[Skylar]

Click I never thought about those day to day annoyances that you have to go through - and they are seriously annoying. You would think with all our smart phones someone would have devised an app for connecting to a pump with password protection. I guess the pump itself has to have something within it to coordinate .

I was thinking if you had a custom made fanny pack - I think nowadays they are calling them belly bags. I say custom made because I envision something soft and narrow with a small pouch, just large enough for your meter. Something can be hidden under your clothes. Then you could use the children's length connector, and still be able to use the bathroom. Maybe made from cotton knit fabric so it's soft against your skin and machine washable. Maybe a better description would be a pocket on a string or elastic to hang from your waist?

 

[Click-N-Treat]

You guys are so creative with suggestions and I really appreciate it. I'll probably disconnect my pump before going in the ring and reconnect after I get back. Mostly, I just need to remember to keep my pump in my right pocket away from the leash. It's easy to do when I put my pump set on the right side. Not so easy when my pump set is on the left.

Most of the time I don't think about it. When you've had a pump in your pocket for six years, you get very used to having this little thing with you, tubing and all. I think a belt would drive me crazy because I'd have to unzip it to get to my pump. Right now, all I do is grab it from my pocket, push buttons, and drop it back in my pocket.

Tubeless would be wonderful, except at the airport, because then you have to go through secondary screening every time you fly because you can't disconnect your pump. And the issue with not being able to use your pump if you lose your meter. Either way t1d is a pain in the butt.

 

[mvhplank]

<snip>I was thinking if you had a custom made fanny pack - I think nowadays they are calling them belly bags. I say custom made because I envision something soft and narrow with a small pouch, just large enough for your meter. Something can be hidden under your clothes. Then you could use the children's length connector, and still be able to use the bathroom. Maybe made from cotton knit fabric so it's soft against your skin and machine washable. Maybe a better description would be a pocket on a string or elastic to hang from your waist?

It sounds like you're describing a money belt, something like THIS. It might be worth a try.

 

[lisasgirl]

What about custom jeans with an arrow on the right leg pointing to the right pocket and a little sign that says PUMP GOES HERE? :laugh: Sorry, I just know what you mean about losing things even when you've had them for years. The worst thing in my house is when I've decided to put something away in a place that "makes more sense." Sometimes it's better to stick with the system the way it is!

 

[kontiki]

But, with long tubing, it snakes out of my pocket and attempts to mate with doorknobs, headphones, leashes, my oven door...

Hilarious! You have a gift for writing

 

[BorderKelpie]

It sounds like you're describing a money belt, something like THIS. It might be worth a try.

You guys might also look into conceal carry holsters. They are comfortable and sturdy.
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200587885_200587885?cm_mmc=Bing-pla&utm_source=Bing_PLA&utm_medium=Security Equipment > Personal Defense > Holsters + Concealment&utm_campaign=PSP&utm_content=29755&msclkid=abdfc0671718146431019b436329ffbb

 

[snow0160]

Happy birthday Buck!!! Yay!!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Click-N-Treat]

So, yesterday Noelle and I went to Canine Musical Freestyle class. We were doing spins together, and heeling and having so much fun. Then, we got these colorful poles about the size of canes. Noelle wrapped her foot around the pole without prompting. Such a cute trick, sitting on her hind legs, tapping the pole first with her left foot, and then her right. Left foot, right foot. Then she tapped my knee, left foot, right foot, tapped the pole, tapped my knee. Ah, we're dancing together, Noelle. This is so cool. Sweat was pouring off my face. My heart was thundering. Getting lightheaded. Weird. Why do I feel so lousy?

Tap knee.
Tap knee.
Tap knee.
TAP KNEE!

Hey, mom! You're low, dumb dumb!

OH!!! No wonder I feel like crap. DUH!

I like that tapping my knee for low is a priority one override for Noelle. It literally does not matter where we are, or what we are doing. If I'm low, she alerts. I stopped dancing, and some fruit snacks and drank a Pepsi. I got home and my blood sugar was 111. After eating 45 grams of carbs without extra insulin, my number should have been 300+. Nope, 111. So, I was super low in class, but thanks to Noelle I was fine.

Next time, I will have lunch first and then go to class. When I started class my number was 115, way too low for that kind of exercise. Oops. Diabetes management involves a lot of experimenting and a whole lot of failure. Noelle is essential to my diabetes management. She's a whole lot better at it than I am, that's for sure.

Going to dance class without eating first? How stupid was that? Thanks for having my back, Noelle. You rock.

 

[JenandSage]

That is awesome!! Not the low sugar — the dancing! I would love to see a video

 

[snow0160]

Happy birthday Buck!!! Yay!!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Um.. I think this was for the wrong thread. Sorry. I must have been on my phone.

 

[fjm]

I find it fascinating that Noelle still prioritises alerting you over all the other tricks and behaviours she is learning. Do you still reward her with a jackpot, or do you think that she is aware, through your responses, of the relative importance of obedience work and her real job?

 

[Click-N-Treat]

That is awesome!! Not the low sugar — the dancing! I would love to see a video

That video is a long, long, LONG way off, that's for sure. I look like an idiot, feel like an idiot, and can barely tell my left foot from my right foot. But, we will learn to dance. It's going to take a while. Class meets once a month. Today we worked on Schutzhund turns, emphasis on the Schutz! Noelle turns right around behind me and meets me in heel position. Meanwhile I make an about left turn. Ready, and five, six, seven, eight, left turn. No, left. No the other left, Click. Left, is that way. No, the other that way. Why am I so dizzy? Gah!

