# Dog Helps Little Girl Breathe



## Jo_in_TX (Feb 14, 2012)

A lot of us are so dependent on our dogs we’d list them right up there with oxygen.
For Alida Knobloch, her dog is oxygen.
The three-year-old Georgia girl, who has a rare lung disease called neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy, or NEHI, breathes through a tube most of the time, attached to an oxygen tank, which is attached to her dog.
Her goldendoodle, Mr. Gibbs has been specially trained to tote the 6-pound tank, and to stay at Alida’s side.
Alida started having breathing problems by the time she was 6 months old, according to an MSNBC report. One day she turned blue and her parents, Aaron and Debbie Knobloch, rushed her to the hospital. Doctors stabilized her, but were baffled as to what her problem was.
Eventually, a specialist diagnosed NEHI, a condition that was only discovered in 2005, There have been only 500 confirmed cases.
With the help of a small portable oxygen tank, Alida’s health improved, but cumbersome and limiting as that was for a toddler, her parents started looking for ways to make her life more normal.
According to the Daily Mail, the couple learned about service dogs from a TV program and started searching for a guide dog who could learn the necessary skills. When they heard about a trainer in Georgia, with a dog that was available, they moved from Utah to Georgia to work with her.
Mr. Gibbs was living with trainer Ashleigh Kinsleigh, and had finished his initial obedience training when the Knoblochs first visited.
“He had to learn to get under the table at restaurants,” Kinsleigh said. “He had to learn that if there were other animals he couldn’t just go and play with them. He had to stay right next to his girl and ignore all the fun things around him. He also had to build up to be able to carry around the full weight of the 6-pound tank.”
“His job is to go wherever she goes and do whatever she does,” Kinsleigh added. “If she wants to get on the bike and go down the driveway he has to learn to run alongside. If she’s going to ride on a slide, he has to learn to climb up and slide down behind her.”
Experts say that children with NEHI often outgrow the disease, or the condition becomes so mild they no longer require additional oxygen.
_(Photo: Caters News Agency / Daily Mail)_

ohmidog! A site for dog lovers


----------



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

How awesome. I loves stories like this.. I mean I hope she gets better and things improve but it's always wonderful reading about what our K9 companions can do


----------



## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

I find this cute and cruel at the same time.


----------



## sabledog (Mar 13, 2012)

I saw this and found it very disturbing. The dog is showing very clear signs of distress. No leash should ever be handed to a three year old, especially with a pinch collar at the end giving the dog repeatedly unfair corrections.

Look at the dog's behavior. This is not a happy dog.


----------



## shadow mum (Apr 8, 2008)

sabledog said:


> I saw this and found it very disturbing. The dog is showing very clear signs of distress. No leash should ever be handed to a three year old, especially with a pinch collar at the end giving the dog repeatedly unfair corrections.
> 
> Look at the dog's behavior. This is not a happy dog.


 
Sabledog, just curious. What is it you are seeing that makes you say the above. Curious if I'm missing something here.


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I didn't see anything troublesome, except the dog prefers the adults over the child.
It's still in "learning stage"...what's neat, is this dog has a purpose and once he realizes it, he'll be her forever friend and guardian.


----------



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

I don't find this disturbing really at all. Not sure where you can tell that the dog is in distress and the 3 year old making unfair corrections..


----------



## sabledog (Mar 13, 2012)

This makes it pretty clear, IMO.

Dog Body Language: How to Tell if a Dog is Happy, Frustrated, Scared, Annoyed (Smart Dog)

And I'm a huge advocate of pinch collars, but not in the hands of a child. The dog is NOT comfortable on that couch. He keeps trying to leave the girl. The girl keeps tugging on his leash randomly. Those tugs are unfair corrections. You say he seems to prefer adults...why do you think that is? This girl is driving him crazy.

Maybe it's just me. But this dog is showing similar signals that many dogs have shown in cases people have gotten bit...


----------



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

sabledog said:


> This makes it pretty clear, IMO.
> 
> Dog Body Language: How to Tell if a Dog is Happy, Frustrated, Scared, Annoyed (Smart Dog)
> 
> ...


Ok I can see what you are getting at. I'm not sure I would say the dog is miserable but I do not approve of the prong collar which is controlled by the 3 year old.


