Three's a Crowd

A diabetic alert dog was on my radar right away, back in 2013. There were many reasons to table the idea for awhile. We already had so much on our plates: the learning curve for T1D is steep. We already had two aged dogs, both just over 10 years old and complicating the social scene. Perhaps in several years, they would have lived their natural lives, making bringing a puppy into our home easier. And lastly, timing for William. He needed to be old enough to participate, but more importantly, the dog's age needed to be such that it would still (God willing) be young enough to be a DAD as William goes off to college.

For over a year, I studied the type of dog, the type of training, researched kennels and breeds, and yet, our two old dogs were the energizer bunnies. Now over thirteen years old, neither shows any sign of slowing down. Paris, the Japanese Chin on the right, she is blind, deaf, and stupid (no, really) and Daisy, she patrols our perimeters daily, cornering opossums in the barn and other intruders. Her eyes remain clear.

Perhaps, I unwisely reasoned, Daisy would teach the puppy manners. Murphy quickly checked (still does) Daisy's "equipment" for nursing possibilities. Daisy doesn't take too kindly to such familiarity. Paris is a squeak toy that never quits. She provided the opportunity to teach that we don't jump on the backs of geriatric dogs. All gather at my feet when it is training time, eager for treats.

Daisy was trained to alert for a low smell in a bottle (she doesn't give a rat's ass about William being low), but uses her paw. Murphy, ever observant, tried this alert, too. We are going to use a nose nudge, so I am now training her separately from Daisy on alerts. All in all, it would be better if we had only one dog for training and I highly recommend it. We've gotten around some of the difficulties with a routine that works. I'll write more on that tomorrow.

Update: Murphy now weighs 18 pounds and likes three cups of kibble a day (also used as treats)