November is CRPS Awareness Month. November 7th is Color the World Orange day, where anyone and everyone is encouraged to boldly represent & draw attention to CRPS by wearing orange, casting orange lights on buildings, and really anything with the color orange. Every year, I post on social media about CRPS to raise awareness, and educate about the potential a service dog can have for someone disabled by CRPS. This year, I want to start the month by sharing all of the past articles I've personally written about CRPS and CRPS service dogs for anyone new to learning about this option. 

On October 16, the Disabled Advantage team attended our 1st Dogtoberfest in Blue Springs, MO. 

Although Disabled Advantage has been in business since 2021, this has been the first year I've attended any business events, mainly because I had no idea how to find them, let alone how to sign up as a vendor! This year, I've made new connections in my local business community, and this has enabled me to expand my reach, learn new things, and get inside knowledge into business community events. Dogtoberfest was, actually, the very first event I signed up for, but the 3rd one we attended, because their sign up opened so early in the year. 

At this event, I was joined by my husband, Adam, and my best friend, Maddie, with her dog, Max. Austin was there, too, of course, being my service dog. Maddie and Max, were my first clients. Max is almost done with Therapy Dog training. 

We set up two tables up front with information about Disabled Advantage, flyers about types of working dogs for adults and kids alike, stickers of Robbie with my "Let's Do This" mantra for working through pain, free training tip guides for socialization & confidence building, a video of what it looks like to train with me, signs with my new Patreon page info, and a memorial to Robbie with his photo and vest. I had wanted him to be with us, and this way, he could be. 

It was a long day for all of us. Austin started out off duty for a walk with my husband and Max's team, then moved to on-duty for me, bracing, giving counter-balance assistance as needed, and helping to stabilize my body temp. He got a few breaks during the day, where I'd take his gear off and we'd play tug in our tent or do fun training. It was a nice day, or would have been for someone without CRPS! As it was, we had a hard time keeping me warm in 60F with light wind. I was wrapped in blankets, with hand warmers, fingerless gloves, and a heated blanket. I almost dipped into shock over lunch, but Austin stabilized me and this enabled me to keep going. 

I hope I reached the people who needed to connect with me. Several people stopped by throughout the day to take information, ask questions, or remark on Donut's eerie ability to hold a Sit all day. I was able to walk through the event for a little bit, which was good for both of us. Events are a strain on my CRPS due to the sitting, smiling, talking, and remaining in a heightened cognitive state for answering questions and helping people effectively for long stretches of time. They typically take 2-3 days for me to recover. If you're at an event and see us present, I'd love for you to stop by and ask questions! When I can help even one person, it's worth it for me to be there. Dogtoberfest was a fun event to be a part of, and I hope to attend again in future years!

Disabled Advantage was created for people with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome to have access to finding answers for those questions, and more, from someone who has Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. 

Hi, my name is Sally. I'm the owner & trainer for Disabled Advantage. 

First of all, You Are Worthy of receiving help for your CRPS/RSD. Without question. 

Second, if you're disabled by CRPS/RSD, and you want to know if a service dog is a good fit for you, I want to help you figure this out. 

Third, if you aren't sure if your CRPS/RSD is a disability or not, I want to try to help you determine this answer, as well. You don't have to be on government disability for your disability to count as a real disability. Not everyone with CRPS/RSD is disabled by it, but you might be one who is and may not know it. The second my accident happened, I was effectively disabled by the CRPS/RSD, but it took me 4 years to realize it. 

Life with CRPS/RSD is a hard road. I've got a plan for you that helps getting answers to some of your questions a little easier!

Step 1: Book a FREE 30-minute consult with me. We'll talk about your CRPS, how it started, and I'll give you a chance to share some of your questions. 

Step 2: In your consult, we'll decide together if signing up for in-depth coaching sessions with me is a good path for you, to help answer more questions about CRPS, how a service dog might help you specifically, how to find a program to help you, or if you want to consider training your own through Disabled Advantage. 

All too often, we're left to question our worthiness with CRPS because of how the system treats us. Let's see if we can bring you a little clarity and confidence moving forward. 

My wish for every client I work with, is for you to come out of training knowing what you're capable of with your dog. I want your dog to be calm and responsive to you. I want you to feel like You've Got This, whether you have CRPS/RSD and need a service dog, or you simply want a gentle, calm, and reliable companion by your side. 

Maybe you already have a dog who's a bit rough around the edges or you're looking for a new dog to bring into your life. You don't know what's possible with training until you try. Book a free, 30-minute consultation with me to learn what I can offer you!

I am lots of things. 

My current in-training dog, Austin, is high energy. Not in the bounce off the walls kind of way, but more of the "I want to move all day" sort. 

​Part of Austin's integration into our household includes free time. These are time periods where he practices being off-leash in the house, respecting our rules, listening to us without a leash to reinforce, co-existing calmly with Robbie, and just being a dog. 

It may surprise you to know that free time is something he struggles with. Not because he's getting into trouble, but rather because he tends to get unsettled and restless without direction. It illuminates how overwhelming freedom to make their own choices and determine their own activities can be for some dogs. 

In his active training sessions, Austin is learning Place (go to a specific spot and settle), Down, and public access Down (lying a certain way, in a certain spot). He hasn't quite put two and tow together to use those skills in his own time, though. 

I'm helping him learn how to settle and how to choose to settle with the following approaches:

1. Keeping free time as a reward after a training session, and keeping it short
2. Putting him on a leash tether that I'm holding and asking him to actively settle. I either wait for him to lay down and praise him, or actively tell him to lay down. He can lay how he likes, have a treat, take a nap, or watch the birds, but the tether keeps him from pacing. 

