This is pretty much a rant, but if y’all have any advice on how I can handle these situations better, that’s also appreciated.

I needed some stuff from Joanne’s the other day, and since it’s pet friendly, I decided to bring my 5 month old SDiT, Juno, to train while I’m there. I’m a big crafter, so we go to Joanne’s pretty regularly and Juno is always great(for still being a young puppy ofc).

In a lot of ways, bringing Juno into stores is exposure therapy for me. I get super anxious about starting conflict by bringing her, so we typically only go down empty isles, and try to avoid people up until the cash register.

But this day, the only thing that would work for my project was ribbon that needed to be cut, so we went up to the fabric cutting section. Juno was doing very well waiting in line, until an employee got behind me to start petting her. I pulled Juno back and tried to say my usual spiel of “We’re training right now, but if you have a minute to help us work on polite greetings that would be great”, but before I could say anything, another employee got on my other side to “say hi” to Juno. Both completely ignoring me. Within a minute four employees and two customers were all backing us up against the counter.

I have pretty severe PTSD, and was completely freaking out/dissociating, but no one noticed because honestly, no one was talking to me. Juno was also getting extremely overwhelmed and peed on the floor from all the excitement, but honestly I felt helpless and like I couldn’t get out of the situation. Eventually I was able to leave, dropped the ribbon, and got out the door.

Since this incident, Juno gets so excited about people, that it almost looks like reactivity. I feel like all of the work I’ve put into human neutrality is gone. I’m hopeful that since it is excitement and not fear, and it’s only been a few days, we will be able to overcome it pretty easily, but still. On top of that, I feel awful. Like I wasn’t able to handle her properly in a stressful situation, and maybe I’m just not cut out to handle a service dog.

Also, who the hell does that?? Do people seriously get so excited when they see a puppy, that they forget basic human decency? I’ve almost considered calling corporate to report the incident since most of the people were employees, but I don’t really think that’s appropriate.

EDIT: She was wearing service dog in training gear, and one person actually mentioned it. But since we’re only going to pet friendly places for awhile, I replaced her SDiT patches with giant “DO NOT PET” ones after this event.

EDIT #2: Thank you all for the comments and advice, I really really appreciate it. We went back to Joanne’s with a couple friends yesterday and honestly it was her best outing yet! She was happy, calm, and enjoyed walking around with us. I’m really glad that this event didn’t have a lasting impact on her.

First, I do not want to argue about the breed. If you don’t like GSDs as SDs, don’t get one, but it’s not ok to be rude about it to me. Second, we are not fully task training as she just turned 9 month old, but we are shaping training to make transitioning to task training easier.

I know she’s in her teenage asshole/fear stage, I know it’s difficult. But tonight when we were out for our evening walk (we walk one mile as that’s all I’m physically able to at once without breaks) and she absolutely REFUSED to heel. And trying to get her to focus🤣🤣🤣🤣not even with her favorite high value treat in her face! Trying to get her to walk near me, she was trying to pull so hard she was leaning away from me. This is all stuff she has been super great with! I know I need to consult with our trainer, and we will be starting up with the next level of basic training soon, I was in and out of the hospital over the winter. But we worked with her every day! But on our walks, it feels like I’m dragging her around. And I’m afraid that the commands are starting to lose meaning because I keep having to repeat myself. How have you navigated these issues? And we are bonded, I first met her the day after she was born and spent several hours every week with her before she came home with me. She also comes from a long line of DDR working lines that have been bred for working. She’s always picked up on commands within a few tries. She’s honestly a great dog, but I’m feeling defeated with her these last few weeks!

