Training a Service Dog - Page 7

Neither one looks to be a true long coat to me, but I can't see the inside of the ears, which is the easiest way to tell.

I wasn't planning to train Star to be my service dog, as I thought she was a little too high drive. Then, one night, SHE was the one with her paws up on the bed, nudging me awake to tell the the smoke alarm was doing the low battery beep!

The dog that was supposed to alert me was lying beside the bed, snoring!    It took me quite a few minutes to figure out why Star was waking me up, as she had never had any alert training. She must have picked it up from watching Ranger! (Never underestimate a dog's ability to learn from other dogs, as well as its handler!)

At that point, I decided to retire him, and start training Star, and she has done very well. The man who evaluated us for the TEC (new CKC temperament test) said she had just about the perfect personality for what I was using her for.

It's a good thing she's such a good fit. About 3 years ago, Ranger began to have problems with arthritis in his rear end, and had trouble putting his paws up on the bed to alert me as a result. Now that he's 12, he's getting a bit deaf, too. 

It's hard to see them get old...

 

Thank you nans...

    I really can't imagine a German Shepherd not stepping up to the plate at the sensing of danger...especially a dog that has a personal relationship with a person.

    I guess some are more protective than others.

My mom has four Shepherds that live with her. One is mine. Shortly before my mother, 84 got diagnosed with breast and colon cancer(s), my dog just packed up and moved in with my mother one day.

   When we were told the diagnosis, I knew why. One female kept putting her nose up my mothers butt...didn't understand that either, til after.

    Let me say this, it does not matter who it is, but anyone going into my moms house, esp. While she is lying down, has some answering to do before being allowed in.

    I am not certIn how the bigger girls coat is going to turn out, but both pups are goung to begin the process. We will find out which one wznts the job as we go.

Those protections were trained out of him while on service duty as puppy so that he would be suitible in harness to obey all service dog rules. He is protective out of vest, but knows it is not permissable in vest.
 

Sunshine that was a heartwarming story, made my day.  Thx for sharing.

 

And I also do not let my boy  go overboard with the protection part in his  pack while  working;  nope I encourage it in my van "good geb lout" with hand signal same as speak, that is it for now.  They are such natural protectors, however when he is ready I will proceed ahead with his PP training.  I really want him friendly to all and their natural instincts will tell you  if someone or trouble is a bruin.  I watch and wait and encourage when appropriate and discourage when not appropriate whether in his working pack or at home.  But as a baby puppy and seeing both girls I do not think you will have to worry about either girl being protective of her new found person.  Just be sure they get a lot of quality time together while she is young that is her job for right now.  Good luck  Nan

GSDNewbie makes an excellent point. The dogs not only need to be bomb proof but idiot proof. Worse than cheaters are.those who don't understand the purpose of the dog.

both pups are precious. If you can manage it, work with them both for now. Get a vest and go everywhere with them. It is legal for a trainer to take the dogs places with an in-training vest. One thing I would also do since he likes to go off on his own, is put a gps tracker on the dog and encourage him to always take the dog with him. Also make sure the dog learns her way home.

Good luck.

Well, tomorrow we start.
Both pups coming to work. We are going to let them deceide who wants the job.
The GPS for the dog is excellent. This way Ron can be tagged and not even know it.
Thank you for all the suggestions. Some things mentioned totally slipped my mind.
I will get some pics of the girls with their first encounter with piglets.
I am going to have so much fun tomorrow.
And, better yet, I already have the other pup set to go to her home once the decision is made who gets the job.
A win-win for everyone!

Sorry, I have been busy out of town and just now returned and could check on this. That is best I think as well to try out both and see which is better suited. Have fun and best of luck! Check your local service dog in training laws as not every state is the same :)
 

Hello everyone,

I was so glad to find this thread as it is exactly what i'm looking for and i have found it very educational to me.

Some background information that you may skip :) :

I am a 28 y/o Egyptian Master's student and i was born with SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) which basically leaves me with very weak body muscles. This includes weak arms and legs and i am using an electric wheelchair. All my life i wanted to have a dog but never had the chance as i wouldn't be able to train one on my own and living with my parents the aftermatch of an untrained dog at home would be disastrous. Getting a service dog was not an option as we don't have any in Egypt. I recently moved out for my studies to a town by the beach in Egypt called El Gouna where i live together with my carer in a ground floor apartment. El Gouna is very dog friendly compared to Cairo and since i moved here the idea never left my head until the day i found out about a dog trainer who lives in El Gouna and he accepted to train a dog for me. He's a very good trainer yet he never trained assistance dogs, only basic training + some scent and guard training.

The trainer suggested getting a Belgian Malinois as he thought he would suit me best. A lifetime dream came true and I got my first puppy all the way from a Serbian breeder, Vandy,  a month ago. He's an amazing dog and his learning curve is really good. So far the trainer has only been doing temperment training and some basic commands. I need to know what sort of trainings i can do on my own. The most important thing to me is getting 100% control over Vandy so i could take him out alone off-leash! What sort of obedience training should i do to achieve this? Afterwards if i could get him to some functional tasks like retrieving dropped things or getting my phone it would be amazing.

Sorry if i wrote too much. Thank you :)