Prepping for dogs?

[tortoise]

My ex-sister in law managed to get her yorkie on a plane in a carry-on, as a "service dog." I think her obnoxious "I'll sue you" attitude did most of the convincing. Agreed, FarmerChick, very tacky. She was so proud she had pulled one over on the airline.

The next time she tells her story, tell her that it is a felony to impersonate a person with a disability / fake a service dog. She might think twice.

 

[Denim Deb]

When my kids were little, if we saw a service dog, we'd ask the person about the dog, what they used it for, what kind of jobs it did, etc. Everyone was more than willing to answer our questions, and I think they appreciated the fact that the kids were eager to learn and didn't try to bother the dog.

Never ask what a dog is used for. Would I walk up to you and ask you what your medical conditions are? No! Even a business cannot ask what disability a service dog is used for. Legally they can only ask what tasks the dog performs - and with some recent legal actions modifying the definition of a service dog to not require "physical tasks" as was previously required, soon this will not be acceptable or legal either.

Don't be offended when you don't get your conversation. My dog's purpose is to help me function, not to entertain other people's children. Sometimes (most of the time) people with service dogs just want to buy a gallon of milk and go home. This is particularly true of people with invisible disabilities.

It was not done w/the intention of entertaining my children. It was done w/the intention of educating my children by making them understand that some people are "different", but not something to be stared at and was always received as such. Nor did anyone ever mind. They saw it for what it was. My children were polite, not pawing at the dog and interested. They never once made the person feel like they were an object of pity, nor an oddity, but a person who had found a way to cope w/a "handicap". Because of this, they LEARNED how to treat someone that was different w/out making them feel like they were a burden on society, worthy of pity, or someone to avoid.

Actually, everyone that we encounter was THRILLED that we asked about the dog and was more than willing to give the kids as much info as they wanted. I think for many of them it was a welcome RELIEF from what they normally encountered. My kids are both grown now, 26 and 20, and I still have people complementing me on how polite and thoughtful my kids are.

ETA: I wasn't completely happy w/how I worded that, and thought it might come over as if I'm trying to pick a fight, I'm not. Rather than rewrite everything that I wrote, I decided to just add this.

By asking questions when they saw someone w/a service dog, and talking to the person, they learned to see the PERSON, and not the disability. And, they learned that not all disabilities are visible. This taught them not to judge on appearances only. Everyone that I know that has a disability wants to be seen as a person, and not defined by their disability. And by asking questions and being genuinely interested, we can learn about others and come to accept them as a person. We can learn how they want to be treated, and what they don't want us to do for them. We can avoid a lot of hurt this way on both sides. Should I ever get my dog, you can be sure that I will be more than willing to explain to anyone that asks how the dog helps me.

 

[Denim Deb]

Teri, so sorry your daughter got this at such a young age. I was in my mid 20s when diagnosed, and have been one of the lucky ones. I still have most of my hearing, and don't have many bad vertigo attacks. If she ever wants someone to talk to, LMK.

Thanks. She has a small amount of hearing loss in one ear but only when she is having vertigo attacks. The Dr's said it could become permanent if her attacks become more severe. This is a odd disease.

Don't know how I missed this B4. Did they give her any diet restrictions or give her any coping skills? Is she on any medications? I wish Savingdogs was still on here. She has this worse than I do, and would probably be able to help her a lot.

 

[BirchHatchery]

i have 3 coon dogs that hunt coon possum and squirrle thats their job gettin me fur to sell in a SHTF sceniro it would be for the meat as far as preppin for dogs they all drink out of the pond have since they got here dog food i keep 8-10 bags on hand at all times if not more keep it in cool dark place they last up to a year i always have always try keep 4 month supply on hand more so in the winter months if their food ran out i culdnlt obtain it then good ole corn meal and boiled possum/coon worked for my grandpa threw the great depression and farm fresh eggs will do the same for me

 

[the funny farm6]

I don't have to feed my dogs much during the winter. With the hog we normaly butcher and the deer we get, they eat well and just don't want to eat the dog food. We are on the call list for deer that have been hit plus my dh hunts. We dump the gut pile out back along with the head (if it is a doe) and the carcas after the meat is off. Plus if the deer was hit they generaly get some good meat- generaly a front shoulder or back leg. I have never given them vegies or grains I don't think they will eat it, plus they get enuff from the dog food. Plus, this year, we have permisan to also pick up deer that were hit and not turned in. That will equil 2-3 deer a week. And these will all go strait to the dogs. And I will only pick them up in very cold weather.

