Pupper Memes!!

We love memes. Coffee memes. Autism memes. Even puppy memes. So here's a few!

Communication

How do Assistance Dogs communicate with our hoomans when we need them to pay attention to us?

Through our actions and at times barking!

When my boi runs away, I bark once and then sit and wait for my family to give me the command to track my boi.

When I see my boy hurting himself, I begin nuzzling him to redirect him to me. Sometimes I just go and lay on my boi!

I even go and nudge my boi, and my mum, with my nose when I sense that they need a break.

And my intelligent disobedience skills are paw-some! There are times when I know better, so I will not obey a command and make my boi doing something else instead. One day I saw my boy walking towards a road, so I dragged my Mum towards him and then pushed my boi back onto the footpath.

All Assistance Dogs will communicate with their owners in different ways!

#teamhenry #henrythehero #teamalaska #autismassistancedogs #assistancedogsaustralia #labradorsofinstagram #assistancedogs #dogsofinstagram #workingdogsofaustralia #assistancedogawareness #workingdogsbooks #assistancedogsofinstagram #educatingfamilies #inspireyoungminds #inspiringyoungminds #readgrowinspire #childrensliteracy 

Books! Superheroes with Paws!

**** Please note that we do not receive commissions of any kind for this review. We simply love sharing books that we find useful. ****

There's always excitement in our house when we receive a package, especially when it contains a book! You can never have too many books, right? Well we've added another book to our collection of working dog books.

Superheroes with Paws, is written by the wonderful Jessica Ten Vaanholt from over Childrens Stories by Jessica. Jess is yet another home grown Australian author.

Jessica wrote the story after she was approved to receive her own Assistance Dog. Working in the early childhood education and care industry, Jessica realised the importance of educating children and families about the important roles that all Assistance Dogs play. And a great way to do that is through books!

It's yet another wonderful, very well written, educational book on the different types of Assistance Dogs and the roles that they play in their owners lives. 

But before we even read the book, this was L's announcement!!

L: Woah, the dog has a red coat like Henry! And it says Superheroes on the cover. Henry is my superhero! This is the best book already!

So what are O and L's take on the book? Read on!

Me: What is the best thing about the book?

O: This is amazing, it sounds like Jessica was writing about her own Assistance Dog. Did she get her puppy yet?

Me: Unfortunately not yet.

O: Oh that's terrible. But this is an amazing book. Jessica talks about the different types of Assistance Dogs.

L: There even a Autism dog like Henry!

O: I love that Jessica talks about the different tasks that the dogs all do.

L: I like the pictures, there's lots of pictures and they all have red coats like Henry's. All the dogs are superheroes. I love this book. And it's easy for me to read too.

O: Jessica has even put information in about why reading books are so important, what a great idea.

L: Can you read it again please?

Me: We can soon, just a few more questions first?

L: Seriously? Okay.

Me: Who would you recommend this book to?

O: Everyone! This is really cool book. The story is very realistic and informative. There's so much information in this one book. This will definitely help to spread more awareness about Assistance Dogs.

L: Everyone needs to read it. Maybe we need to start a library on the island so all the people can read about Assistance Dogs. The old people who keep talking to Henry really need to read all of the books. We can put this one and Henrys book and the Dogs with Jobs book, but they can't keep the books. Can we read it now?

Me: One more question then we can read it again. Out of 5 stars, how many stars would you rate this book?

L: Fine! 5 stars, I think you only buy 5 star books Mummy! We never get a terrible book.

O: Definitely another 5 star book.

L: Now can you read it again? And then you can read Henry's book please?

Me: Sure, thank you for reviewing the book.

L: Please read now?

And read it again we did!

This book would be a great addition to any child's home library.

And just quietly, how amazing do all four of these books look together!

Books! Dogs with Jobs

 *** Please note that we do not receive commissions of any form for this review, they are simply products that we find incredibly useful. ***

If you haven't realised by now, we love books! You can never have too many books, right?

Earlier this year, I self published a book about Henry and it was after the publication that I realised just how few books there really are that focus on Assistance Dogs. So I am now on a mission to collect as many different books about Assistance Dogs. As you can see from the above photo, our collection is quite small at the moment but we will be adding to it over time.

It has been quite a while since our last book review, so we figured that we would start reviewing our books about dogs collection.

First up is Dogs with Jobs 1 and Dogs with Jobs 2!

Dogs with Jobs is written by Australian author Natalie Leski and was first published in 2021.

We came across Natalie's first book quite by accident and just had to order a book. When Natalie published her second book in the series this year, we again had to purchase a copy for our collection.

Both books introduce readers to working dogs of all descriptions and the differences between pet dogs and working dogs. Both books also talk about the importance of being respectful towards all working dogs, regardless of if they are Assistance Dogs or other types of working dogs.

