matching the scent on the scent article is at that start location, the dog commences to trail and follows that trail to the exclusion of all others. If there is no matching scent trail at the start location, the dog refuses to trail. http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/fsc/backissu/july2004/research/2004_03_research03.htm MeBO Research
Teach him to come and, "Alert" when he finds the scent.
Dray's training consists of him coming to get someone, when asked, "What is it?" Is it the, "T" scent? Show me? he will walk his handler back to where the scent item is or to the person the scent item is on and indicate them as the, "target" and give the High 5 sign.
Steps to get Alert:
Step 1: Dog must know the scent for sure. Step 2: 2 people to work on this with dog Step 3: One person is in another room, than the person with the scent sample hidden on them Step 4: Tell Dray, go find Dad" Step 5: when Dray comes to Dad (or whoever) they say; What is it? Is it the, "T" scent? Step 6: Dray does his, "Alert" High 5 Step 7: Good Alert Dray, show me.... Step 8: They start walking with Dray back to the scent target Step 9: Dray indicates where the scent target is Step 10: Dray does the High 5 Step 11: Click /Treat and major party
Teaches Dray to come and alert to someone else besides just you the handler.Why? If you do not listen to him when he tells you, the dog will pester you for awhile and then go get someone to come and say, "you are not listening to your dog'...you need to do this.
Also, validates the dog understands the job. MeBO Research
Dogs can separate one odor into all its components. We smell beef stew, they smell potatoes, peas, carrots, etc.
Pawsibilities Unleashed, Pet Therapy of Kentucky, Inc., is kindly donating a puppy and to train the handler to train it as a TMAU Alert Service DogIt has been said many times in the forums, conference calls, and meetups, that the most difficult aspect of undergoing any odor-management protocol is to not have feedback about one’s odor levels, as family members and the sufferer seem to have, or develop, an amnosia to the body odors. It is not clear why this should be. The 2 main theories are that they have become acclimatized to the odor, or there is some sort of 'amnosia immunity' from smelling the body odors. Perhaps the saddest irony about the problem is that the sufferer has no way of monitoring their condition as a result.
So, what options does a sufferer have to measure his/her odor levels? Apart from purchasing very expensive equipment that would have the capacity to measure only some odorous compounds, which is not practical anyhow, there is also another option - to obtain a Trimethylaminuria Medical Alert Service Dog (SD) trained specifically to give immediate feedback not only about whether a sufferer has odor, but to also indicate if the odor is at a high or low level. The main aim would be to help the person understand their 'smell pattern', Humans acclimate to scent in a room - dogs never doso that perhaps they could alter their diet to suit, to better understand what triggers it, and to plan social activities accordingly.
The service dog could offer many other social skills and psychological benefits, such as being a companion and boosting confidence, for example. An SD’s immediate feedback on a sufferer's odor levels can help him or her feel empowered and confident, allowing for a sense of greater freedom that encourages the sufferer to become more involved in social situations while having lower odor levels. SDs are trained to also sooth anxiety panic-attacks and depression.
MeBO has proactively been looking into testing the possibility of training a service dog for trimethylaminuria sufferers, and ultimately for sufferers of other types of body odor conditions. Initially, the focus will be working with a diagnosed TMAU sufferer, since the odor can be more easily reproduced in a controlled manner to train the dog.
Dogs have a huge amount of brainpower devoted to scent (size of large walnut, matched to a humans pea size area).After looking for dog trainers who specialize in dogs trained to help with health disorders such as diabetes and seizures based on scent, we were fortunate to get a positive and supportive response from Frankfort, Kentucky's Master Trainer Liz Norris, who runs Pawsibilities Unleashed, Pet Therapy of Kentucky, Inc., This non-profit 501(c)3 organization has worked with training SDs for persons with a wide range of disabilities, including Diabetes (works on three different odor levels), Epilepsy, Anxiety/Depression, PTSD, Autism/ASD, Hearing/Signal, Medical Alert conditions (sleep apnea, migraine & Fibromyalgia, Blood pressure, Willims syndrome, Dravet Syndrome, Motility Assistance).
MeBO has been discussing at length the possibility of training a TMAU Service Dog with Pawsibilities' Founder, Liz Norris, AKC-CGC Instructor, and Therapy Evaluator.