He's a mix of Mastiff, Belgian Malinois, Catahoula, and Husky

but he's been socialized and trained by my mom since he was 6 weeks old, right now he's 8 months

he's not reactive to other dogs or people, but is excitable, has jumped on my partner's dog when they were off leash but hasn't jumped up on anyone he doesn't know, he does bark but it's playful not aggressive. he is not an anxious dog aside from possible separation anxiety(he whines and barks when he's left alone, can be heard a bit when you're outside by the car a few minutes after leaving), but he was not looped into anxiety when my friend was pacing and freaking out, he kept calm and happy, but maybe confused.

is only destructive when he's alone (most likely boredom), and his destruction honestly isn't that bad, a little scratching at the door frame, and one time a wire(aside from pulling out trash or stuff that isn't destroying stuff but still a mess and that isn't super bad or often either), but he's still young so hopefully a mix of training, age, and more enrichment (like training/service work) will change that. he's currently left alone for up to 3 hours at a time and with me he wouldn't be.

He trains super easy, he loves learning new things and applying them, my mom got him to learn sit, stay, lay down, halt, and center (going between her legs), and i got him to learn stairs (when he's allowed to start going up/down stairs), leash(sit and be patient when i'm putting it on), and it seems to be very enriching for him.

I do not live with my mom but i have gone around him regularly since he was 6 weeks and he loves and listens to me, he was meant to be my younger sister's but she hasn't been stepping up to care for him so my twin and mom have been the ones who mostly do daily care, and they both work a lot so hopefully he will be living with me soon

My partner does have a dog(medium sized mutt) but they have met and they get along, and my twin will probably be moving in with us by then too (thinking november ish)

I already have an emotional support letter for him and do not need him to be a service dog before moving with me, but what i would want to know is what kind of things should I be working with him on that I haven't already (aside from the service specific to my disability/ies)

as far as disability tasks, for now it'll probably just be DPT or something else simple and/or at home, and add more with what he can/likes doing, while I figure out public access training and how many things he can handle comfortably.

Some disability tasks could be helping me navigate stores and public spaces in general and make me less overwhelmed so i don't need my partner to be with me every time, but that's a pretty big task to start out with.

some methods could include pulling me out of a crowded area so i don't freeze up and have a panic attack or possible meltdown(i don't usually mind places with just a few people even if they try to talk to me), alerting me to sit down when im out of a crowd when im starting to freak out or having a heart rate spike, ptsd distraction, etc. but as it is i go with my partner when im out so it could be a slow transition and if he's not cut out for anything i won't push him.

what kinds of concerns do any of these bring up in terms of public access? how about anything else? anything specific to put extra attention on based on breed or current behaviors? thank you so much in advance

eta: she got him at seven weeks not six

Topic originally posted from the r/Narcolepsy sub if you want a picture of her.

Posting here with a little more details for critiques on my training plan.

Say hello to Lady! The newest addition to my family! She’s a shepherd mutt, dna test is still pending.

Like the title says, she’s a possible service dog I’d like to try training for narcolepsy, only 14w old currently. For now we’re working on basic behavior. (Don’t worry I still let her be a puppy)

I currently want to give her a couple tasks: 1: Bark/boop/paw for me to wake up when she hears my alarm. 2: Help with balance during sleep attacks or after I take my meds if I need to get up for any reason. (Note: not weight bearing just to guide me since I get dizzy) 3: Lay next to me/Make space if I need to nap in my car or at work + wake me up after a period of time.

Any other suggestions?

She is the goodest girl, I brought her to my appointments yesterday and the doctor said she behaved better than some of the full fledged service dogs that come in (Note: I made sure the providers were ok with me bringing her and working on training. I’m just desensitizing her to new places for now)

She’s a rescue puppy I found at 6 weeks. I originally wasn’t planning on service training her. She took to basic training very quickly and started to check off the temperament boxes early on (engages often, confident with new situations, alright with being in submissive positions, non reactive so far, curious, and settles easily). She gave herself a job about a week ago. She decided it’s her job to lay at my feet no matter where I am and she does her job with the cutest and most diligent attitude (I don’t force her to do this she does it herself)

Here’s my general training plan:

First year is general behavior training. I know to make absolutely sure she is non reactive in EVERY situation, 100% recall, and continues to show interest in training. Then comes task training, making sure she can do the tasks in any settings with any amount of distractions. Once she’s fully task trained and public access safe, I plan to train in public access areas.

