Expert: Susan Downes - 1/30/2008

Question
hello, my 13 year old son just came down with type one diabetes. our new shitzu was always great with the kids. now since my son became sick the dog wont let him near me or my wife. he will play well with my son but if he tries to come near us the dog gets violent and nips at him and actually pushes him away from us. he will back away and the dog will lick him and be ok. is she protecting us?

Answer
Hi David, I am sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis. The good news is that you have a dog who has a natural alert response to his blood sugar. I myself have hypoglycemia and have a service dog who is trained for seizure response by getting my glucagon shots, cellular telephone and family members... She also has a natural seizure response sense and will lick my face, checking my blood sugar often, and pressing on me until I sit down. If you live in Florida, let me know and we can work together to get your dog to be a great service dog for your son. If not, try to find someone who is a behaviorist familiar with service dogs and who train service dogs for diabetes and seizures. In the meantime have your son check his blood sugar with his meter when the dog acts different or is checking his skin and breath. You will probably find that the dog is correct most of the time and his blood sugar is going up or down. The dog is not protecting you, the dog is protecting your son. Have your son teach the dog to get his meter, make it a game. First you teach "go get", then "bring", then "drop it" or "give" commands. Then you teach the words, such as "go get my medicine", "go get Dad" or "go get Mom", or "go get help". As the dog learns the commands the whole family praises the dog lavishly, giving treats if you use them. We make our own low fat, low salt training treats if you are interested in trying them. We do not want fat service dogs and train many of them. When the dog nips or does any unwanted behavior, quickly say "shh" or "no" in a calm and assertive voice while touching the dog in the neck with your hands like a mother dog would nip an unruly puppy. Take the dog for walks daily as a family for around 45 minutes, at the heel, slightly behind the knee. This will show the dog that your family are the pack leaders and the dog is the follower as well as exercising it's mind and body. This is very important in forming the pack and making the family dominant. Do not retreat from the dog when it growls, snips, bears teeth...correct the behavior. Try to predict the behavior in advance by watch for body signals such as alert hears and a tail held high, correct it before it escalates. Feel free to contact me via my website (under construction) at http://dogbehaviorandtraining.8k.com . You have a very sensitive dog that is simply confused and misguided. But with the proper training, can be a huge asset for your son. Hope this helps. Please leave me some feedback, and follow-up with me to let me know how things are proceeding. Thank you so much for writing. Warm Regards, Susan