 

[BirchHatchery]

you must have alot of dogs to eat 2-3 deer a week thats alot of meat

 

[the funny farm6]

We have 7 dogs. 2 hounds, 2 pits, and 3 small dogs. (Plus any drop-offs)

I should have put "up to 2-3 deer per week" as there is no guarentee on how many will be hit, and soome people do keep them when they hit them. Not to mention the ones that get hit by semis- nothing left FOR the dogs! Also if I have plenty and don't need them-I simply won't pick them up. Plus I know a couple people who said if I had too mant they would take one for their dogs.

 

[terri9630]

Teri, so sorry your daughter got this at such a young age. I was in my mid 20s when diagnosed, and have been one of the lucky ones. I still have most of my hearing, and don't have many bad vertigo attacks. If she ever wants someone to talk to, LMK.

Thanks. She has a small amount of hearing loss in one ear but only when she is having vertigo attacks. The Dr's said it could become permanent if her attacks become more severe. This is a odd disease.

Don't know how I missed this B4. Did they give her any diet restrictions or give her any coping skills? Is she on any medications? I wish Savingdogs was still on here. She has this worse than I do, and would probably be able to help her a lot.

She has Antivert and she was put on a low salt diet. And has a medical bracelet for it in case she isn't with someone that knows about it. She is also supposed to sit down as soon as she feels it coming on (no matter what the teachers say, but that is a different story). She sometimes walks crooked and doesn't even realize it and has fallen more than once, breaking her wrist when she tried to catch herself.
Since we figured out my youngest daughters GI issues we have all changed our diets. No more processed foods except for raviolies. Gotta have some comfort foods around and thats my kids favorite.




ETA. She has also started taking allergy shots to get her allergies better control so they aren't a factor anymore. That seemed to help a quite a bit. It doesnt stop an episode but they aren't as severe since starting the shots.

 

[Denim Deb]

Did they tell her anything about caffeine? Caffeine can be a big trigger for Meniere's. But, it can also be funny. I cannot have it in either coffee or soda, but it doesn't bother me in chocolate or tea.

If she's around anyone that smokes, that can also trigger an attack.

Chinese food can trigger an attack, I'm not sure if it's due to the salt or something else (like msg?) in soy sauce.

I know she's too young to drink, but for when she gets older, that's something that she needs to consider. Alcohol can also affect people w/Meniere's.

Strobe lights and even going to fast in a vehicle can trigger an attack.

If she has a vertigo attack, tell her to find an object that is not moving and stare at it. That's not as easy as it sounds. And, she may need to work some on figuring out how close the object should be. Some people do better w/an object that closer, others w/one farther away. Also, if she's interested in any activity that requires balance, encourage her to participate in it, whether it's horseback riding, biking, karate or whatever. I did karate for 8 years. And, while I couldn't really do spinning kicks, I was able to get to 2nd degree black belt. I only stopped because I didn't have the time.

I'm glad she's getting the allergy shots. That's one thing that can be a big help. Hope if she wasn't told any of the above that some of it will help her.

I just heard about this today. And, this is why my kids talked to people w/service dogs. I didn't want them behaving like these people. http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2012/07/patrick_stark_plans_on_taking.html

 

[terri9630]

We were told about the caffeine and she hates that. She loves the monster drinks. No one here smokes and I don't spend any time with people that do. Just the smell of smoke will set of my asthma. The only Chinese food she will eat is sweet and sour chicken. Without the sauce...... Odd kid. She did TKD for 5 years. She's great at giving but cant take a hit. Her little sister on the other hand. She gets hit/kicked and she gets mad and kicks back harder.

Thanks for the info. Not many people here knew what it was and even fewer knew how to deal with her when it acted up. She is going to a very small private school next year so all the teachers will have access to both my girls medical info. There were to many teachers in the public school and that caused us problems because there is no way they can know the issues each child has.