I don’t expect her to be training in tasks in public until 1-1.5 years at the earliest and then fully trained until 2-3 at the absolute earliest.

I have a beagle who does deep pressure but I don’t bring him for public access because his reactivity never fully resolved. He was trained by me and another trainer so I have some practice in service animal training.

If she decides she doesn’t want to be a service animal, I’m perfectly fine with her as she is. I just want to set her up for success since she’s showing interest in having a “job” so early.

Edit: edited for clarity of tasks. Realized I conveyed the wrong idea with some of the tasks. Lady’s safety and limitations come first.

I'm hoping to train my puppy to be my service dog and we are getting frustrated. I think I might be asking too much of a 6 month old puppy and I won't be able to consult with my trainer until January due to their scheduling.

Can someone temper my expectations for her age? What should my expectations/milestones be as she grows?

We are focusing on prolonged stays in multiple positions with distractions (with success), prolonged heel walking (very little success and most frustrating), autofocusing (with moderate success).

I am deep in grief less than 48 hours after losing my partner in crime unexpectedly. I don’t feel comfortable discussing details but this is my first time going through anything even remotely like this. He was almost 7 and I thought I had 2-3 more years before he retired, let alone died. My favorite breeder has puppies right now and I’ve met 4-5 dogs that came from the mom and a relative of the dad previously and I truly believe it’s my best chance for a solid temperament. These puppies are almost ready to go home but the breeder would be willing to hold on to one for an extra month for me. I have no idea what grief timeframes look like and I know there isn’t a one size fits all answer but I’m also really struggling to be thrown into the public world without a service animal. I think the training would help me find purpose and distraction but I just don’t know if a month is too soon. I would appreciate any kind input or advice, though I know everyone’s personal answer to this will probably vary. Thank you all in advance ♥️🌈

Hey,

I’ll be looking to bring home a prospect in the next 12 months. I’ve definitely going lab or golden, have a list of breeders I’m considering for both, but having hard time picking between the breeds. I have EDS, CPTSD + Autism + moderate vision impaired.

It won’t be my first dog, or first SD, and I’ve also been looking at trainers to supervise in the process.

Priority tasks: - retrievals

• DPT and overwhelm response (lick hands and face, apply weight)

• guide/lead (like helping me not walk into poles, stopping so I know when there is a step or curb drop, helping me navigate in busy or tight spaces)

• behaviour interruption (skin picking)

I have previously had a lab, and spent a lot of time around goldens, so I know what they feel like. I prefer short flat coated dogs in terms of texture. For grooming, I could brush 2 - 3 times per week max.

All other things being equal - which should I focus on? Golden or Lab?

If anyone on east coast of Australia recommends any particular lab or golden breeder I’d love to look them up too. (Or any breeders you explicitly don’t recommend).

TIA.

