Imzadi83 wrote:
Have you considered looking to local trainers to see if there's one in your area who trains DADs? They might be cheaper then a larger organization and though you'd have to pay for the dog itself maybe they could give you a discount on training as a tax write off or for helping to promote them as a trainer.
DADs are a small portion of dogs with uncanny sensing abilities, then they have to have the right temperament to be a service dog and trained to hone their high scenting abilities. It's a fraction of a fraction which is why these dogs are so expensive and hard to find. Unfortunately while training helps, not just any trainer or any dog is gonna cut it. It's a specialized field that's in demand and promising to promote doesn't pay the trainer's bills.
The bad news is the chance you'll get a DAD for free or less than a few grand is very small. The training and vetting process takes time and time is money. Service dogs that are properly vetted out for good temperaments, trained by specialized trainers, and sometimes bred specifically for that special nose are going to be expensive. I hate to be a negative Nancy but there is some good news.
The good news is that some organizations do offer layaways and financial scale sliding. You just have to ask how their payment system works. I'm not sure about insurance coverage or if service dogs are partially covered by insurance, that you may have to look up. I may just be bitter about my insurance, but seeing how healthy insurance's job is to avoid paying for things I wouldn't count too much on health insurance. If you do decide to find a trainer and you have a dog with the scenting ability needed, do not just go out and find any old trainer. Call up a local or state service dog association and ask for recommendations for service dog trainers in your area with diabetic alert specialties.
(Take above with grain of salt. Most of my knowledge is on public program therapy dogs.)[/quote]
Their ability is not uncanny by any means
Pretty much any dog that can be motivated can be trained for the alert portion. Usually only Brachycephalic dogs are not recommended, it's the public access training that's the hard part. And to be pretty frank, I think it's silly that they ask for so much for these dogs sometimes. I understand a couple thousand, but lord, it only takes a few weeks to train them to alert. Public access training can take a few months though, but that's something ANY type of service dog needs. Took Dakota 6 months total, but he's not your typical dog that would be placed as a SD. Since he needs a very "on" and savvy handler due to previous fear issues. Though they have been easy to prevent and keep him at ease for me, even in crazy environments.
I struggled when trying to find an organization to get a "DAD" from as well. Ultimately I ended up not being able to, but I already had experience training my personal dog in nosework, so I did a bit of research and just trained him myself. Including all the public access stuff.
Here's a book I got (after the fact) that has some good info in it and might give you a place to start. I'd try contacting local positive trainers (this book is more clicker based) and seeing if any might be willing to help. As I know there are two local trainers here who are gaining interest in that field. (i'm in Northern California) I'm bad about reading dog chat sometimes, so you're always welcome to PM me too
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dog-a-d ... 922539&r=1[/quote]
Yes i have considered local trainers, and there are none relatively close to me, plus several local companies want me to provide my own dog and then wont certify them.
I would feel the most comfortable getting a dog from a company that is willing. I found a couple more free ones now, 5 to be exact, but their location ranges from california to virginia. I have found three companies in my state and the cost varies with them. I'm just getting a headache from all this, My parents are having me research and come up with the funds and all that, and its hard.
I called Associations such as te ASPCA for referrals but they werent in. Any other advice or pms would be appreciated.
) and she said we should call one of her friends, whom is a vet. we called and she said if she had been eating that brand since we got her, she shouldn't have lost her taste for it so quickly. she told us that maybe trying to get her interested in eating it, such as when your trying to get a puppy to first eat. so we tried that and she actually ate! after leaving her there, she had gulped it all down, and this morning she ate fine.
he can't even control his boarder collie there is no way he'd be able to handle such a stubbornly independent breed on his own. And I'll say it: He's lucky he's dating a dog person!