So what are O and L's take on the books? Keep reading below!

Me: What is the best thing about these books?

O: I love both books, there are so many working dogs that people don't know about so it's important that there are more books to educate families. Both of these books have a range of different types of working dogs for people to read about.

L: I like the pictures, they are very colourful and really look like real working dogs. My favourite picture is Emma because she looks like Henry. And the book is easy for me to read. Maybe the old people here on the island need to read these books too because they keep saying Henry is a Guide Dog!

Me: Who would you recommend these books to?

O: Everyone! More awareness and education is needed about Assistance Dogs, People wouldn't, you'd hope that they wouldn't anyway, go and pat a Police Dog while it is working, Yet there are many people who think it is okay to pat an Assistance Dog while it is working. Both have important jobs to do. Both need to be respected.

L: Same. I don't like it when people just touch Henry without asking first. He is helping me. The old people need to read it.

Me: How many stars would you rate both books?

L: How many stars, I can't remember how many we use!

O: Let's rate out of 5 stars. I give them both 5 stars!

L: Me too! And Henry and Alaska love them too!

So definitely great books about working dogs that every home should have! And a 5 star rating to go with them. You can purchase Dogs with Jobs via this link.

Team Henry: Some extra information!

*** Please note that we do not receive commissions of any kind from the organisations mentioned in this article. They are simply organisations that we have found useful. ***

Henry has been with us for coming on twelve months and what an amazing ride it has been. We're often asked the most amazing and inquisitive questions about Henry, his role, the training involved and how people can either obtain or train their own assistance dog.

As a result, I have created a number of documents with all the information that are usually asked and rather than carry multiple copies with me on a daily basis, I have decided to upload these to my blog for easy access.

So without any further ado, for your reading pleasure, below are the links to these documents! Please note that this information is based on our experience and knowledge but also on the legislation that covers Assistance Dogs here in Queensland. The legislation can differ from state to state, and country to country, so please ensure that if you live outside of Queensland, you approach an Assistance Dog training organisation in your state or territory, or country.

First up is an information handout on "What is an Assistance Dog." There continues to be confusion about the public access rights of an Assistance Dog, what constitutes an Assistance Dog and the difference between Assistance Dogs and Therapy/Companion/Emotional Support Dogs.

There are two pieces of legislation that cover the public access rights of an Assistance Dog here in Queensland. The first being the Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Act 2009 (Queensland) which protects the public access rights of assistance dogs and their handlers that have been through a certification process. The second piece of legislation is  the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA, Commonwealth,) Under the DDA, an Assistance Dog can be trained by their owner/handler, so this is a link to some information in regards to owner/handler training and the documents that you will require to access public spaces.

We are in the process of owner/handler training a second Assistance Dog for O as we've realised the enormous benefits of having a task specific trained assistance dog. The majority of Assistance Dog training organisations require you to keep a training log for your puppy while it is in the assistance dog program. We began training Alaska (our new puppy) from the moment that we brought her home, so I created our own training log of evidence that we could present to any future organisation. It is a very basic training log, but serves its purpose.

We're also often asked about the contact details for different organisations that either place or will owner/handler train an Assistance Dog. And there are a number of different organisations, so rather than attempt to list the organisations off of the top of my head, I created a list! Some are registered through Guide Hearing Assistance Dogs, Queensland, others are not yet registered but are in the process of gaining their registration. I have concentrated on Assistance Dog organisations in general, as Guide and Hearing Assistance Dogs have their own specific training organisations that are easily located. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. 

• Smart Pups – https://www.smartpups.org.au/
• Canine Companions - https://canine.org/
• In the Paws of Angels – https://www.inthepawsofangels.com/
• Positive Response Dog Training - https://www.positiveresponse.com.au/
• Empower Assistance Dogs - https://empowerassistancedogs.org.au/
• Both Ends of the Leash – On Facebook
• Foundation Assistance Dogs – On Facebook and Instagram
• VernDogs - https://www.verndogs.com/
• Revolutionary Assistance Dogs Inc - https://www.raddogsinc.com.au/

Assistance Dogs 101: What to look for in an Assistance Dog

It has been seven glorious months since Henry has been placed with our family and what a huge difference Henry has made, but that is another post!

Over the last seven months while we have been out and about with Henry, we've come into contact with a few assistance dogs. A few have been legitimate assistance dogs and a few definitely haven't been assistance dogs.

How can we tell, I hear you ask?

Well, there are certain behaviours that fully certified assistance dogs definitely shouldn't show when they are working and out in public. If any assistance dog in training shows any of these behaviours, then they do not pass the public access test and must be retrained before attempting the PAT again.

So here's a list of what an assistance dog should be seen to be doing when working, ie whenever the dog is in their vest.