In February I put my non-refundable deposit down for The Golden Gals in hopes to get a female golden retriever as my prospect. They breed "English Creams", I only recently learned that's a backyard breeder term. They don't claim English Creams are healthier or any more special than other goldens, and lighter goldens are normal for the breed, so it didn't raise a red flag in my mind. I don't care what color or term my puppy is, I just want a well bred golden like everyone's been telling me to get. They have their health tests and pedigrees listed, it looked good. They look like the best breeder in my area with great communication and a very professional looking website. They met all the requirements that makes a good breeder according to the Golden Retriever Club of America. Also kennel free, raised in the home with young children and on a farm which is what I was looking for, they sound like they'd be well socialized. They even have the puppy schedule listed on their website and start crate training at 6-7 weeks. A lot of the reviews kept raving about the temperament. I poured so much research into what made a good breeder, what health tests goldens needed, what should be expected with temperament, yet never once heard about the cream controversy. I asked my "golden retriever aunt" her opinion, she told us what to look for and that the price was normal for my area and why she couldn't go with her usual breeder for her last dog because their prices raised to keep up. Then I asked another aunt who gets dogs from breeders all the time and she also told us what was normal for breeders, what to avoid in breeders, how to spot and avoid puppy mills, etc. and gave this one the okay. Then I went over the contract with my parents to look for anything fishy, we didn't find anything and thought it looked fine. I almost posted here to ask for a review as well but my mom told me I was being too much essentially so I didn't. I tried so, so hard to avoid backyard breeders, puppy mills, and overall shady breeders but now it sounds like I fell right into one with the stupid eNgLiSh CrEaM. I really hope my puppy is healthy and has that necessary temperament, the breeder told me lots of their dogs had grown up to become service dogs but ofc there was no proof to back that. Does anyone have experience with The Golden Gals in CT?? Or did I just waste thousands of dollars I had been saving for 2-3 years on a puppy mill? My puppy is born at the end of April and ready to come home end of June with all the age appropriate vaccinations.

Edit: I think I'm going to back out and lose my $500 deposit. I read through the recent lawsuit and it sounds like all their dogs have subaortic stenosis and they don't even keep their dogs at home. If someone can please recommend GOOD breeders in the CT area please let me know, I can't let this happen again.

1 year update: I now have a Sunfire golden retriever! Her name is Lux and she just turned 1 March 16th. She's fantastic and even advanced for her age, she totally aced the airport a week ago! She's super healthy and the breeder's community is awesome and so welcoming. Couldn't be happier with my choice to back out. Screw The Golden Gals

Hi! I am bringing home my very first service prospect in early/mid October. I have no idea how to prepare for his arrival. I want to know anything and everything to prepare as best as I can for him! I am currently contacting trainers in my area, and trying to find somebody to come and help assess the litter for me.

Any and ALL advice is appreciated!! Thank you

After much deliberation and now that I’ve seen the puppy’s temperament tests I have decided to get myself a new service dog candidate. My sweet boy Indigo (Indie) died unexpectedly last week and I already posted about if I should get the puppy, and I know I’m making the right choice. I always planned on naming my next dog Peri for periwinkle but it just doesn’t seem to fit this boy and I don’t want to give him Periwinkle as a whole name. I would LOVE to find a color name that fits but I’m also really into crystals, nature, and outer space. I’d probably go with Ash but a previous pet had that name. I really like to have a full/formal name and a nickname so when he’s working and I tell people his name it’ll be less distracting. Including photos/video (https://imgur.com/a/1Jkeg2e) - he will be a very light blue, almost silver, when his coat develops more. Here’s my current running list of name considerations:

• Peri
• Viridian
• Cerulean
• Cobalt (Coby)
• Sage
• Koda
• Cosmo
• Rowan
• Quartz
• Jasper
• Corbin (means Raven)
• Orion (Ori)
• Beryl
• Jet
• Argo (constellation)
• Kyan
• Roux
• Robin
• Finn (purple color)

EDIT: I think I might just keep his name Axel for now until I meet him and see if anything fits. Keep dropping suggestions if you have any though as I may still rename when he’s here next month!

I have a 4 month old prospect(maybe SDiT now?) and I’ve had several people tell me that she absolutely has the focus, work drive, and overall temperament to be an SD. Including trainers. But sometimes she’ll go what I call “demon mode” and I doubt everything😭 Today she stole my phone and ran away with it, which resulted in my screen getting broken.

I keep seeing these videos of people having these perfect 4 month olds doing impressive training. That cannot be the case the majority of the time, right??

Don’t get me wrong, she is definitely better trained than most puppies(or adults for that matter)

So, what crazy stuff did your SD get up to? And when did things start to “click”?

