#service dog
So I found a local breeder of white Swiss shepherds (one breed I’ve been considering for service work) and they seem pretty promising. [Victorious White Shepherds if anyone was curious or is familiar with them]
Anyone have any suggestions/tips for having a shepherd as a psychiatric and mobility service dog?
@legendarypaws Just got a WSS puppy as a SD prospect :)
I’ve heard that some Shepherds are more likely to be be protective over those who have psychiatric symptoms (particularly if you have anxiety around people) but I suppose it would depend on breeding.I got my WSS SD prospect from Parsons Shepherds in Orego, who specifically breeds WSS for search&rescue and service work. I definitely reccomend the breed for people who want a very smart, high play/prey/food drives, high energy, structurally sound, and fun dog. I do not reccomend them if you have never raised a high energy large dog before. My puppy is amazingly smart but he is a LOT to manage. I expect to have to give him 2 1 hour long walks a day when he gets all of his shots. Shepherds are not for people who don’t know what they are doing.
You will need to socialize very early and thoroughly. My pup’s brother, who stayed at the breeder until he was 4ish months old, was supposed to be my friends prospect, but he is already washing out at 6 months old because he is reactive towards people. I am trying to avoid that by taking Absol out every single day and having LOADS of people pet him and give treats. We also do a lot of focusing practice around people since he stares intently at people.
I don’t reccomend a WSS for someone with horrible anxiety. They WILL become protective (which is NOT okay). You must be super confident and stable around people/dogs/etc so they trust you to lead them. I have an anxiety disorder, but I am very good around people so it isn’t a problem. But if you have social anxiety, don’t pick a shepherd.
Make sure you get the best possible puppy from the breeder. Pick the most confident puppy. My baby is AMAZING with loud noises, scary objects, etc.
If you have any questions, message me! This also applies to anyone else wanting to know about WSS.
I own Absol’s brother. He’s really an amazing dog, very attentive and loves to work but he’s an incredible handful. If he doesn’t get enough stimulation he’ll end up playing too rough. Just yesterday morning he busted my grandma’s lip because he was excited and didn’t have an outlet for that energy at the time. I have severe joint pain so walks are out of the question for us but he gets plenty of time to run around the yard too his heart’s content. Even if he’s been running full speed for half an hour he still has large amounts of energy remaining. He is big, I’m around 5'7" (170 cm) and standing up he can easily lick my face. Definitely not a breed I would recommend for someone not ready to deal with a large, energetic dog. Another thing to note is that he’s loud.And by loud I mean any and every emotion he feels needs to be vocally expressed. Upset? Whine and bark and scream until no longer upset. Happy? Great! Lots of excited barks. 100% done and irritated? Bark as loud and deep as you can. I have sensory processing disorder and I’ve been able to adapt but if you’re highly sensitive to noise a loud breed like this might not be the best.
To note on the part about anxiety, I do happen to have extreme, horrible disabling anxiety. I cannot leave the house alone. I would rather starve myself than take a trip to the grocery store alone. He picks up on that, he stands guard. He goes off when people get close to me and he notices I’m uncomfortable. It’s something we’re working on but in reality it’s part of his breed and it will always be there. It’s part of the reason he may be washing.
His reactivity is the hardest part. We’re working with a trainer but there’s a chance he may never completely get over it. He had little socialization during the critical time frame for it. If anyone gets close to the house and he’s in the yard he chases them, he barks and he growls, he jumps on the fence to bark in their face. He has a mistrust of men. My own brother could not stand too close to me without him chasing him away barking the first week they met. Any time my uncle approaches us he growls. If you cannot deal with the possibility of having a dog like this do not get a WSS.
I do not recommend getting a WSS if you don’t have access to a professional trainer experienced with working dogs. It can be done but it’s riskier, you may run into problems that seem unfixable but without a trainer to assess your dog in person you could end up washing a dog for something completely reversible. Something like my dog’s reactivity could progress to dangerous levels and pose a risk to the public. Do not skimp out on a trainer with a situation like that.
His breeder is amazing, his lines are great. She breeds specifically for this sort of work and yet he still has serious problems that may never resolve. If you decide to go with a WSS do your research. Choose a breeder wisely and be picky as all hell. Ask the breeder questions. Have they produced working dogs (SAR, service dogs, etc) before? What is their goal with their breeding program? How are their dogs taken care of? What health testing is done on their dogs? Why did they choose this breed? Ask any and all questions you can think of that seem relevant. Be clear with your needs, don’t try to sugar coat anything. If you know that your anxiety is extreme communicate that. The breeder may direct you away from Shepherds, they may ask you to reconsider why you want this breed. Talk to people with experience in WSS. If possible meet some before hand. Talk to as many people as possible to grab a clear grasp on what these dogs are really like. If you do go the WSS route I wish you luck and hope everything works out. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
(07/01/2021)
art for @nocturnalvisionary of her and her service dog, Kipo, done in the style of the show
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This is one of the best interactions I’ve ever had.
Two school age kids: “Oh look at the big white puppy!”
Their mother: “Come here, let me explain something to you. That dog is a Service Dog. Whenever you see a dog in a store like this you can’t distract it cause it’s working.”
Two kids: “What do you mean he’s working?”
Mom: “He helps that girl. You know how at school your teacher tells you to be quiet so you don’t get distracted doing your work? It’s the same thing with that dog. You can’t distract him.”
Two kids: “What does he help her with?”
Mom: “That’s her business. Your business is to not distract him so he can work.”
If children can understand so can you.
