[linda]

Hi, I have been reading through some of the topics and threads. I havnt seen anything about service dogs and if any one has one. My daughter adopted a Doberman two years ago from a local shelter, he was not originally adopted for service work but mearly for a companion. After getting him home and realizing how allert and eager he was to learn so we began teaching him various jobs to make things easier for my daughter. He has picked up every thing so fast, prior to us adopting him he had no training at all he didnt even know his name. Now he accompanies my daughter every where she goes, including restaurants grocrie stores and doctors appointments. He has turned out to be such a great loving and loyal working dog.

[Joed]

I'm currently in the process of applying for an assistance dog. I remember that there was a member here, from Michigan I think (?) who had one, and was very positive about his experience. It's an older post, but should come up with a search.

My main need is to have help picking up items from the floor. Not only am I fused from stem to stern, my tethered cord causes pain and increased symptoms when I bend down. I can do it, but then I pay in spades later...and I don't like the trade-off.

I had considered training my boxer to assist, but she slobbers too much.

[linda]

My daughters dog is incretable we really got lucky with him. We have taught him to retrieve objects for her, close the door he knows left and rite. He has learned sit stay, down stay, back up, me first and much much more. As I said before he knew nothing when we adopted him. We will have people ask where we got him and did he get certafied, we tell them we trained him and he doesnt need certification. Many dont realize that you can self train that you dont have to purchase it from a particular organization. I just wonder how many here have dogs and what breed thay are.

[Joed]

I finally found that thread...the guy I was trying to remember, his name is Mike.

http://www.apparelyzed.com/forums/index.ph...opic=63&hl=

This post has been edited by Joed: 24 October 2006 - 02:12 AM

[PetitMortVampyre]

linda, on Oct 22 2006, 02:19 PM, said:

My daughters dog is incretable we really got lucky with him. We have taught him to retrieve objects for her, close the door he knows left and rite. He has learned sit stay, down stay, back up, me first and much much more. As I said before he knew nothing when we adopted him. We will have people ask where we got him and did he get certafied, we tell them we trained him and he doesnt need certification. Many dont realize that you can self train that you dont have to purchase it from a particular organization. I just wonder how many here have dogs and what breed thay are.

I have a service dog for my seizures (I have a brain tumor, but its okay, it proves this blonde has a brain!!!) However he's a lil chihuahua, so he's easier to take places, but he's the best, and at one point in my life, he was all I had when I had to let my son stay with his father because I was too ill to care for myself much less him, had it not been for that dog (his name is Chains, and his GF is named Whips) I would most likely not have survived the loneliness, more so than any seizure.

Vette

[John Anderson]

I would say yes and no. I mean I got 2 Huckies (Boss and Misty) and a German Shepherd (Buddy) that are all trained by Col. so in a way they are "service" dogs. Col. trained them to do almost everything I can think of around the house (this was before my accident btw...) something like saluting when an officer comes in the door, get one note from a person to another person, and etc.

After the accident, I don't know how they do it, all three of them just started picking things up base on what I need. (Couple days back in the real world, I fell out of my chair and the chair was totally out of reach for me, no one was in the house and the dogs just- without command- get the chair to a place where I can get back in. Now it's like second nature when I ask them to do something for me (like taking out the trash... jkjk) they just do it as soon as I ask. (Even pass notes from the house to Col's office).

They follow me wherever I go and when it's late at night and Col's not back from work yet, Boss will run outside to the front and just sit there, glaring at every single car/person that passes by, make sure that I was safe and he would just sit out there till Col. comes home then he would come in the house and sleep by the front door till morning. Misty would be sleeping with me in the bed (I know I know, I spoil her ) while Buddy sleep by the door in case something happens.

These dogs are just great, and they have save my life more then once before and I def owe my life to them. I love them very much and they are just great dogs. They aren't certified "service" dogs, but I think they come pretty close

[xMaddiex]

jason doesn't have a service dog, mostly because there's not much need for them, jason's pretty independant, my dogs come pretty close though. i have two husky mix things, and though they're probably the least trained dogs in the world, they follow jason around all the time, and pick stuff up for him, as if it's their intiative, it's really weird. jason loves my dogs to pieces, and it's kind of like they're returning the favour...anyway, i think a service dog is a good idea in any case really, incase of emergencys, and dogs are definitely the best company someone could have.

[Nichole]

I love dogs! They can be trained to help people with so many different problems! I have a baby of my own, but she's not a "service dog" I'm more of her "service human" LOL. She's just a tiny little thing, (a toy poodle) so there's not a whole lot she can do to help me since she weighs a whole 4 pounds lol. She's a great companion though and she is really protective of me! If she thinks anyone is bugging or trying to hurt me she'll step between that person and myself and start growling and showing her teeth! Which you can probably imagine is more funny than scary, but hey at least she tries. I love the idea of service dogs though!

This post has been edited by Nichole: 25 October 2006 - 08:28 PM

[linda]

It sounds like you all have some really wonderfull dogs. We may be looking in to another dog, we will train him the same way as the other dog. That way if one is under the weather than we can take the other.

[gsp23]

linda, on Oct 25 2006, 11:50 PM, said:

It sounds like you all have some really wonderfull dogs. We may be looking in to another dog, we will train him the same way as the other dog. That way if one is under the weather than we can take the other.

Just keep in mind that if that is what these dogs are trained for or bread for then that is what they love to do. So its not really fair to them to have a "backup dog" if one is under the weather. It would be more fair to them to have two dogs but use them equally.

I have a German Shorthair and she is a hunting dog. She was bread for and trained for bird hunting. There is nothing more important in the world to her than finding birds. She is loving it when she is out there. In a way she is my service dog because she finds birds for me (still working on the device to hookup to my chair so I can get out in the field with her hunting a couple times this season as of now my boyfriend has just been bringing her without me).

[Joed]

gsp23, on Oct 27 2006, 12:57 PM, said:

Just keep in mind that if that is what these dogs are trained for or bread for then that is what they love to do. So its not really fair to them to have a "backup dog" if one is under the weather. It would be more fair to them to have two dogs but use them equally.

That is true...their skills must be kept sharp. If I am approved for a dog, it will most likely be trained to turn on light switches (just the standard training)...although I don't need this particular type of assistance, I'll need to provide instances where the dog can perform this task in order to keep it's skills current. Not only that, but that particular skill can be transferred to other tasks that I might need it to do, like ringing a door bell that I cannot get to.

[linda]

Yes it is important to keep your dog working, It not only keeps them healthy it also keeps them happy a working dog is a happy dog! Thats why I chose the Doberman they where bread for human protection, so there for they enjoy beeing with thier human counter parts. My dogs are all well excersized and we run them in agility, as well as beeing inrolled in other dog groups for socalization purposes. When I say I will train another dog with the same skills for assistance and use him if needed. Thats not to say I would train him and leave him to lay around all day doing nothing. He would be worked just as equally as the other, With the same amount of out time. He would not be able to do as much assistance work at first because it does take time to train a dog to learn all you need him to know. Even when you think you are done and they know it all there is always more to learn!