RedSoxRoxyandJanson

Roxy crazy alerts -

BG-110 after coming down from a 200 when he went off temp basal after game. Around 10:30 pm Roxy is

Going nuts with alerting! Found and jumped up for bringsel and pawed for low...she counties to jump and try to get our attention with bringsel in mouth. She tries to get us to play tug with it. We tell her yes thank you, but she goes away only for a minute. But since had 50-60 carbs of dinner sitting in front of him, we said ok he is eating so it's ok he will come up. Then he listened to her and only bolused half of what his pump said.

After eating Roxy keeps alerting...continues with bringsel in my face and Janson's. Janson checked he was 90! Even after eating carbs and listening to Roxy and lowering bolus, he has learned to trust her over everything. He decided to eat 30 additional carbs with no bolus...then 30 minutes later 91! It's midnight so I will watch his numbers throug night cause he has playoff games in morning.

Earlier today, before his double header, Roxy did the same thing! He had been higher in the morning, and had come down to like 170. He was eating before his game and she went crazy it's the bringsel ... Non stop jumping with it and wanting t play with it. She paws to a low, and we are like, wait he isn't low and not much onboard but we will listen. It was another strong alert . We knew we had to listen , that he would go low. He ate but then only bolused for a portion, then bringsel crazy alert continued. He ate half a bananna 15 carbs with no insulin, then he went on temp basal. Instead if going high, he stayed about the same, I think his numbers were like. Next thing I know game is over, they won, and he comes running off the field and I said check BG! He had dropped to 45!!!! In freaking out! Juice, juice, then muffin. Roxy was right again... The weird thing is she has exhibited a trend alert, shown in both incidences about a 1-2 hours ahead of time. Janson and I also sat down and calculated it out. We think we figured that when she gives these strong alerts, she is alerting to a strong curve, a drop or rise in trend over a 1-2 hour time frame. It's up to us if we listen or not. Since these kinds of alerts are way ahead of time , we calculated by trial and error, that we think he needs to eat 30 carbs without insulin over time (15 carbs pe hour)

Our Journey to a Service Dog:

I have never considered myself a dog person, or a pet person. I spent many summers growing up, on my grandmothers and uncles' farm and dairy. I remember the chores of feeding the baby calves, feeding the cattle and horses, spending time on the tractors, and watching my three uncles work very hard on the farm. Animals were meant to be outside. I had the chore of feeding the chickens and gathering their eggs, and giving scraps to the kittens and cattle/shepherd dogs. I remember having a fondness for animals, and giving the enthusiastic answer "a Veterinarian" to the question, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" But pets were in my mind, a means to an end, and only allowed outside. I never had a dog growing up and had a fulfilling, wonderful childhood so.... Why? Are my kids really missing out?

As an adult, I never wanted or honestly seen the purpose or excitement of having a dog. Yes, I was one of those who when a dog came up to me, I would back away and say "oh don't touch me” or “don’t get your wet nose or slobbery tongue on me!" I was not the friend who would bend over and pet my friend's dog when they met me at the door! I thought yuck, they slobber on you, bark, some jump on you, and they smell. I never saw the need or the draw to a dog.... Until....

My family had teased me for years. They begged me for 10 years to give in, and to consider getting a family dog. I always stood my ground, never relented. I knew it would be me taking care of the thing and cleaning up after her. I heard for years the good intention statements we all hear..."you don't have to do anything mom and dad, I'll do everything". The good intention comments from my kids, which I knew were only good for about a month! I just couldn't do it.

