Training service dogs

[jana]

Has anybody here done this? I'm talking about raising puppies until they're 12-18mo, when they then go off to doggy-school to learn how to be seeing/hearing eye dogs and/or dogs who help open doors and pick up dropped objects & stuff like that.

I would love to do this someday, but I've never owned a dog before and I'd think that the groups that pick puppy-raisers would probably want somebody who has more experience with dogs and dog training. :huh:

Before the puppies go off to school, you have to teach them basic commands like sit, down, stay, etc. and get them well socialized in different situations. I think this sounds like so much fun; the only hard part would be giving them up at the end of their puppyhood. :( But can you imagine how much you would help somebody who needs an extra set of legs or eyes or ears?

[HeavenLeigh]

actually Jana I have been thinking hard on this. Since I was born w/ a horrible vision problem and will get vocational rehab in 2 years I wouldn't mind working for the KY deptartment for the blind doing seeing eye dog training. I think it's amazing how dogs can be trained to "see" or "hear" for a human. If you do this let me know how it goes...........:D

[veda]

hey jana!

what a great thing to do for someone who needs the aide of a seeing/hearing trained dog. we saw a show on the animal planet a while ago about these dogs & the people who were raising them had kids & had the same fears at the beginning (am i going to get attached, will i know what to do, etc) but in the end of their time with the dog, they had signed up to get another dog & they were themselves instructed on proper training... so i guess it wasn't traumatic for the kids (or adults!! haha).

labradors & goldens are the ones i've seen most often used for those jobs... i know after a year with janis(our 6 yrs old black lab) i would've probably hurt alot if we had to let her go... but if she were going to help someone else who would be loving her, maybe i wouldn't have felt so empty. dunno! training her was actually really easy & since the dogs you'd be helping learn the basics would need to be intelligent as well, you'd probably have a nice go of it (training). janis only destroyed two things of importance (oz's passport & a family photo of mine from kidhood) but we got over it - she's just so cute!:dog: labs learn fast so all we had to do was tell her "sit" and push her bottom to the floor a few times & she could do it! same woith the other basic commands. STAY was the most difficult for her. they're amazingly friendly & loyal too. we quickly learned that training a dog with edible treats was NOT the way to go either b'c she'd end up focusing on the snack & forget that she was learning a command. didn't work for us!

i guess you could try it out once & then get your own puppy if you felt too attached?? good luck, big decision. i can't imagine us not having her with our family. giving that gift to someone who needs her help & company would feel amazing.;)

[missyk]

I don't know how serious you want to get with it, but if you were worried about getting attached and then having to give the pup away there is another route. If you have a dog of your own they can be trained and certified as a service dog. Then you can do all kinds of things with them, like take them to hospitals to visit terminal children (actually all patients). That way you get to help out, but then your baby gets to go home with you. :) If you were interested I'm sure there's info on the web, or you could call a local veterinarian's office.
veda, I totally agree with you about labs and goldens. We've had labs all the time growing up and they are the most intelligent and good natured dogs. I grew up in a neighborhood mostly of retired people and our lab, Cowboy, was like the neighborhood mascot. He walked with everybody every morning and he'd go ride in their golfcarts or visit them during the day. It meant so much to these older people (some of who were widowed) that when Cowboy died we had people send flowers to our house. They would even give me extra candy on Halloween just for him. :D Now my husband and I have a golden retriever mix and he is so smart and sweet. His entire mission in life is just to please us. Although he's definitely more mischievous than a lab. He likes to do stuff he's not suppose to when we're not looking, like stick the cat's head in his mouth. :rolleyes:

[veda]

Originally posted by missyk
I He likes to do stuff he's not suppose to when we're not looking, like stick the cat's head in his mouth. :rolleyes:

haha :dog: :D



Janis just rushes cats & then runs away as if to yell "haha, tricked ya!" it's so funny, i swear that dog smiles. golden puppies are sooo gorgeous! you MUST be in love!

[jana]

Originally posted by missyk
If you have a dog of your own they can be trained and certified as a service dog.

Oh, wow, that's neat too! I think the way I'd probably want to do it would be to get our own puppy first and then take in service puppies once ours is a year or 2 old. That way we'd have the constant companionship of our own pet (and maybe do the hospital dog thing--I'll have to look into that!) as well as get to train pups for other people who need them.

In any case, we're not getting a dog any time soon, but it's something I was reading about this weekend and I'd really love to do it when we get a house and have the time to devote to a dog. :D

Oh, and Krysti-- ditto to you; if you end up doing seeing-eye-dog training, let me know how it goes!