Pacing or changing positions often can be a sign of restlessness. The more you let your dog practice pacing by doing it, you're inadvertently teaching them, "Yes, please do this with your time and energy."

It's amazing how fast a leash and me settling down encourages him to settle down, too. 

You may be thinking, oh that will never work on my dog, they're too hyper. Any dog can learn to settle. How you do it may change, but the concept remains the same. All dogs need to learn how to settle because it helps them learn to relax and learn what to do with themselves when they are unsure or overwhelmed about something. 

Using a leash helps set a energy level of calm, along with you yourself settling down to read a book, watch tv, or another activity. It's easy to want to use treats, but throwing treats at your dog can accidentally infuse more energy into the exercise, which defeats your overall goal of "please calm down now." Not every approach works the same for every dog or team. For more help, send me an email and let's get you started training with Disabled Advantage. 

As a service dog, Austin will need to have a mix of "go all day" and "settle down here for a bit." He needs to channel his energy into either avenue equally as well. 

If your dog sounds like Austin, try this tip to improve their day - and yours! For more help, schedule a training consult today!

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a neurological disorder that rewrites how a person's nervous systems interpret incoming information, translating everything into pain signals. This bombards a person's system to the point where other functions get put to the wayside, affecting everything from the ability to walk, muscle coordination, muscle strength, concentration, cognitive function, alters the overall health of a person's organs, and more. Everything gets interpreted as pain, and actual pain makes our bodies respond like we're in full-blown crisis mode when it's only a papercut. 

This disorder primarily impacts mobility and range of motion, but can lead to the development of depression, anxiety, organ complications, and PTSD from the pain flares, how we're handled by medical professionals, or the original accident (if there was one).

A CRPS diagnosis does not guarantee you will be or are disabled, but it can be disabling to some depending on the severity of it and where you're affected. CRPS presents differently in every patient, making it extraordinarily hard to diagnose, and adds to the complexity behind the simple question, "do I need a service dog?" 

Is it cheaper to train your own service dog instead of going through a service dog program or private board & train program? 

You tell me. 

​Any avenue you choose to go about obtaining a service dog partner will be expensive in some way. Of that I can almost guarantee. There is no such thing as a free service dog. Not really. To help illustrate this for you, I've broken down a few prominent costs involved with owner-training a service dog, based on my own experiences.

Service dogs, Therapy Dogs, Police K9 dogs, Military Working dogs, Detection dogs, Search & Rescue  dogs are all types of working dogs. They undergo lots of training that is specialized to their needed job, work for most of their life, and have to meet certain requirements to be able to do their job. 

Service dogs are the only type of working dog who accompany their handler into the general public on a routine basis, because they are needed to mitigate their handler's disability. To be clear, the handler holds the rights and protection of law, not the dog. 

Therapy dogs, Police K9s, Detection Dogs, and Search & Rescue Dogs are only permitted into select public spaces while performing their job. When off-duty, or on-duty but not actively working, they can only go to pet-friendly spaces. 

Emotional support animals/dogs and their owners can only ever go to pet-friendly spaces. ESAs are not considered to be a type of working dog. While what they provide their owner is immensely beneficial to their owner's well-being, it is  not a trained job. Select mental health professionals might allow the dog to be at sessions, or write  note allowing for the animal to live in non-pet-friendly housing, but that's it. 

For more information or if you have questions about this, send me an email at [email protected]!

Rushing training will get you nowhere. Training a service dog takes 1 - 2 years, because there is so much material for both the dog and handler to learn. Taking shortcuts will cause problems later on, like your dog struggling to heel through crowds, being unsure of new situations, not being able to be out of sight from you, and the list goes on. Training will be boring at times, but going slowly through everything to be sure that both you and your dog are capable at each level is vital to your success as a team one day, and their ability to do their important job day after day, under any circumstances. Tasks, especially, are very complicated actions for a dog to learn how to do, and that takes time. 

Not all dogs have the drive to help people, or the energy to be on alert for several hours during the day. A service dog not only needs to have the desire to please their person, but also be capable of focusing in high distraction zones, lay on uncomfortable surfaces, ignore temptations like food or other people's attention, be on their feet moving several times a day, or go to work and be on duty in a strange place for 2 - 8 hours in a day. Some dogs just want to romp in the yard and snuggle on the couch, and that is okay! What isn't okay, though, would be trying to force the snuggler into a rigorous life of working when they don't have the heart for it. When looking into dogs, you want a dog with medium to high energy, and a desire to be with people or their person. Checking out specific working breeds is a good idea. 

Recently disabled/diagnosed? Give yourself a year or so to acclimatize to what life as a disabled individual is like, before adding a service dog to the mix. Besides - if you're new to being disabled, it may take you some time to figure out how you need a dog to help you. 

Moving soon/new baby coming soon/getting married soon? Wait for the big life change to happen, for life to smooth out a little, and then talk about bringing a service dog into the mix, especially if you want to owner-train. Adjusting to always needing to account for your service dog's presence, their needs, and how they help you, into your daily routines can be a challenge in itself at first. Working with a service dog is a big life change. You don't want to stack big life changes if you can stagger them. 

Medical condition in a constant state of turmoil? Be prepared for owner-training to feel like you're being road hauled until you find your feet. Trying to force yourself out of bed to train, play with, feed, and exercise your service dog in training will be a hefty task for yourself several times a day, every single day for 1 - 2 years. There are no days off from taking care of your dog. Days off from training, yes. Days off from giving them structure, playtime, feeding, and general care are not a thing. Once your dog learns how to help you, your condition will likely stabilize, and things get easier with your dog's care and your interests/hobbies. Until then, you need to have a way to drive yourself into action to give your service dog's training and care everything you got.