Finally my son said, in August 2015 when he was 12, "mom, I'm almost 13, a real teenager now, and I'd like to have a real conversation about something important to me." Wow I actually wanted to listen. He proceeded to say, "I really want a dog, and I know my begging and other means to ask for one haven't worked. I understand your concerns, so I'd like to schedule a sit down discussion with you. I have written out a proposal. Does Tuesday night at 8:30 work for you?" I was taken back by his approach. I have to admit I was impressed and proud of his mature approach. I decided I had to hear this "proposal". I had always found a way change the conversation or shoot it down with comments, like "too expensive, too messy, a lot of responsibility for you, I don't want a dog in my house, or we are always gone..." But this time it was different. He deserved to be heard, I said, "Ok, if you have an organized meeting, with topics to discuss and you are serious about understanding the answer still might be no, I'll hear you out, and we can have a true sit down discussion about this."

My husband and I took a long walk that night to discuss the upcoming event. I told my husband, “it was so sweet, I never had been willing to entertain a discussion, but now I feel like I have to just hear him... Even though I know I will say no.” My husband looked at me and said, “honey this is a righteous desire, we have to help cultivate it, and we not only need to hear him, but I think you need to consider giving in, and compromising here.” My heart started to race! Really?! How would this work? How can a compromise work and we all get something we want? But my husband planted a seed in me, and my heart began to soften. I felt the sweet plea from my husband to hear him and my son out. Later that night Janson invited my husband and I to sit down on the couch, and our 12 year old son stood in front of us, his notes in hand, and proceeded to present to us his presentation. He had 2 pages, a well thought out report including solutions to the questions of the how's, what's, where's and why's of becoming a dog owner. He had ideas on how to earn and save money to pay for the dog and a family budget to pay for food and all of the necessary items to buy for our new family pet. He had divided up chores and even devised a chore chart. I could tell he had good intentions, and had put his heart and soul into making sure his mom knew this was something he really wanted and was ready for.

My heart was softened and my mind opened. I told him "daddy and I need to discuss it, discuss a compromise, and get back to you." We told him next Friday we would let him know. During that time he didn't bug me about my answer, he waited patiently. My husband and I talked and talked about it. We talked to God about it. I began researching what kind of dog would work for our family. I came across a message from more than a year earlier from my friend Kim's sister Kristy. She had told me to look up Tattle Tail Scent Dogs since I had a Type I son. At the time I thought, ‘nope!’... But for some reason the year old conversation popped up on my message app on Facebook, and my interest peaked! I read back through our conversations then messaged her. I began to research the website and reading stories. I felt an overwhelming sensation of peace and comfort come over me. Was this it? If I knew that our dog had a purpose, to not only be my son's best friend, but alert to dangerous blood sugars and possibly even save his life... then YES, perhaps this could be our compromise! The dog could actually be an asset to me, she could help me! I discussed it with my husband and we decided to call KC that night. Even though ‘The Lady’ tried to talk us out of it, LOL...we knew this was the answer we had all been looking for! I just felt right. We told Janson that Friday after school. He was so happy and excited to learn about the fact that he could get a dog, and that would also help him with his diabetes! I remember he just kept saying "yes, yes, yes...wait is this a dream mom?! I can't believe it; my prayers were answered!"

One thing that I kept hearing, both from KC and in my mind was "if it is meant to be, it will be". We put down a deposit and got on the wait list, and decided not to stress…again, if it was meant to be, it would happen.

In June 2016 we learned that our puppy was coming to us! We had asked for a yellow female. Roxy was the only yellow female in her liter. We knew she was meant just for our family. One year later after deciding to get a diabetic alert dog, we brought her home and began our journey. This is a journey of hard work and discovery. The journey of self-training and development of a service dog was not going to be easy, and I knew it. But the obedience training, house training, scent work, teaching new commands, being patient with her and ourselves, all led us to a journey of joy, and I began to love her more and more every day. It was like being a new mother, not having any experience in being a dog owner or ever training one, I was learning every step of the way right along with her. She is forgiving of us and our mistakes, and with every mistake she makes and lesson she learns, we become closer and closer. My oldest daughter had just moved out of the country for 18 months, and we were feeling down and sad. We found Roxy made us laugh, and brought us together as a family.

