Pawsibilities Unleashed

Below are ways that an autism service dog could benefit your child with autism:

• Can improve the family and child's overall quality of life.
• The dog can assist children with autism safely access different environments.  This could help your child become more independent and also help with transitions, which can be difficult for children with autism.  They can lend support and a calming influence to the child as they cope in highly stressful situations and changes in routine.
• The dog can help improve socialization skills by bridging the gap between children with autism and society.
• The dog can be a calming influence and give your child a sense of security by becoming a constant in their day to day activities.
• The dog can actually help your child focus on academic and social tasks.  The reason that this happens isn't always understood, but it is a great side effect. 
• The dog can be tethered to your child in public situations to prevent the child from wandering away, which some children with autism are prone to do.  This should only be done if the parent or other handler has control of the dog.  To do this, you need two separate leashes, one for the parent or handler, and a shorter leash to tether the child to the dog.
• The dog can be taught to "block" the child from dangerous situations such as climbing or going out doors without supervision.
• The dog acts as a constant companion, offering unconditional love and friendship
• A dog can provide independence, allowing the child to walk holding their dog rather than a parent's hand.
• The dog can track and search for your child if the child does wander away (if the child is not tethered).  This takes out a lot of parent's fear about their child getting lost in school or public places.
• The dog can nudge the child during repetitive behaviors and interrupt the behavior.  The hope is that the child will much rather pet the dog than to continue the repetitive behavior.
• The dog can be used during therapy with the child to help increase speech production, fine motor skills, gross motor skills and can be a great source for sensory input.
•  Can enrich the quality of life and enhance the independence of families and the child with autism
• Can accompany the child at all times  .
• Can have the potential to improve a child's communication skills and behavior.
• Can calm the child, reduce emotional outbursts and serve as a positive social link for the child to thier home school and community.
•  Can have the potential to improve a child's communication skills and behavior.

 e,               schoSome of our Autism Service Dogs:

Another positive side effect of having a dog is that it appears to help the child become more social with their peers.  The dog seems to help the child engage more in social activity because the focus is more on the dog than the child.

Tanner Smith & his dog Tug

LENOIR CITY - Melanie and Tim Smith had been in the drugstore only a few minutes when they realized something was missing.

Tanner, their 8-year-old severely autistic son, wasn't his usual hyperactive self. While the couple did their shopping, the Loudon Elementary School pupil remained sprawled on the floor with his toys, his new service dog at his side.

The dog's name is Tug. He's a Newfoundland-collie mix, and at 14 months old, he already weighs 80 pounds - heavy enough to act as a counterweight for Tanner, whose constant movements can be difficult to control.

The Smith family received Tug two weeks ago from Pawsibilities Unleashed, a training facility in Frankfort, Ky., that places assistance dogs with children and adults who suffer from deafness, mobility issues, seizures and more.

Like most of the dogs trained by Pawsibilities Unleashed, Tug came from an animal shelter. To qualify as a service dog, he first had to pass rigorous temperament tests.

Tug and Tanner spend much of the day joined by a 2-foot length of nylon webbing. As an autism service dog, Tug will be trained to alert the family when Tanner has a seizure. Already, he knows to block Tanner from wandering out the door.

Tanner's mother said that since Tug joined the family, Tanner has had fewer outbursts.

"We can already tell that Tug is having a calming effect," Melanie said. "The other day we took Tug and Tanner to a restaurant, and I was able to carry on a conversation for 15 minutes. That might seem small to somebody else, but it's big to me."

Pawsibilities Unleashed charges $5,000 for its assistance dogs.

The fee for Tug was covered by the Maryville-based Smoky Mountain Walking Horse Association through its annual donation to The Dream Connection. The club also paid for the Smiths' motel and travel expenses during their weeklong training session with Tug in Kentucky.

The Smith family are longtime members of the Smoky Mountain Walking Horse Association.

"Tanner's situation requires constant attention," said club president Ruth Tudor. "We're hoping a service dog gives his parents a little more security. Plus, there's the bond between a boy and his dog. Every kid needs a best friend."

Born 13 weeks prematurely, Tanner spent the first two-and-a-half months of his life in intensive care. He is nonverbal, suffers from occasional seizures and is prone to banging himself on the head when he is overstimulated.

Two weeks ago, the Smith family - Tanner, his parents, and Tyler, Tanner's 11-year-old brother - spent a week in Frankfort, 200 miles north of Knoxville, learning how to complete Tug's training as a service dog.

It was an exhausting schedule. Each day the parents spent four to five hours in class, followed by homework assignments and field trips to restaurants and other public places with Tanner and Tug.

The Smiths learned Tug's basic obedience commands, and how to the work with him on scent training so that he might alert the family to subtle changes in Tanner's scent brought about by illness or a seizure.

One of the trainers for Pawsibilities Unleashed is Tracy Hagan, whose 12-year-old son, Tyler, has had an autism service dog for the past nine months.

Hagan said she started out with a Labrador retriever but switched to a terrier mix because the smaller size suited her son. The service dog's name is Carmella.

"Carmella is trained to interrupt his hand flapping. She will go up to Tyler and jump on him with her front paws to interrupt that cycle," Hagan said. "She also alerts me to fever, him having a stomach virus. Since my son has gotten his service dog, he has been off his anxiety medicines."

While Tug still is getting used to living with the Smith family, the family are getting used to living with Tug. Tanner has never slept alone. Right now, he's still sleeping with his parents, with Tug on the bed, too. Melanie said she hopes boy and dog eventually will be comfortable in their own room.

"You want kids to be all they can be," she said. "If this is all Tanner can be, then fine, but I want to give him every opportunity to be more."

Pawsibilities Unleashed trains exclusively by positive reinforcement. Choke chains or any other form of negative reinforcement are prohibited. These days, Melanie's pockets are full of dog treats. When Tug obeys a command, she likes to let Tanner administer the reward.

Just as Tug is learning to adjust to his new family, he soon will have to adjust to another new environment when Tanner takes his service dog to school.

Melanie recently took Tanner and Tug for their first visit to Tanner's special education class at Loudon County Elementary. It was the teachers' first meeting with Tug, and it gave the other students a chance to get to know him, too.

First, Melanie walked Tug around to each desk so the students could pet him. She then showed the teachers the hand commands for Tug to sit and to lie down.

Loanne Van Voorhis, Tanner's teacher, said Tug will be the first service dog she has had in her classroom in more than 30 years of teaching.

"This is going to be a learning experience for everyone involved," Van Voorhis said. "I look at it as another student coming into the classroom. There will be occasional snafus, but overall, if it helps Tanner, it helps all of us."

Morgan Simmons may be reached at 865-342-6321.

Tanner Smith sits on his father Tim's lap while mother Melanie and brother Tyler, left, listen to trainer Liz Norris explain what to expect from Tanner's new service dog.

Tanner Smith relaxes while tethered to Tug while the dog's trainer, Liz Norris, watches at the training site in Frankfort, Ky.

Tim Smith and his son, 8-year-old Tanner, watch while Tanner's mother goes through training with Tug at Pawsibilities Unleashed.