Normally it would cost a minimum of $5,000 to train a dog, but Liz has most generously offered us her services and donated to our cause $5,000-worth of training expenses including her personal time and a puppy with the proper temperament to be trained specifically as a TMAU Service Dog. This training will encompass the following:
Service Dog Manners
Public Access Work
Obedience Training
Scent work
Crate/House training
AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Certification
AKC Canine Good Citizenship ( if dog is ready)
The plan is to find a volunteer who will be willing to be the first 'owner' of a TMAU Dog, and there is an opportunity for someone to be trained by Liz as a SD Trainer if they wish, in the hope that someday there will be a specialized TMAU, and other Body Odor Conditions, Service Dog Trainer in the USA if the trial is a success.
The only initial expense MeBO will incur for our first TMAU Service Dog will be $130.00 to do vetting for the dog through their program (includes spay or neuter, Microchipping, parvo, distemper, bordetella, worming, frontline for a month and rabies...normally a cost of $300.00+).
Dogs have been used to detect gas leaks 20 feet below ground. The best human instruments could not. If the TMAU Service Dog project is a success, we hope it would lead to an invaluable program for TMAU and other BO conditions sufferers in the US and abroad. If all goes well, perhaps service dogs can someday assist in the diagnosis of the various body odor/halitosis conditions of persons who test negative for TMAU by helping identify the composition of their odor. As Liz states below, "dogs can separate one odor into all its components. We smell beef stew, they smell potatoes, peas, carrots, etc."
Trimethylaminuria Medical Alert Service Dog Medical Alert Service Dog What it can do for you by Liz Norris
Dogs work off scent. Here are some facts about dogs that many of you do not know:
Dogs primary ability - sense of smell.
Humans "see" at a glance - dogs, "scent" at a glance.
Humans acclimate to scent in a room - dogs never do, they fade scent they are not interested in to background "noise" like we do t.v.s, music, our work place sounds, etc.
A dogs nasal plane (outside of nose area) and nostrils stay moist so they can dissolve and release scent particles.
Every dogs nasal plane (nose area) is as individual as our fingerprint is to us. No two are alike.
Dogs have sinuses. They play a role in scent work detection.
Humans have 5 million scent receptor cells.
Dogs have millions depending on the breed (Doxies for example have 125 million while a Beagle has 220 million. The only breed and size of dog to have the same amount as the large German Shepherds who also have 220).
Dogs have a huge amount of brainpower devoted to scent (size of large walnut, matched to a humans pea size area).
Dogs can scent/smell under water thanks to the Jacobson Organ or vomeronasal organ in the floor of their nose.
A puppy can not see or hear when it is born due to these orifices being sealed. However, they can scent immediately. They use this to find mom, milk, litter mates, you and their surroundings. Called imprinting...the smell, matches the person, matches what is going on or happens.
Dogs can register the same scent for hours or even days.
Dogs can separate one odor into all its components. We smell beef stew, they smell potatoes, peas, carrots, etc.
Dogs can choose which odor/scent to concentrate on.
Dogs have been used to detect gas leaks 20 feet below ground. The best human instruments could not. In Ontario on a natural gas pipeline leak, over 90 miles of pipeline, dogs found 150 leaks (1974).
Dogs scent detect ability is so good they can pick a schizophrenic out of a crowd by tuning in on the apocrine gland sweat. This is the gland schizophrenics sweat from all the time.
Fear in people produces sweat from the apocrine glands. Hence the old saying of dogs can smell fear...they can. Regular work sweat is produced from a different body gland.
Bloodhounds are perfect scent machines. Built for it from head to toe. Bassett is second and designed for perfect scent work.
Squash faced dogs have more issues with scent detection thanks to man designing them this way.
Air scenting breed examples, collies, Dobermans, standard poodles, labs, goldens.
Why would this pertain to a TMAU person?
Because dogs have been used by mankind thru out history to do scent work. Hunting for example, tracking down prey or people, another example.
For over 50 years we have honed the dogs talents to do Search and Rescue, track criminals, track lost children, lost animals, and medical tracking uses (Diabetic Alert Dogs, Seizure Alert Dog, Blood Pressure Alert, Emotional Support Service Dogs, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, etc.). Drug dogs, bomb dogs, first responder dogs, etc.
