Helping a Local Youth Deal with Diabetes

At our 4 January 2023 club meeting, celebrated with the Smith family our donation to Dog Training Elite New Braunfels.

Brady Smith, a local elementary student, had developed type 1 diabetes as a result of complications from COVID19.  And he been very frustrated by this change to his health and life.  His mother Kimberly was determined to help her son and from researching learned of the theraputic support that a diabetic alert dog can provide.   The dog training cost of $10000 was big challenge.

When our club learned of this we were determined to help, and asked the NB Noon club, Garden Ridge club, and Canyon Lake club to match our donation of $2500.  Collectively the $10000 was raised for Brady’s dog Ranger to begin the special training.

Dog Training Elite New Braunfels has developed a highly successful in-home dog training program in Comal County, TX that empowers dog owners and their canines to work together – creating strong bonds and sustained obedience. Their in-home dog training method is highly personalized and designed to instruct owners, coaching them to train their dog alongside a professional dog trainer in their home environment as well as in small group settings. They strongly believe that the key to sustained obedience and training is to empower owners to be an integral part of the training experience. 

Their training services include service dog training, therapy dog training, and dog training for military/retired veterans.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a service dog as “a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.” Disabilities include mental or physical impairments that affect an individual’s ability to perform one or more major life activities (walking, seeing, etc.). Service dogs are trained to guide and assist such individuals so that they can lead happier, healthier lives.

Because service dogs play such a key role in the life of disabled individuals, they are protected by the law. Places of residence, employment, and commercial facilities cannot discriminate against disabled individuals with service animals. If you are wondering how to get a service dog, you can either purchase a fully trained dog or purchase a service puppy and train it.

A therapy dog is a dog that performs a service for other people. Typical therapy dog tasks are going to nursing homes or hospitals to cheer people up. For your dog to qualify, he/she must be friendly with strangers, and with training, be able to work around a high level of distraction and to understand personal boundaries, such as not jumping up, licking, mouthing, etc.

Research shows that therapy dogs can have a positive effect on a patient’s mood, stress, and pain levels during facility stays. Children, in particular, respond positively to therapy dogs. They are more motivated to participate in treatments, feel optimistic about the future, and experience an overall sense of calm when a certified therapy dog is present.

Therapy dogs can promote social interaction between individuals within communities that may not otherwise experience socialization typically. Therapy dogs offer unconditional love, non-judgmental interaction, reduce stress, anxiety, and loneliness and provide an overall positive distraction to ailments.

Dog Training Elite New Braunfels believes so strongly in the healing power of service dogs for retired military veterans that they have created “The Malinois Foundation”, and donate their time and passion to veteran service dog training New Braunfels for the foundation.

Service dogs can help ease both mental and physical impairments attained through a veteran’s service to our country. Many veterans suffer from PTSD, physical disabilities, and a variety of other handicaps and service dogs have been proven to lessen symptoms and assist in integrating veterans back into normal routines as much as possible.