1. Assistance Dogs should be seen but not heard! 

The only time that you should hear an assistance dog barking is when they have been task specific trained to bark. If the dog is a seizure alert or diabetes alert dog, they may be trained to bark to alert their handler of a change in the individuals body functioning.

We have unfortunately been barked at several times by dogs that are apparently assistance dogs. In particular the other dogs have barked aggressively at Henry. This is a huge no no for an assistance dog. On all occasions, Henry was initially startled by the other dogs but then he did an amazing job at ignoring the  other dogs, even though in two instances, the other dogs continued to bark and growl at Henry.

When an assistance dog is not performing a specific task, they should be either be the handlers side walking or under the table/chair where the handler is. Henry's under's (laying under a chair or table) are the best as he lays down and goes to sleep. Other patrons around us are often extremely surprised when we get up to leave as they usually (unless they have seen us walk in) don't even realise that a dog is with us.

2. An Assistance Dog should ignore all other dogs.

Assistance Dogs need to be focused on their handler, or in Henry's case, focused on myself and L at all times. During an Assistance Dogs training hours prior to being placed with their person, they are put through dog distraction training. When a well trained assistance dog spots another dog in public, regardless of whether the other dog is an assistance dog or not, they should not approach it, acknowledge it, bark at it and so on.

And again, several of the "assistance dogs" that we have come into contact with completely by chance have attempted to get to Henry, and not to play. This is very unsettling for any dog, so Henry again did amazingly well to ignore the other dogs.

Even when we are out and about and spot a regular pet dog, Henry will ignore the other dog.

3. Assistance Dogs should not approach people for pats.

As an assistance dog is trained to focus on their handler, they should not approach other people around their handler for pats. Several of the assistance dogs that we've seen while we've been out and about, have been focused on gaining pats from those around their handler, rather than focused on their handler.

We're often approached by people asking if they can pat Henry. We've always said that if Henry is directly assisting L, ie: de-escalating a meltdown and so on, then we won't allow people to pat Henry. If Henry is working but not directly assisting L, then we are usually more than happy to stop and have a chat.

4. An Assistance dog should heel by their handler when walking.

When working, an assistance dog is usually on a specific harness or lead. They are trained to heel next to their handler, or in the case of a guide dog, slightly in front of their handler. If you see an assistance dog pulling on it's lead or walking ahead of their handler, chances are that the dog (and handler) need retraining.

We've had an "assistance dog" on a retractable lead rush around the corner in front of it's owner to get to Henry while we were in a waiting room. This is a huge no no for an assistance dog. The only time that an assistance dog needs to be on a retractable lead is when the dog is tracking it's handler as Henry is trained to do for L when needed, or if the assistance dog is out of it's jacket and having free down time.

5. An Assistance dog should not beg for food.

Well trained assistance dogs are trained to ignore any food or treats that they see on the floor. Part of the public access test is walking directly over food while ignoring the food. Even on the occasion that we accidentally drop food or one of Henry's treats on the floor, he makes no attempt to eat the food. This is also the case for when he is out of his jacket!

6. An Assistance dog should be wearing a jacket.

An Assistance dog, regardless of what their role is, should be wearing a jacket that identifies that they are a service dog. Depending on which organisation that the dog is trained through, really depends on what colour jacket the dog should be wearing, but the jacket is usually very distinctive. The dog's jacket must have a badge or identification on the jacket stating which organisation certified or qualified the dog. 

In Henry's case there are two Smart Pups badges (the organisation that trained him) as well as a Guide Hearing Assistance Dog badge (the organisation that certified him as a service dog. 

If a dog is wearing a jacket but doesn't have any identification on the jacket, chances are the owner/handler has purchased a jacket and is attempting to pass the dog off as an assistance dog.

7. The handler must have an identification card when the dog is working.

All handlers of service dogs are issued with an identification card once the the team has passed the public access test. In Queensland, this card is issued by Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs. The card is distinctive and has the handlers details and the dogs details on it, complete with passport photo of the handler and of the dog.

Ideally the card should be displayed on the dog's jacket but if this is not possible, then the card must be carried by the handler whenever the dog is working in jacket. Henry's jacket as a clear faced pocket that can be sealed shut for our cards. Any place that the handler and dog go can request to see the dogs certification, and that is exactly what these cards are for.

8. An Assistance Dog must obey their handler at all times.

An Assistance Dog must be focused on their handler at all times, which includes obeying all commands given by the handler. If needed I can tell Henry, "watch me" or "leave it" and Henry will refocus on me. We use this commands if another dog approaches us or if we are walking past a dog that is barking.

The assistance dogs that have barked and rushed towards Henry, have failed to obey their handlers. Each time that this has occurred the handlers have made an attempt to gain their dogs attention however the dogs have not refocused on their handler.