Dogs can be taught to find the "hottest scent" source on a human.
Dogs can be taught to tell the difference between your right hand scent and left hand scent. If you have a scent article you picked up with your left hand and laid it in the row or unscented from you, the dog should match the scented article to your left hand. Same with any body part. For example, I am right handed. Therefore I put more scent on an article with right hand than left because I touch more things with my right.
Dogs trained to do scent work must have a "high will to serve" not a, "high drive to power". Not all dogs will be suitable for service dog work due to their personalities and temperaments. Aggression is not acceptable. Towards people, dogs, anything. Training a service dog for guard protection work is not acceptable. Dogs that could care less about you and have a, "user" personality are not good candidates. They will do anything if something is in it for them, but when you need them, they could care less. Therefore, leave the choosing of a service dog to a professional. Make sure if you are working with a service dog trainer they use positive, motivational methods, not shock collars, choke chains, prong collars or slip collars. This is training by bully methods, intimidation methods and will shut the dog down.
If I have TMAU issues how can this help me?
Dogs can be trained to alert to a scent of any kind.
Dog can alert you before a human could smell you. Keeping you in a "safety scent zone".
Dog is trained to give a "physical signal" as its alert.
Tell me if the scent is really High or relatively Low (requires 2 signals physically from dog).
Service Dogs can go into any public place with you (work, ballgames, dances, sports bar, weddings, cruises, airplanes, hotels, etc.)
Backpacking Medical Related supplies, Cell Phones, Money, Credit Cards, Emergency Instructions for EMT personnel.
Respond to Panic Attacks by redirecting you to something else like stroking the dogs fur.
Assist Emotionally Overwhelmed in workplace or at home.
Public Fear Management Tasks.
Reduce fearful state of mind or hyper-vigilance.
Helping you cope with living alone and fear of intruders in home or on way to work or to parking garages.
Increase feelings of safety in Public
Provide emotional and spiritual support.
Lower your stress level leading to better health mentally and physically.
Before you jump on the Service Dog band wagon, ask yourself:
Am I ready for my medical disability to be public? By having a service dog and taking it everywhere with you and the sign on its pack that says, "Medical Alert Dog" you are saying to the public, "I have a disability".
Am I ready to care for a living, breathing thing each and every day of its life until death do us part?
Do I have the financial means to support the feeding, vetting and life of my service dog?
Am I willing to take the time to learn the training commands, scent work, Public Access Work, required canine manners that it takes to work a service dog in public?
Am I willing to keep the work up each day?
Do I want to live with a 3 year old for 14 - 18 years even though it can learn 300 plus commands and help change my life for the better?
The only 2 questions a facility may ask you:
If you are entering a restaurant, they can ask you, "is this a service dog".
You say, "yes it is".
They can ask you, "what does it do for you"?
You say, "it mitigates my medical disability".
End of story. They do not have the right to ask you what the mitigation is. That is telling them what your disability is and crosses over to your right to privacy.
If you do not care who knows what your medical disability is you can put TMAU Medical Alert Service Dog or Trimethylaminuria Medical Alert Service Dog. If you care about your privacy just go with Medical Alert Service Dog.
Examples of your rights under ADA vs. the Publics Rights:
You have the right to take your dog to hotels, motels, etc. You do not have to tell them it is a service dog coming. They can not charge you a pet room fee. It is not a pet. They can not charge you a cleaning fee. However, if your dog chews up the tables, eats the dresser, tears down the window sash, then you pay the bill and they have the right to charge you.
You have the right to take your dog into a restaurant and thru a buffet. Your dog does not have the right to get up, shake hair into my plate and slobber into my water glass. It must lay under the table out of site.
You have the right to take your dog to work with you. You do not have the right to let it jump on me, slobber on me, run around the office, etc. It must lay under your work station out of site and be invisible as possible.
You have the right to take your dog to school. You do not have the right to let it sniff people, nudge people, or interfere with anyone else in the school system.
You have the right to live in the same apartment building where I live (even if pet animals are not allowed, this does not matter. You have a service dog), but your dog does not have the right to leave poop all over the lawns and dig holes in the lawn or bark all night and keep me awake.
