...says new kid on the block, Jamie Cook of HEADS UP HOUNDS
What is the name of your DAD/organization? Heads Up Hounds
How long have you been involved with Diabetic Alert Dogs? 2013
When did you begin your journey? We began our journey when a close friend of our family
needed a DAD for their son, but was struggling with the idea of paying $20,000
and waiting 1-2 years to get a dog for him. His son was adamant that he would not allow his parents to
shell out that kind of money and would manage somehow, although he was quietly struggling
greatly being away at college with BG levels fluctuating all over the
place. Around this same time, we
became connected with a trainer that was assisting us with one of our rescue
dogs. He began to tell us about
his many years of experience training scent detection dogs for the military,
secret service and police. He had
also worked training diabetic alert dogs for some families using the methods he
had learned in the military and found that he could train alert dogs quite
quickly in this manner. My husband
and I have many years of experience working with shelters and rescues in
various capacities. We started
talking with the trainer (Russ) about using rescue dogs along with his methods
to put together a program that would allow people like our friends to get DADs
more quickly and for a much lower cost.
As a result, Heads Up Hounds
was born. We also are able to
provide great fundraising assistance to those who still needed additional help
to acquire these life-saving dogs.
What have been your greatest obstacles?
Interestingly, the biggest obstacles right now are just getting all of
the administration set up. Like
many things in life it is the paperwork and red tape that cause the biggest
hassles!
Why do you continue? We continue because we hear story after story after story of
parents staying up all night, every night, checking on their T1 kid’s BG
levels, stories of parents worried sick now that their kids are heading off to
college with no safety net, of teenagers that “just want to be able to go to a
sleepover like all my friends”.
There is a huge need for these dogs. People feel that the cost puts them out of reach or that it
is simply too long of a wait. PLUS
we get to save dogs that might otherwise be euthanized in a shelter or free up
space in a rescue so that another life can be saved.
How do you feel you are impacting the type 1 community? We are allowing a person to realize that they have
options… that these dogs are in reach for anyone who needs them, when they need
them. It is also cool to be able
to allow people to pick almost any type of dog for their DAD. People with diabetes come in all
shapes, sizes, ages and lifestyles…why shouldn’t their dogs be as unique as they
are?
Do you feel there can be more done? If so, what would it
look like? I would love to see more trainers consider working with
shelter and rescue dogs. With so
many dogs euthanized in shelters every day in our country, it just seems wrong
to be breeding more and more dogs when there are dogs available that have the
perfect temperament to do this important work in every community across the
country.
What makes your process (or situation) unique/different? We utilize shelter/rescue dogs exclusively. We have a unique training process that
allows dogs to be trained more quickly than most traditional programs. Our cost is significantly less than
most other DAD training programs.
How are you involved with the families for the lifetime
of their DAD? We work as team with our clients. Everyone sees our contract and signs it before we even go get their dog. A common misconception with trainers about us is that we have rescue dogs already that we are then "pawning off" on people; backwards. We get a recipient, learn their needs, THEN go search for their dog. Its very personal...they are involved every step. We hope to stay connected with these
families for many years to come.
We provide access to our trainers for any troubleshooting that might be
needed. We are building a
community of Heads Up Hound owners on Facebook. People refer us to others in the diabetic community. And, of course, we hope that when it is
time for their dog to retire to the life of just a beloved pet, that they will
give us the honor of training their next DAD.
Does every applicant that comes to you for a DAD “get
in”? Why or why not? Every applicant that understands their
responsibility in caring for a dog, continuing the DADs training and is willing
to work our program “gets in”. We
do require that the recipient and in many cases one member of their family be
able to travel to the Omaha-area for a 3-day orientation, bonding time with
their new DAD and training in handling, care and on-going maintenance of their
DADs training when they return home.
If fundraising is required, we assist with ideas and support, but they
must be willing to do most of the fundraising “legwork”.
What do you look most for in a dog to do this job? Physically, the dog simply needs to be of an
appropriate size (compared to the recipient) and have a relatively long
muzzle. The temperament needs to
be friendly, alert (but not anxious), basic trainability, and
food-motivation. One of the best
things about our program is that we get to know the needs and wants of each
particular recipient and can then go find a dog that suits them. We are not a one-size fits all
organization.
How long can one expect to wait from start to “finish” in
being placed with one of your dogs… Does the wait time fluctuate? Why or why
not? Obviously, there is some fluctuation depending on how long
our list of applicants is and how much capacity we have. From the time we obtain a deposit, we
can usually locate a DAD candidate dog in about 2-4 weeks. From the time we take possession of the
dog until its training is complete is typically 2-4 months. So, a dog could be ready for delivery
to a recipient in as little as 3-6 months total. The number of people waiting
with deposits submitted and how quickly the dogs complete their training will
determine how quickly we can acquire and begin training the next candidate’s
DAD. Because we are not waiting
for the dogs grow up and because our overall process is very streamlined, our
overall wait time is far less than organizations that breed and use a more
traditional approach.
Editor's note: While speaking with Jamie, I learned Heads Up Hounds not only trains these DADs for public access, but also trains each dog on night alerts. YES. YOU READ THAT PROPERLY. Jamie and the Heads up Hounds team is very passionate about what is important to the Type 1 community and I am happy to see and hear of all the strides Heads Up Hounds is making to stand tall in this industry.
Location: just outside of Omaha, NE
Available to
(locationwide): nationwide
Price Range:
$6,500 (plus cost of travel and accomodations during 3-day pick-up)
Website or FB site:
Click HERE to go to their Facebook page and HERE for their Director of Public Relations & Fundraising assistance. Contact JAMIE HERE.
ReplyDeleteWild Goose Chasers
DOG SERVICE PROGRAM USING BORDER COLLIES
Dog Service is a daily service that essentially introduces a trained border collie that is perceived predator to Canada geese . This is one way to teach them that the area is not a safe place to nest or feed.This program works best before the geese become attached to the area. It is legal to chase geese without a state or federal permit provided they are not handled or touched by a person or dog.
The most effective results from dog chasing methods come from actively and regularly using a combination of the harassment techniques each time the geese appear on your property. It is critical when caring out these methods that all the geese have left the property. Geese must continue to feel threatened or they will return to the property, which is why repeated and consistent use of harassment techniques is necessary.