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#this is so fufkint stupid #arlo.txt #catch 22

So I realized I haven’t actually mentioned this yet

I’m washing Arlo. There are two main reasons- he’s too social, and I don’t *really* need him as a service dog anymore. I’ve had Arlo for over a year now, and no matter what I do, I think he’s just too social to be a successful service dog. Some dogs are totally fine being focused on their work, and limiting socialization to off duty times, but Arlo is not that kind of dog. He absolutely loves all people and all other animals, and it makes him so sad when he can’t go say hi when he’s out working. It breaks my heart, and I can’t do that to him. He also doesn’t even fully pay attention to me when we’re out because of it, because he just loves to watch the world. A service dog that’s supposed to be preforming alert tasks can’t exactly work if he’s just staring at other people and dogs constantly :P

The second reason is actually a pretty happy reason: I think I’ve made pretty good progress in the last year and a half, and I’m to a point where I’m not sure I need a service dog. This may change in the future, but for now that’s where I’m at. My arthritis is extremely well controlled with medication- my joints are still weak and stiff, but I’m rarely in pain. My mental health is still not great, but it’s a lot better than it has been. I haven’t been working Arlo for the past month, and I’ve been fine at various appointments, running errands, etc. I miss having him with me, because his presence provides a lot of comfort to me, but that’s not what a service dog is supposed to do. I’m still planning on training him in a few more tasks to do at home, because I have 99% of my breakdowns and things at home. I still want him to do DPT and grounding things, and I’m not sure what else. But I really don’t need those tasks while out in public.

I’m sad in a way, but I’m also relieved. It’s taken a lot of stress off of me, especially about feeling like a failure of a trainer because I just haven’t been able to get Arlo to focus on me while out working, so that he can actually preform his tasks. It’s an adjustment, but a good one.

#arlo.txt #brenspost #service dog #washed service dog #psychiatric service dog