You have the right to shop in grocery store with your Service Dog, but it does not have the right to sample food, pee on things, eat off the displays, etc.
Liz is a former U.S. Air Force K-9 unit trainer, including search & rescue (SAR), cadaver detection, drug detection, and K-9 obedience. She has also trained Malamutes as sled dogs, shown on the AKC circuit, been an AKC judge, and has volunteered with her own dogs in multiple SAR missions...
Liz Norris is the founder of Pawsibilities Unleashed. She is an official tester for the Therapy Dog certifications and Canine Good Citizen (CGC) tests and Service Dog Public Access Test.
...When we train a starter pup for our diabetic or seizures, the donation fee is $5,000.00 which is a reasonable amount for most people to afford and we can make it this affordable by putting the beginner training on the pups and teaching the owners how to do it from there. Keeps the expense down and they learn how much work is involved. Do you think this is foreseeable with producing Trimethylaminuria Service Dogs? Do you think there will be a demand for them? I think once people realize that they can get this help, there will be a core amount of folks that would definitely want this type of help.
I am very excited about this prospect and the more I research it, the more excited I am. We/Kentucky Labs have a litter of service dog pups coming up. I would highly recommend one from that litter.
We breed with Cheryl Moore who has lines going back to Westminster show ring and they have been excellent to train for diabetic and seizure work. We have no failures. 100% as of today!
Would you [MeBO] want to be part of this and do a joint project with us? I have some ideas I would be willing to toss around with your organization. Maybe your friend would want to be the "test subject":)
This is just so neat. What a great new avenue to use service dogs and help so many other people. I would love to do a sit down with you/your interested bunch and tell you how scent work with dogs happens and show you the potential. Lets us do as test subject ASAP.
First of all, dogs "scent" like we "see". They walk into a room and smell everything...we walk in and "see" everything. They do not acclimate to scent....instead they put in the background (like we do background noise) the scents they are not focused on at the present time or scents they are not being, "paid" to focus on:)
Dogs can filter scent under water. They can not breath water, or intake water, but the Jacobson Organ in their nose area allows them to filter scent under water and tell which rock you threw into the pond is yours and which are not. Just a little FYI to let you see how good they are at the job...
Throw away choke chains, prongs, slip collars or shock collars. A service dog must trust you and work from trust. Instead of correcting the dog all the time and using, "No" over and over, you encourage the dog to work through a problem and problems solve....in other words if it goes to the wrong scent vial, then you say, "keep working"...not No, jerk it off its feet, etc. You let it know it needs to keep going until it hears the Click of the clicker and then it gets a Treat. A service dog can not take the Public Access Test in those devices either...
If you have a scent, and a dog with the correct temperament and desire to do the job, they can be taught to track anything and signal. Be it termites, bed bugs, worms, fleas, tears, mold, peanut allergies, whatever...
Wow, I picked up a ball, heard the "marker", click that I was doing something the human liked and double wow, I got a treat for it. How easy was that and communication was totally clear.
This starts the dog to become motivational in offering behaviors. In easy to understand terms;
(1) the dog starts to "offer" you behaviors to see if you will (2) Like them (3) Click him (4) He gets a reward (treat)
Conditioning the dogs mentality to keep trying things over and over and to think and to offer behaviors that you could not get any other way. the dog starts to try different things because he wants to hear the click. He knows the click means a reward (treat, fetch, other motivational likes).
For human understanding:
If you walked down the street and every blond you passed gave you a Click/$100.00 bill. Human nature would make you become conditioned to start seeking out blonds in the crowd because you have been rewarded by a positive method for doing so.....Click means you found one - Treat means $100.00 bill
If you were to walk down the street and every red head slapped you, then mental conditioning would take over to see all red heads as a threat and you would start avoiding them. You might never really be able to trust one ever depending on how much negative association you had with them over how much time frame.
This translates into:
If every time I ask you to "Sit", I jerked your head off with a choke chain or prong collar or shocked you with shock collar, then I would be training you by bully methods, intimidation methods, threat methods, not teaching you by example. You would learn to focus on the negative instead of the positive. Even if you sat and I treated you, you would know, "I sat because I was being abused" big deal that I got a treat...who cares, I still got abused. The dog or person starts to focus on, "how can I keep this from happening" not I am working happily to save your life. Then you have a dog that is always looking for the correction and focused on that, which means the dog is not focused on your blood sugar, seizures, body scent changes, and not focused on the positive.