I was extremely apprehensive and nervous as a first time dog owner. I was afraid I would mess things up and have this unruly animal. I learned pretty quick that raising and training a service dog is not much different than raising my three kids! It takes time and patience, and we all learn along the way. We set rules and expect consequences for obeying or breaking those rules. I wouldn't let Roxy do or get away with any behavior that I wouldn't want from my kids. I held onto the knowledge learned from KC that it takes "patience, persistence, and perseverance". I didn't trust myself at first; to self-train my service dog. But I did trust the process, and followed it to the “T”, and it has all come together for me.

Thanks to 'The Lady' we have another powerful and heavy tool in our tool belt used to fight, fix, and manage this nasty stupid disease!! I highly recommend the online classes! Picking her up from Salt Lake was just the beginning of our journey and we had lots to learn!

The follow up group online classes has opened my eyes and helped me to see through the fog of self-training. It has given me the confidence I needed to be successful. Hearing from other DAD owners has been a vital part of the training process for me. I also know that so much of the goodness our dog possesses comes from the selective breeding and scent imprinting from KC. I always hear comments of how well behaved my dog is compared to other dogs, when we are out in public. Something someone said to me once after commenting on how calm she is, stuck with me, "I've owned labs before, Roxy is amazing, that is in her breeding!" I also believe in the process of KC’s ability to match dogs to families. Roxy's temperament and nature is exactly what our family needed! She fits the mold of our family perfectly!

10 things I have learned as a first time dog owner and service dog owner:

1. Do a little bit, every day.

2. Expect more of your dog, she can do it!

3. TRUST IN THE PROCESS, she knows the scent, you just have to reinforce what she already knows.

4. Do what works for you and your family and lifestyle, she will adjust. She is more flexible than you think. She can be and do what works for your circumstances, your living arrangements, ages of kids, work hours, school schedules, or travel schedules. You bring your dog into your world, not the other way around.

5. Make sure you get advice from the right sources. Everyone will tell you what to do, just like when you are a first time parent. It was overwhelming and intimidating. It helped me to turn ONLY to other Tattle Tail DAD owners and the online training classes by KC. They are safe places to ask questions and share concerns. It saved my life the first 3 months!

6. YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE in your dog for her to BELIEVE IN YOU! If you believe she is alerting, if you believe she is trying to communicate with you...then she IS, and it works! Skepticism prohibits growth. It kept us from bonding earlier. You have to hear her when she is communicating, then she will trust you. The more you trust in HER, the more she trusts in YOU, and her alerting happens more and more! Positive reinforcement works miracles! A bond begins, and you will be surprised what happens next! It is a process.

7. Never stop working basic commands. And, go back to the basics when you don't get the results you want. Every stage/phase is temporary; so don’t give up, it will get easier.

8. Our service dog is another tool in our tool belt. She is not always perfect or right. She is a loving animal, not a machine or a piece of technology or an algorithm used to calculate blood glucose levels. (Although, I have found to trust her over these tools sometimes!)

9. She works for me, but her person is the diabetic, and their bond is unique.

10. I didn't know how much I could love her! The love our dog gives us is unconditional, and I find myself loving her more and more every day. Kissing her and cuddling with her happens daily in our home!

Our ‘Red Sox Roxy’ is now 8 months old. She was named after Janson’s favorite baseball team, and she lives up to her name! She loves watching him play baseball, fetching foul balls, and alerting when he gets caught up in the game and his BGs are high or low. We still have a LONG way to go on our journey… but if you would have told me 2 years ago…”you are going to be a proud owner of a diabetic alert service dog, and you are going to do all the training from 8 weeks on yourself”, I would have laughed in your face and said you were crazy! This process does work. It is not easy. It is a journey. And it is so worth it!

Proud Owner of a Tattle Tail DAD,

Andrea Cribbs

Mom to Roxy’s person

14 year old Janson Cribbs

(Type I Diabetic since 19 months old)

RedSoxRoxyandJanson

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Our Journey Began 8-25-16 (Our First Week with Roxy)

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