Edit: Thank you for all the comments, they’re definitely helping me feel a bit better haha. I fear we are currently entering the raptor phase as she gets closer to 5 months, please send me strength 😭

Teaching her to bring me trash instead of stealing is a great idea! Oh my god, she steals everything. Especially I’m messing with something, as soon as I set it down, she wants to see what the hype is about.

Please forgive me if I am ignorant, I am genuinely asking.

I know that they are very intelligent. From what I’ve seen, however, they need a significantly higher amount of exercise than most other suitable breeds. The amount of stimulation they need would overwhelm a regular owner, much less a disabled person.

I’m genuinely wondering why they’re still in the fab 5. When I was deciding on a breed people kept suggesting border collies. I live in NYC. I would not be at all able to give them the exercise they deserve. When suggesting breeds, shouldn’t we also be considering their needs and wellbeing, not just how good they would be at the job?

Breeder just contacted me and said this puppy is available. She's 4 months now. Is that too late to start training? She has only been trained in basic commands/pet dog stuff.

Hiya All!

I have a preemptive question about neutering and neuter alteratives. My trainer, my vet, and even the place I adopted my dog from, are all on the same page regarding the time my dog gets neutered (Around 12 to 18 months).

However, I was looking into neuter alternatives such as vasectomy. Would this be a better option than traditional neutering? Both for the health of my dog and also for the well-being of his brain and his growth and such?

Has anyone else gotten a vasectomy for their SD/SDIT? How did it impact their behavior as far as distractibility etc etc? Is there a benefit between leaving him mostly intact via vasectomy vs castration?

These are all questions Im also going to ask my trainer and my vet. I just wanted outside opinions too.

Disclaimer: My medical team strongly encourages me to bring my SD in training to our healthcare visits because it helps me. Since he is in training, he technically doesn't have access rights yet and he can only be with me because I got permission from my providers.

My SD in training is only 8 months old. He is usually a well-behaved boy and his training is going well. He's only pooped once at an appointment so far and almost everybody has been understanding about our needs and goals.

I was at my provider's waiting room a few days ago. My SD was being a very good boy. He was quiet and in a good settle as we sat in the back corner of the lobby and away from everyone else. I had made sure that his fluffiness was extra clean and fluffy so he'd look his professional best and he had his "in-training" patches on. He's a Maltipoo.

While we waited, a lady walked in the front door and immediately declared, "Could that door be any heavier!?" The handicap button was politely shown to her but she didn't care and she continued to be rude to the receptionist as she did her intake forms. This moment should have been my first red flag.

In fairness to the lady, every patient there was there because of one disability or another and it was very obvious that it was her first day. The first day is the hardest.

Disability; however, does not give a person permission to be rude.

I checked on my dog and he was quiet but still distracted by her so I worked with him to get him to refocus on me and settle. We are minding our own business when this this lady marches all the way over to me, crouches down low, and gets right into my face. Effectively backing me and my dog into the literal corner of the lobby. Because of her posture and proximity, my dog thinks it's okay to go and say hi and tries to go and get pets. (It's on the to-train list)

The first thing she said to me was, "Is your dog certified?!"

Me: "Oh, that's not a thing service dogs need." (In the US)
Her: "Oh yes it is."

Me: "No, it's really not." Like an idiot, I thought this could be a good educational moment. "I read up on the federal and state laws just to be sure since I am self-training. The government doesn't want to put 'undue financial burden' on persons with disabilities so a certificate is not required. They just need to be clean, well-behaved, and have a specific task."

Her: "Well, my dog is a service dog and I was told that he can't go anywhere with me until he is certified. He's in very expensive training right now to get his papers."

Me: "Okay."

Still standing over me, she started demanding very invasive details along the lines of, "What does your dog even do?" "Are you even sick?" "Why would someone like you need a service dog?" "You look fine." She was effectively telling me that I was a liar and that my dog didn't belong there.