Dogs trained by the negative shut down. They feel like no matter what they do or what answer they come up with the end result will be the same.....they get abused. that is where their focus has been conditioned to be.
Teaching is showing, leading, setting an example. Dogs trained by this method (clicker or lure) are capable of thinking thru a puzzle and coming up with a solution. They do not shut down, quit working, and will keep on trying until they get the right answer. They have never been told "No" you are too stupid, "No" you can't achieve this you are a dog, "No" you can't do this, you are the wrong breed, but encouraged all the way from puppyhood to, "Yes" good dog. If they make a mistake, then you do not click or treat.
Following example of working with new puppy:
My pup is asked to Down -she offers me a Sit (her best thing ever) *nothing happens except - that is a good Sit - (because it was and you should always notice when they do something good) -she offers me a High 5 *nothing happens except - that is good High 5 - (because it was and you should always notice when they do something good) -She offers me a spin *nothing happens except - that is good Spin - (because it was and you should always notice when they do something good)
-finally she thinks, it is not something I have done before and been rewarded for. I need to try things that I have never been click/treated for.
-She offers me a Bow *Now we are cooking You can click this, as it is on the way to the Down She is like, Wow I got clicked for that Bow thing then she test it to see if it is really what got her clicked/treated -Then she bows and nothing happens (I usually C/T for the Bow about 5X before I ask for a little bit more) she is confused because now we are asking her for just a little bit more -she lays down. *Click/Treat (really big jack pot treat so it will stick in her memory)
this happens in minutes. Everyone is happy and had a great time.
or you can by-pass the Bow/Click/Treat for just the Down and shape the Bow later as a trick. MeBO Research
Teachers and coaches draw from personal experience, wisdom, technical skill and a wide variety of tools to address the individual needs of each student. TAGteach™ is a powerful tool that has its basis in the laws of learning and a key focus on breaking skills down and shaping using positive reinforcement.
TAG stands for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance and uses a sound marker to indicate correct performance.
The TAG refers to the distinctive sound made to mark or “TAG” a moment in time. This sound becomes an acoustical binary message, a sort of “snapshot” that is quickly processed by the brain.
A TAG means “yes.” Absence of a TAG means “try again.”
The student no longer has to perform a time-consuming language analysis while attempting complicated movements. The immediacy and clarity of the feedback allows the student to form a mental picture of the movement or position.
“The TAG helps me make a picture in my brain so I can find the right position on my own.” —11-year-old dance student
Leaps and Bounds: How TAGteach helps your dancers (swimmers, golfers, racers, etc., go further, faster!
Tired of begging your dancers to point their feet? Using science-based TAGteach principles, take the frustration out of the dance environment—for your students and yourself! Discover how to create an interactive learning environment where dancers of all ages and disciplines are motivated and will work HARD to meet the criteria you set. Learn to break down and build strong technical skills that dancers will recall and repeat again and again. Find out how to seamlessly implement these methods into your existing lesson plans and achieve remarkable results—positively!
What is TAGteach?
Focus is placed on correct responses (positions, answers, behaviors) only—thus reinforcing and increasing repetition of those (desired) responses.
TAGteach, Teaching with Acoustical Guidance, is a science-based, positive reinforcement methodology that utilizes a proven and remarkably effective marker system. By marking a correct response (physical or behavioral), a neurological message is instantly received by the learner. Focus is placed on correct responses (positions, answers, behaviors) only—thus reinforcing and increasing repetition of those (desired) responses.
A new perspective Dance education today is based on solid studies in the physiological and anatomical sciences as well as centuries of artistic tradition; verbally inherited methods of conditioning, technique, and vocabulary. Classical training has produced brilliant performers and proficient dabblers alike and has, as well, produced a myriad of sound syllabi in a wide variety of disciplines.
Here are some FAQ we get from people starting TAG training...
Tagging sounds like fun, but what about serious skill development?
Will the sound of the TAG get annoying after a while?
Can you TAG with a large group?
How long before the newness wears off and the TAG loses its impact?
Can the TAG be heard while music is playing or other groups of students are nearby?
How long should a TAG lesson last?
