Finding workarounds makes it easier to navigate an MS flare

Nanette Lai locks eyes with her chihuahua Fanny. Lai says mutual gazing between humans and dogs can cause synchronization in areas of the brain. (Photos courtesy of Nanette Lai)

Day 12 of 31

This is Nanette Lai’s story:

My name is Nanette, and I have lived with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) since 2008. In 2023, I had an MS flare. Some of the symptoms I experienced were typical: foot drop and fatigue. Generally, those would not have been too disabling, but they presented a challenge I hadn’t considered.

I am a certified professional dog trainer and I sometimes pet- and house-sit for income. The types of pets I look after are dogs and cats. I love dogs.

Lai, a certified professional dog trainer, is seen here with one of her charges, a doodle named Don-Don. She noted MS doesn’t restrict her ability to use reward-based training methods.

During the flare-up, I had a pet/house-sitting job with a dog I had known for years — a Doberman mix named Bob. Being part Doberman, Bob was quite large. But though he was a big dog, he had a sweet personality and his family adored him.

Bob’s family’s main problem with him was that he was a very picky eater. For me, during my MS attack, the main problem was that Bob had been used to pulling on his leash for most of his life. His owners complained about his strength when he pulled, so they used a harness on him. But the harness wasn’t designed to teach him not to pull; its purpose was to stop him when he tried to pull.

Because I was having a flare with severely compromised mobility, the harness was not going to protect me from falling if Bob pulled while we were on a walk. I wasn’t sure what I could do.

Lai, who has RRMS, smiles for a photo.

I turned to the internet, but all that did was make me furious. I found a blog post justifying the use of shock collars for handlers with MS, which I equated to using an incurable disease to rationalize animal abuse. My fury motivated me to do better. I asked myself what I could do with a large, strong dog despite my MS symptoms.

I realized the perfect workaround was a simple one: I could teach Bob to want to be next to me. Instead of stopping Bob from pulling on his leash, all I needed to do was reinforce him for choosing to be next to me.

That would be his default location. No physical punishment. No verbal intimidation, just a lovely, relaxed walk from a dog that had until then pulled on his leash for many years.

In recognition of Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month in March, the MS Community Spotlight campaign features a series of stories highlighting the real-life experiences of people affected by MS, written in their own words. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X, and Pinterest for more stories like this, using the hashtag #MSSpotlight, or read the full series.