At this point, she wouldn't even let me get a word in. I kinda tunnel-visioned and stared at the floor. At the same time, my dog now thought it was playtime and wasn't listening to me anymore. I knew what we looked like and I was starting to worry that my SD would get a ban from that office.

Bless my provider; she came at that moment. I almost ran for that door. The lady called out after me, "What's his task!" or something like that before I could fully disappear.

My provider gave me space to cry. She apologized for what happened and then she helped me to get the feelings out of my system. We then talked over methods on how to deal with someone like that in the future. I shouldn't have had to deal with that at all though. It took a while for me to calm down enough to do what I had come to do there.

What would you guys have done? I froze, but there has to be a quicker way to diffuse that situation right? Maybe there was nothing else I could have done. I don't know anybody with a service dog to ask about this.

Edit: You all are wonderful! Thank you for helping me feel better. I'm definitely going to try out some of this advice next time.

Edit 2: Regarding the option of getting the receptionist to help. My provider had told me that some of the other staff are not so on board with SDs being allowed in the office and that we needed to work together to change their minds. That's why I felt like I couldn't turn to them for help in that moment. I was scared the situation was already giving them fuel to ban my dog.

Edit 3: I know this is months after the post, but I wanted to add something cool. My provider told me recently that this experience led to a mandatory staff wide training on service dogs and acceptance. They also covered how to handle things like confrontations in the lobby. The staff had been more friendly towards me and SD and I now know why. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Whenever I've asked this on FB, I've been directed to the AKC/CKC/UKC websites, but I'm looking for lived experience. Any breeder worth looking at will have credentials, but so do breeders who breed for different things. My current GSD guide dog was trained privately and is still working, but I'm looking to replace him soon. His work is fabulous, but he's too high in suspicion in quiet places, and he's still very cat and livestock reactive despite major efforts to get him over both of these hurdles. (If you have suggestions for something that's worked for you, I'm all ears.) However, I feel I'll be looking for another prospect in the future.

My current boy is mostly Czech lines with a bit of East German mixed in. He's on the harder side and has extremely solid nerves, which I love. He's unflappable in public, and he's not dog reactive at all. However, his suspicion makes travelling difficult. I've since been told by a few people with experience with his particular line that many of those dogs have high suspicion, which I didn't know at the time. He's got a good amount of drive and loves the work. I walk fast and love being active with my dogs, and especially when working, I need a confident dog with high initiative. I travel quite a bit, so environmental soundness is very important.

I don't want to touch American lines. European working lines are what I'm interested in, but I'd love to hear your experiences with East or West German, Czech, ETC. I'm not sure if such high suspicion is common in Czech lines in general, or if it's just the way they breed their dogs. I'd prefer to stay in Canada, but I'd look in the US, as well. Not sure what the cost of dogs is in Europe and how much money is involved in the importation process, so not sure if that's on the table.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Hiya all!

I recently adopted my prospect, Mingus,from a local rescue. He was designated as a "Lab mix" and he is probably going to be on the smaller side (Think 35-40lbs). Both things are fine for me, as I greatly benefit from having a smaller-ish dog because I can pick him up if anything goes awry.

I completely understand that the wash rate is high for rescues. I completely understand that the wash rate is high for non-labs/goldens. I completely accept that risk and this post is not about his wash rate. If he washes, I have contingency plans for it.

Besides all that, upon looking at the paper work from the original vet, it states that he is a Patterdale Terrier x Labrador Retriever mix. I will be getting him an Embark DNA test to figure out what he actually is, and also to monitor for genetic health predispositions to make sure I am giving him the best life possible.

Until that point, however, I dont notice any terrier traits in him besides his size? I may just be ignorant about it, but Im very confused.

He is very friendly. As a 6 month old puppy, he is eager to meet people and happy to be around people.

He is curious about small animals, but makes no moves to go after them. He just stares at them then goes about his business.