What happens if the athlete never does the action I want to TAG?
Will they get bored?
1. Tagging sounds like fun, but what about serious skill development?
It's all about serious skill development; from a gymnast safely landing a double back flip dismount off a 4 inch wide balance beam to a hearing impaired student correctly pronouncing a difficult word. TAGteach creates a direct line of communication, information and motivation that benefits both students and teacher.
2. Will the sound of the TAG get annoying after awhile?
After a few minutes, the sound of the TAG becomes a non-issue, part of the ambiance of the gym or classroom. Nothing is as disturbing as the sound of an aggravated coach or the sound of a child crying from frustration. The TAG is a sound that on introduction draws attention, but it is the sharpness of the sound that guides the focus of the student. It allows them to capture a finite slice of time, photograph it and have brilliant recall later. Actually, while being tagged, students are so incredibly focused on their skill, they react to the sound, but most don't remember actually hearing it.
From: Liz Norris Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 3:52 AM Subject: Clicking Tough Kids
A Note of Explanation: More and more parents are beginning to use the clicker system, and sometimes the actual clicker, to shape behavior and skills in their children. People in professional circles, however, are sometimes still nervous about the idea. Here’s a report from a teacher faced with an emergency situation who put the clicker to work in a truly imaginative way.
Stuart Harder, Ph.D., a behavior analyst in the Minnesota public school system, posted the October 6 letter, below, to a precision teaching discussion list of which I’m a member. Many people, including me, immediately sent praise and queries. In the second post, October 7, Stuart responded to some of those comments.
He is continuing this work and teaching others; other schools are also giving this a try. We will try to keep new information flowing to this site as it comes in.
Karen Pryor
From: Harder, Stuart R. [BSMTP:scred.srh@norsol.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 1999 5:28 PM To: SClistserv@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: Tough Kids & Clicker Training
Let me give you my impression of dongs on prongs, when I see one like this, I know it has not been trained to use its mind and be a free thinker. I also know it is not under control for YOU, but under the control of a collar. Proved that at a workshop this weekend where the lady was so proud her Doberman was on a prong......I told her to strip the dog naked and it should work for her if she were correct in her assumption that the dog would obey her without it. Dog left the country........could not wait to get away from her and force training. It did not want nor did it volunteer to be with her and part of their team. worked 15 minutes with dog on loose leash and she was right there with me, following me, would not get off me...like Velcro.
Wearing her harness and Service Dog bags with her official SD documents, food, treats, and toys inside, this Service Dog puppy, Vallie, is training to walk on a moving sidewalk. With a glob of peanut butter right by her sensitive nose to treat herself on, she is encouraged to keep walking on a treadmill.
Vallie is a very happy energetic puppy who LOVES to train with Liz, and she want to keep on doing the training session even after Liz stops. Liz and Vallie also gave us a demonstration on how she works in tunnels and slides for find and rescue jobs, and to play with children on a slide. Vallie kept returning to the tunnels and slide even after the training session ended. SHE LOVES IT! MeBO Research
...It is easy to have a dual service dog. Many dogs do more than one task in a family. Some Diabetic alert dogs will work on several members in a family, same with seizure or mobility. the dog learns what it can do for who. they are very intelligent.
Don't want to mislead people. Service Dogs mean work, but you get the exchange of an alert dog. It is hard work for a lot of people, easy for others. It is something they must want enough to get past the public announcement to the world, hey, I have a disability. You can't ask me what it is, but I have one...
Hey there. Nice of y'all to come. I’m Dray and I'm from Kentucky. I'm learnin' to be a TMAU Service Dog. You can read about my progress in this here blog.
Liz Norris, Master Trainer with over 34 years of dog training experience, is the founder of Pawsibilities, with a “train the trainer” approach.
Liz is a former U.S. Air Force K-9 unit trainer, including search & rescue (SAR), cadaver detection, drug detection, and K-9 obedience. She has also trained Malamutes as sled dogs, shown on the AKC circuit, been an AKC judge, and has volunteered with her own dogs in multiple SAR missions... She is an official tester for the Therapy Dog certifications and Canine Good Citizen (CGC) tests and Service Dog Public Access Test. http://puptky.giving.officelive.com/aboutus.aspx
María de la Torre