----------



## sabledog (Mar 13, 2012)

He might not be entirely miserable in that situation, but do you think this dog will ever realize and be happy with his "purpose" ? Imagine being uncomfortable like that, day in and day out.


----------



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Hopefully her parents will realize and regulate that. Doubtful.. but it's a thought..


----------



## sabledog (Mar 13, 2012)

I hope so too.


----------



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

I don't understand the need for the prong.. if it's a trained service dog I don't believe he should need it.


----------



## sabledog (Mar 13, 2012)

wyoung2153 said:


> I don't understand the need for the prong.. if it's a trained service dog I don't believe he should need it.


That is my thought as well, though I admit I have no experience with service dogs other than ones that are already trained. And this is a work in progress?


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

> Those tugs are unfair corrections. You say he seems to prefer adults...why do you think that is? This girl is driving him crazy.


IME, dogs often tend to prefer the adults in the home, even over teens and tweens.

But I think every service dog has a higher calling and someone must have thought this pup was up to the task.


----------



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

sabledog said:


> That is my thought as well, though I admit I have no experience with service dogs other than ones that are already trained. And this is a work in progress?


That it is.. hopefully it progresses into something healthier for the dog.. maybe the prong is temporary so Mr Gibbs learns to listen to the 3 year old. 



msvette2u said:


> IME, dogs often tend to prefer the adults in the home, even over teens and tweens.
> 
> But I think every service dog has a higher calling and someone must have thought this pup was up to the task.


Who knows.. everyone has to start somewhere.. even our K9's


----------



## sabledog (Mar 13, 2012)

I just get skeptical because there is so much fraud in the selling of trained dogs. Even green dogs. Just dogs in general.

Putting a pinch on any of my dogs would not make them listen to a child. The child needs to learn how to interact properly and fairly, which I feel is a lot to ask of a 3 year old (I don't have kids though so I could be wrong). I would just feel better if the child were older.


----------



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

I agree. (I don't have kids either but helped my brother with his.) I think that 3 year olds are capable of quite a bit, but how to properly comprehend dog behavior and how to properly interact with your service dog and know what it is there for in it's entirety is not something for a child of that age. Just IMO.


----------



## OriginalWacky (Dec 21, 2011)

wyoung2153 said:


> I agree. (I don't have kids either but helped my brother with his.) I think that 3 year olds are capable of quite a bit, but how to properly comprehend dog behavior and how to properly interact with your service dog and know what it is there for in it's entirety is not something for a child of that age. Just IMO.


I DO have kids, and it's going to depend on the individual child. All of mine could walk my dogs when they were three, but they had also been around them for a long time, and I was always RIGHT THERE to keep track of what was going on. And I had dogs that were fairly steady in the nerve department, as I wasn't taking in the hard cases then. Hehe. 

That being said, even now that my kids are teens, they each have things they are good at and things that I watch when it comes to handling our dogs. Of course, even more so when it's an unstable dog, although the two we have now are mostly stable (Krissie can be kind of a brat, but she's just spoiled). My oldest I can pretty much trust all the way to training new commands, and my two youngest I still prefer to have them only working on things the dogs already know.

Anyway, I hope that this dog has an adult right there to help so that the girl doesn't keep giving mixed signals etc.


----------



## alvinfredric (May 4, 2012)

This sounds really good to me! Thanks for sharing with us. Three methods to receive oxygen for those who suffer from various health conditions are compressed oxygen cylinders, liquid oxygen tanks, or oxygen concentrators. Among them portable oxygen concentrator is the best choice that include storage, use, safety, and travel.


----------



## Falkosmom (Jul 27, 2011)

I can't help but wonder why the parents just don't carry the tanks. Surely they don't let a three year old wander without supervision. The pup is also being repeatedly struck by the swing by this little girl supposedly under parental supervision. The parents obviously allow the child to continually yank on a prong collar on this dog. Just what are these parents thinking? This particular situation is not a good one for that young dog, the adults are not capable of keeping the dog safe. It is a bad and sad situation for that poor dog.


----------



## jamesreckh (Jun 27, 2012)

This is an interesting thing the dog helped the little girl to breathe when she is in the unconscious stage, though the dog is a serviced one also some of the things won't be performed by them. In this case, the dog should be really appreciated and the thing that makes us feel happy is that the girl is safe and feeling healthy now.


----------