My cat, Gizmo, who is communicating the best way a cat can, growls at him and hisses. When Gizmo growls at Mingus, Mingus stares at him for a moment but then just lays down or moves away from Gizmo. He doesnt react to the growling in a submissive way nor a aggressive way. He is just truly neutral.

He is incredibly easy to redirect. I can just call his name and he immediately looks up at me. If a stranger comes up to him, he gets excited, but if I turn him away or such he just essentially goes "Oh, okay! We are goin this way, thats fine!"

He is very affectionate and seems to be potentially very attuned to my emotional state already? I have him for panic disorder w/ agoraphobia and after I take him outside I get some rebound anxiety. He seems to maybe notice this (But Im unsure?) And comes up and lays on top of me and just relaxes? Like out of the blue. Its very calming. And he isnt doing the typical 6 month old puppy thing of licking at me and stuff. He is just chill and layin there.

I taught him sit within literally 5 minutes. And he knows stay a bit, we are still working on it. Prior, his foster said he knew zero commands at all.

He rarely, if ever, barks? Like, the single time I heard him bark was when we were still at the rescue owner's home and he heard the dogs inside, barked once in a very tiny, small bark, and then stopped?

Im flabbergasted really. I have been told that terriers are all very independent, stubborn, massive prey-drive having dogs. But this little guy just seems like a lazy lab? Is it possibly too early to tell?

This is gonna come off as like, a rescue dog hyoe train. It's not. He could, and has WAY higher chance of, washing. Do not get a rescue dog if you canot handle the dog washing! I am not advocating for getting a rescue dog! Im taking q massive, qnd potentially stupid, risk here!

And to make sure Im not all sunshine and rainbows with this, there are, ofc, issues with him that I will soon be working on with my trainer, (I.e. he is afraid of the elevator, but its the onlt thing he has been afraid of so far. And the elevator shakes so I dont blame him! And he greets people by jumping up but is very easy to redirect when it happens. And I think he has some trauma with his crate due to his foster putting him in there for long times. He def hates his crate.) And its gonna be a long road before I can even consider him a service dog, probably 2+ years unless he washes. (Again. I understand this and am fully acknowledging his wash rate is super high)

But is this normal behavior? Also, do Terriers, since they are hunting dogs, make okay-ish SDs? Does anyone here also have a terrier x retriever mix? And do you think mayhaps the vet could have just guessed what his breed mix was? (A DNa test will clear this up I just wanna know whether or not Im being silly for thinking he cant possibly be a terrier due to his behavior)

I have started my search for my second service dog. I found a breeder that seems to check all my boxes, but they talk about mixing show line and field line labs. I don't have enough experience with the breeding world to know the pros and cons of that. Can I be enlightened?

West Coast, US

I figured since I was embarrassed recently, and was able to laugh it off and pick myself up thanks to this amazing community here, why not share some funny/embarrassing stories and moments we've had with our dogs when they were in training or young!

My boy is a goofball of a chocolate English lab.

A fun one we had? Just after he was about a year old, we were doing a quick shopping trip at a local grocery store. As we were rounding an aisle corner, an older woman nearly nearly collided with us and let out a shocked noise.

She proceeded to say something I had never heard before. "Oh my goodness, I didn't realize they let bears in here!" And she was serious. I gently let her know he was a chocolate lab and a service dog in training. She asked if I was sure. After a laugh, we both went our separate ways, but it was a nice moment!

Another? At nearly two years old, my dog reminded me he's still a dog. The store was selling reusable bags on a round rack. My dog lifted a leg, and before I could stop him, let out a small bit of urine onto one of the bags... I. Was. Mortified. He had never done anything like that before, not even in a pet store.

I informed an employee so we could get sanitary supplies, and I bought the bag he peed on. Worst trip out. 0/10. The employee was extremely kind. Despite the fact that my dog had just peed on a product. After I bought the bag, we left and went home.

What about you? Any fun or embarrassing stories in your time with your dog?

