So I've been thinking...... (ruh-roh).......
I haven't updated anything here on chaz (just my facebook), but a few of y'all kind of know what's going on. For those that don't, here's the brief Cliff's Notes version:
3 years ago, Cole had viral encephalitis which was determined to be the type transmitted via mosquito, but wasn't West Nile (I just told a view that so they would understand what viral encephalitis was). They are now thinking that he possibly had one of the equine strains, but they didn't test for those two. He was extremely ill.
Fast forward....Cole was never the same child after the infection. Yes, he's a sweet, loving child, but he retained some changes in behavior which have increased in intensity and occurrence as he's aged (impulsivity, hyperactivity, decreased ability to properly handle feelings such as frustration, anger, etc....I could go on).
1 1/2 years ago, I noticed the first episod which I subconsciously thought could have been a seizure. I noted it in a journal, but because of what happened, it very well could have been him just extremely tired and it was past his bedtime. Well, he had more of these episodes, but I'm talking about months apart.
Fast forward to the end of August, and Cole had an "episode" on a Friday night which was much more involved and then he had another on the following Tuesday in the late morning (I had to check him out because they called and said he wasn't himself). That one was more odd and more severe.
Fast forward to now. We've met with Cole's pediatrician and neurologist. Neurologist said "most definitely seizures" and she's of 99.9% certain these have been brought as an after-effect of the encephalitis. She said it's common in those who had such severe cases. An EEG showed abnormal rhythmic activity in the frontal lobe. For those that don't know, the frontal lobe controls behavior, which has really explained a lot. He's set to have an MRI as well to check for changes in the brain and/or scar tissue in the brain. Right now we can positively say he has suffered brain damage, but what exactly and to what extent is still to be determined.
Ok, so thanks for reading all that. Now here's my new thought:
I would love love love to train, or at least attempt to train, a dog to be a seizure alert dog. I know all about certain dogs, certain temperaments, etc., but I also know that much of seizure alert training is teaching the dog to recognize and then act.
But I would really like for such dog to be either an APBT or a Fila. But my question is, would a Fila be apprpriate for the job? Would it mesh with it's breed traits? I wonder because I know Fila's have super smellers and that is much of the dog being able to recognize the onset of a seizure.
I'm just in the "let's throw ideas out on the table" stage, but this is something that just struck me the other day. Cole and Carson have both been asking for dogs of their own, and I think that after the new year (after our Disney trip in late January and early February) we will finally be settled in and down enough to take on the job of puppy raising and training.
So....opinions?
And just for what it's worth, please don't tell me to get a Lab. No offense to Labs as a breed, but I don't like them and won't own one. Been there, done that, through with that (we had 2 duck dogs).
I haven't updated anything here on chaz (just my facebook), but a few of y'all kind of know what's going on. For those that don't, here's the brief Cliff's Notes version:
3 years ago, Cole had viral encephalitis which was determined to be the type transmitted via mosquito, but wasn't West Nile (I just told a view that so they would understand what viral encephalitis was). They are now thinking that he possibly had one of the equine strains, but they didn't test for those two. He was extremely ill.
Fast forward....Cole was never the same child after the infection. Yes, he's a sweet, loving child, but he retained some changes in behavior which have increased in intensity and occurrence as he's aged (impulsivity, hyperactivity, decreased ability to properly handle feelings such as frustration, anger, etc....I could go on).
1 1/2 years ago, I noticed the first episod which I subconsciously thought could have been a seizure. I noted it in a journal, but because of what happened, it very well could have been him just extremely tired and it was past his bedtime. Well, he had more of these episodes, but I'm talking about months apart.
Fast forward to the end of August, and Cole had an "episode" on a Friday night which was much more involved and then he had another on the following Tuesday in the late morning (I had to check him out because they called and said he wasn't himself). That one was more odd and more severe.
Fast forward to now. We've met with Cole's pediatrician and neurologist. Neurologist said "most definitely seizures" and she's of 99.9% certain these have been brought as an after-effect of the encephalitis. She said it's common in those who had such severe cases. An EEG showed abnormal rhythmic activity in the frontal lobe. For those that don't know, the frontal lobe controls behavior, which has really explained a lot. He's set to have an MRI as well to check for changes in the brain and/or scar tissue in the brain. Right now we can positively say he has suffered brain damage, but what exactly and to what extent is still to be determined.
Ok, so thanks for reading all that. Now here's my new thought:
I would love love love to train, or at least attempt to train, a dog to be a seizure alert dog. I know all about certain dogs, certain temperaments, etc., but I also know that much of seizure alert training is teaching the dog to recognize and then act.
But I would really like for such dog to be either an APBT or a Fila. But my question is, would a Fila be apprpriate for the job? Would it mesh with it's breed traits? I wonder because I know Fila's have super smellers and that is much of the dog being able to recognize the onset of a seizure.
I'm just in the "let's throw ideas out on the table" stage, but this is something that just struck me the other day. Cole and Carson have both been asking for dogs of their own, and I think that after the new year (after our Disney trip in late January and early February) we will finally be settled in and down enough to take on the job of puppy raising and training.
So....opinions?
And just for what it's worth, please don't tell me to get a Lab. No offense to Labs as a breed, but I don't like them and won't own one. Been there, done that, through with that (we had 2 duck dogs).