A service dog is considered a working animal, not a pet. Service dogs must meet exacting criteria in order to obtain service dog registration. A service dog is not the same as a therapy dog, who goes into hospital settings with a handler to bring comfort to patients. Rather, a service dog serves a definable function to aid her owner in living with a disability. Service dogs can help people who are vision or hearing impaired, suffer from seizures or have trouble moving, or are in a wheelchair. Service dogs can also assist people who suffer from PTSD, severe anxiety or depression.
While most service dogs are labs or retrievers, very large breeds like the Great Dane or Pyrenees can help people who need a lot of physical assistance, are very tall or who simply prefer the character of these breeds.
Can he be traimd eto be a service dog to help my husband who recently ssuffered a stroke?
Hello! Yes he can. You will want to check with trainers or organizations in your area. In some cities, there are even non profit organizations who help people work with their dogs to become service dogs.
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Want to have a well behaved
Happy and very focused dog that can go anyplace without fear.
Hello Gail, Check out the free PDF E-book downloads. Socialization, teaching bite inhibition, and teaching him to accept handling/touch should be your biggest priorities at this age. You can absolutely start obedience now too, but if you are limited on time your window for socialization, teaching bite inhibition, and teaching handling tolerance will close with age, where as the opportunity to teach obedience and tasks remains for longer. I highly suggest joining a puppy class that includes time for supervised off-leash puppy play, practices having pet parents handle each others puppies while giving them treats, and works on other elements of socialization, in addition to some basic obedience. After he has learned general obedience and manners, then a Canine Good Citizen is a great class to join to prepare dogs for future Service Dog work also. It simply works on calmness around distractions, focus, and a bit more socialization. Continue socializing him often for the first three years of life to maintain what you gain while he is a puppy. Socialization should be an ongoing project. Click on the puppy pictures on the web page linked below to download the two free PDF e-books on raising puppies. https://www.lifedogtraining.com/freedownloads/ Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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