 

[Click-N-Treat]

I find it fascinating that Noelle still prioritises alerting you over all the other tricks and behaviours she is learning. Do you still reward her with a jackpot, or do you think that she is aware, through your responses, of the relative importance of obedience work and her real job?

That's an interesting question. I don't always jackpot for lows. In fact, I don't always have a food reward with me. But, she alerts anyway. I think I instilled a priority one override by rewarding low blood sugar scent with the highest value treats possible, and intense praise. The very best, most important thing in the world to Noelle is when she catches a low. Nothing else she does in life has ever been rewarded that highly.

I think through rewards and intense praise, I made low blood sugar detection important to her. It is her raison d'être at the core of her little poodle heart. Noelle is a highly biddable sweet dog who is deeply bonded to me, just as I am deeply bonded to her. The bond is what motivates her now, rather than food.

 

[spicandspan]

Glad to hear that Noelle had your back! What a good girl. :smile:

 

[lily cd re]

fjm that was a really interesting question and thank you for your thoughtful and insightful response Click. When one spends so much time really knowing a dog and being known by that dog I think there is a transformative experience that makes the relationship beyond description.

 

[kontiki]

That's an interesting question. I don't always jackpot for lows. In fact, I don't always have a food reward with me. But, she alerts anyway.......... The bond is what motivates her now, rather than food.

After initial training with continuous reinforcement, intermittent reinforcement is the strongest.

 

[Click-N-Treat]

This is so true. Random reinforcement is what keeps people sticking money in a slot machine all afternoon. Did I win? Nope. Try again. Did I win? Nope. What about now? Nope. Did I win? I won a dollar! Wow, it's working! Let's try that again. Did I win? Nope. What about this time? Nope.

We can use that in dog training. We just have to remember that food isn't the only reward. Praise can be highly motivating, too.

 

[kontiki]

This is so true. Random reinforcement is what keeps people sticking money in a slot machine all afternoon. Did I win? Nope. Try again. Did I win? Nope. What about now? Nope. Did I win? I won a dollar! Wow, it's working! Let's try that again. Did I win? Nope. What about this time? Nope.

We can use that in dog training. We just have to remember that food isn't the only reward. Praise can be highly motivating, too.

Also very highly motivating are things like play, or throwing a toy, or anything your dog loves. Mine is super excited by just tossing a toy in the air, or playing chase with me. Again, random, not continuous.

It is interesting that using continuous reinforcement is the easiest to extinguish the very behavior you want..

 

[Click-N-Treat]

It totally slows down learning to a crawl when you use one treat to reward a behavior every time you see it, doesn't it? I love the things you suggest for motivation. Play, goofing off, chucking a toy, a chance to do a favorite trick, a hug, so many things motivate our dogs.

 

[Click-N-Treat]

Noelle has done two new things lately that are really helpful, but I didn't train for them. The first new thing is alerting to rapidly rising blood sugar. She is my official missed bolus alert. Sometimes, and I know this is going to sound very stupid, I forget to bolus insulin before I eat. Yes, I have sat down to dinner, eaten my entire meal, and forgotten that I need extra insulin. Then, surprise! My blood glucose is now 284, and then I'm swearing my head off at myself and really upset at my stupidity. Click really is thick as a brick sometimes.

However, Noelle is now pouncing on me and sticking her nose almost in my mouth, when my blood sugar starts rising quickly. She does this a 160-180. That way, I can test, look at my pump, realize I forgot to bolus and fix it before I hit 280. How handy is that?

Her second new skill is alerting to rapid drop in blood glucose. It's the same alert as a high, sticking her nose almost in my mouth, only she adds these grunting noises. I look at my meter and sure enough, I'm dropping fast. My numbers have been more stable thanks to Noelle and I am really grateful for her help.

Yesterday, I mowed the lawn, forgot to eat afterward, went to the store, walked around the store, and went super low again. Noelle pawed my knee as trained. One little gentle knee tap. I've been working on being more gentle rather than clawing the $hit out of my knee, which hurts when I have shorts on.

Tap, tap, you're low Mom.
Noelle, stand stay.
I unzip her pouch on her cape and eat fruit snacks.

Normally I'm capable of doing that. Yesterday I was too low to open the fruit snacks easily. I got them open, and ate them. Then I bought a Coke, and was too low to figure out which coins I needed to buy it. Shaking, sweating, fumbling with coins that seem like foreign currency. Sometimes, I just want to hand my wallet to the clerk. "I don't know which money I need."

I'm going to stick five $5.00 in Noelle's cape. That way I only have to grab one bill and I will always be able to hand it to the clerk in an emergency. I had a paper dollar and a handful of change yesterday, and I couldn't figure out which coins I needed to make .82. Not good. Not good at all. I remembered the big ones are quarters and used four. I got some change back. I assume it was the right amount. She could have handed me a turnip back and I wouldn't have recognized the error. Lows completely hijack my brain.

I sat down and drank my pop. Noelle was acting a fool. I think it was because she was worried about me. I was acting strange, so she acted strange. Yesterday wasn't one of my better days. That's okay. No one gets it right every time. I'm still grateful for Noelle's help. My quality of life has improved thanks to this poodle and I'm glad.