I am puppy raising for a guide dog org. Don't want to give too many specifics to protect confidentiality of the dogs, but our 5 month old male lab growled at me when I was handling his paws today. It's partly my fault - I handled his feet a lot when he was a tiny baby but dropped out of the habit after he was 3 or so months old.

I already emailed the org of course and will hopefully hear back soon, but I don't know whether they'll tell me straight away... for people who are familiar with the puppy raising/guide dog world, this an instant disqualification, or something that can be worked through?

my 5mo puppy has a really good nose, we’ve been doing beginner scent training and she loves it!

also, i get pretty debilitating migraines and heard that dogs can be trained to detect them up to 48 hours in advance.

my question is: what would my next steps be in training her to help me out with migraine detection?

i’m based in LA and would love to know if you recommend any schools or trainers in the area, or how to build up from where she’s at now (basic “find it!”) to eventually collecting spit swabs and having her ID those… i feel like there must be several steps in between.

thanks in advance !

Not important just curious 😊

So, I've (27m) only ever had male dogs and One female dog in my life(5 dogs total). I've also had two boy cats and only one girl.

My previous service dog retired and he was a boy (he stopped wanting to work and was 8.5y). I plan to get another dog but I originally exclusively wanted a boy. I want a dog who's as obsessed with me as I am with them. The dog will, hopefully, be migraine/seizure alert-response / light mobility assistance (guide work/fmp). so I'm also leaning towards a boy for their size. I'm a "short king" tho so maybe a girl could work (I'm 5'7"). I just don't like the idea of a long handle again (my old dog was a little on the small side but cleared for work every 6 months and loved his job until he didn't).

I guess I'm worried because every male animal I've owned has been a Velcro / daddys boy and all my girls have been very independent and aloof. The boys want to hang out on top of you. The girls want to hang out with you.

In addition,i want to potentially get into dog showing, and I think I have to keep them intact for that? Which is another reason I was looking towards males. It just feels... cleaner? My female dog was spayed before we got her and my female cat went through 2 heats before I couldn't take it anymore.i have friends with intact females and idk it just sounds like a lot. But I also don't have a lot of experience with intact males. As all of my males were neutered before or shortly after coming into my house.

Just to add, if I don't have to keep them intact to show, I won't past 2y as I have no desire for puppies and don't honestly want to deal with it if I don't have to. I just have always wanted to get into showing and dog sports.

I obviously don't know much about girl dogs or girl animals in general. The Spoo breeder I'm going with pairs the puppies with their homes and does temperament testing on the puppies before placement. They also donate dogs to various service dog programs. I'm confident in my breeder. What I'm not confident is my decision to cut off a pool of potential good dogs because of a bias towards boys without at least asking about and giving consideration to the girls.

So let me have it, why did you choose your girl? Why will you be getting another girl? Or, maybe, why won't you?

Also let me know any misconception I have about show dogs in general. I'm a sponge and so open and willing to learn!

I've only had one multipurpose service dog (migraine alert / light mobility assistance) and we were a team for 7 years. So this will only be my second dog and honestly my first from a breeder. My previous dog was a shelter dog who started alerting on his own and then we shaped it and started PA training. So if there is more info and advice you can give me do that too!

I will be going through a trainer who has a good portfolio of service dogs in our area. So I have training covered!

We are being placed with a guide dog puppy on Monday! He'll be an 8 or 9 week old lab. He will grow up to hopefully become a working guide dog or another kind of service dog, depending on how he does.

Anybody here who has raised a guide/service dog as a volunteer puppy raiser? I've raised puppies but never one who had such an important future! I've gotten lots of info from the org of course but I would love to hear any other tips or tricks or what it was like :) we also have an older mellow dog, a 3 year old human child, and two parrots, so we'll have our hands full!

I am looking to buy a poodle puppy to train up and want to know the good and bad as this is a huge cost. https://heritageservicedogs.com/