Jeez, this NEEDS to be boosted. I have a friend who’s training a service dog ( his name is Noble and he is beautiful ), but the problem is that while out in public people sometimes have NO respect for her or the dog, they touch him, try to get his attention and even try to feed him ( HUGE no no for a pupper in training ). There’s even times when she herself gets treated poorly by people for telling then they can’t pet her dog, so please try to spread this around so that people can understand why it’s important to respect service dogs and their handlers
That’s her business.
Your business is to not distract him so he can work.
Had a lovely reminder that Calanthe is very much A Puppy ™️
We went out to a local Bass Pro for PA training, had a fabulous day, rode and elevator for the first time, ignored her first drive by pet from a child(with a treat in front of her face, but I will take it), and ignored another dog training outside as we left.
And today I found my phone charger chewed on by vicious little puppy teeth because she was unsupervised for a few minutes.
Still over all a very good girl
Firm reminder that a service dog is a disabled person’s piece of medical equipment, not your petting zoo.
Nicole.Special dog
The conductor-dog Nicole during one of its work trips on an evacuation train. Together with its owner, also the conductor, she has already made dozens of evacuation rides.
Nicole helps to cope with stress
Ponys insisting on sleepy dpt for my pain.
A service dogs work is apparently never done, even when he’s napping.
Met with my sister and neices. It was nice. :) Pony was better at ignoring them then last time (last time he wanted to sniff my sister). Tomorrow we will be trying to go to my councler together for the first time. My anxiety is killing me!
Does anybody have any tips?
Content Warning: Loud noises, background noise, grinding noise. Multiple background voices.
Ponyboy and I during the Black Friday rush at Dunkin Donuts. It was his first time in a coffee store like this, and the noises were weird. They had coffee grinders, whipped cream dispensers, and a hand-dryer that blows air in the bathroom that were all new to him. He was very interested, but was able to instantly focus on me- so I think he did well for his first visit. ;)Hey yall. Pony And I went black Friday shopping accidentally.
And it was great! We needed to grab dog food, then went to a dollarstore, and then went to Lowe’s so Pony could meet new friends and have fun in the chaos, and then we went to Dunkin Donuts. I have only just started to recover lol. But it was super fun and nice. Pony did amazing, and absolutely nailed it at Dunkin donuts, which was a new very different place for him.
Shoutout to adults who point out service dogs discreetly so they can quietly explain to the kids they’re with why you can’t distract them and how important it is to make sure they can do their jobs!
You folks are amazing and you make my day. Especially the ones who point out in training patches and say that it’s even more important because they’re still learning. You are good. Keep doing that. You make my life so much more comfortable when you do that.
Yall there is so much dust in my house. No wonder I have problems with my asthma. Need to clean more often.
But here is a video of Ponyboy running to grab my med bag. I need to upgrade to a bigger one, and I’m planning on getting one that has a blue pattern, this brown one is very hard for him to see. He’s learning to scan entire rooms and look for it. This time it was hidden on the table.
We were going to go inside- but I forgot his vest. Darn brain fog! But we went out to train in front of dollar general anyways, and I am proud of how well he did out of vest, at night, after his first snow storm. Especially after not heading out for the past week, and even longer since we went out vested. Such is the life of a hermit, lol…
Would anyone be interested in more videos like this? Where we are either practicing tasks he already knows, or training new ones? I also have older videos I can post of us training, all the way back to when he was 8 weeks old!
[Video Description: Ponyboy is wearing a red and green sweater with a snowman on the back, who has a scarf. He has on his head halter and typical black leash, along with his head halter and his blue collar. He also has on his Ruffwear boots. We are outside of a store at night, on the pavement- it is wet from the snow. He is working on picking up a small white paper card from an old doctors appointment. At the very beginning of the video, he gets distracted by the snow, but then redirects to picking up the card.
End description.]
We’ve got snow, had it on and off for a few days now. The dogs are both super excited and happy, especially on days like today where it’s snowy, but not cold. Ponyboy hates the cold, especially the wind. I also noticed how dirty his white bit looks compared to snow.
I know I haven’t been posting much here, but it’s been a big old struggle lately. I’m trying to get things figured out. Ponys been helping out a lot- but I simply don’t go out and about other than doctors appointments. Been trying to fix that, but It hasn’t been going great. Pony’s been doing lots of dpt, lpt, picking stuff up, and alerting to skin-picking, which he still isn’t flawless at, but he’s getting there. I’ve been focusing more and more on self-care. Not that fancy meditating, green-smoothie, bare-foot-yoga kind. More of drinking more, heating up my food instead of eating it cold (or only partly thawed), and finding more reasons to smile and laugh. Because sometimes the most basic of stuff is really hard.
Please note- I do always make sure Ponyboy and Ziggy are taken care of. ;) They get better care than I ever have, and they always will.
When your service dog is more photogenic than you’ve ever been.
[Image Description first photo:
Ponyboy the pitbull is sitting in a empty shed, wearing his head halter, collar, and a purple, green, white tie-dye bandana. A black leash is hanging from his halter. He has green boots on his front paws, grey on his back. He is looking past the camera to his handler, and his left lip is stuck folded under itself, while his ears are perked causing his forehead to be wrinkly. His right paw is lifted up and under himself, mid wave.
Second picture description: Seconds after the first picture. His paw is lowering now, and he has shifted his eyes from me to the treat in my hand.
End image descriptions. ]
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease, Mom???? I wanna stop w o r k i n g!!!!!!!
(he always tries to get his gentle leader off because he knows that means he’s not working anymore!)
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Went with my friend to his workplace and took some pictures but didn’t get around to uploading until now!
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