#servicedogprospect

[xxroguevalkyriexx]

Out for a walk with Nico, by myself. I'm not sure how many of you know how big of a deal this is. I'm so excited and happy right now! #servicedogprospect

[xxroguevalkyriexx]

In the bathroom, no privacy lol @4apawsitivelife #servicedogprospect

[gunnertails-blog]

We have been asked, how do you pick a puppy service dog prospect? Below you will find the process used to pick Gunner. 1. Retrieving You want the puppy to retrieve a wadded up piece of paper tossed about two or three feet away and bring it back to you. This is the single most important indicator of willingness to please you and work with you. A dog that will retrieve for you as a puppy will be willing to be trained. Sit on the floor. Put the puppy in your lap, facing away from you. Toss a wadded up piece of paper in front of you about two or three feet away. Make sure the puppy sees the paper being tossed. Do this a few times as the puppy may not have noticed the paper toss the first time or needs to think about it. You want the puppy to leave your lap, get the paper, and bring it back to your lap. A puppy that leaves your lap, grabs the paper and drops it on the way back to you is an acceptable response also. This is one of the best indicators that a dog can do any kind of work. 2. Quick recovery from startling experiences Drop a metal pan on a hard floor near the pup. The puppy can startle but should recover quickly and perhaps show some curiosity. Pop open an umbrella and set it down. Again, the puppy can startle but should recover quickly and perhaps even investigate the umbrella. Attacking either item isn’t a good response. If the puppy doesn’t recover quickly it will never have the steady nerves to be a service dog or a good all round pet dog. I would not bring a dog that fails this test into a home with children either. Ignoring the pan/umbrella may indicate sight or hearing issues. 3. Order in which the puppies greet you Never take the puppy that runs up to you first and then runs away. Take the puppy that comes up to you a little later, crawls into your lap and doesn’t leave. The first puppy will be a handful and have his own ideas about things. The second puppy will bond easily with you and be more likely to follow your moods and stay by your side. If a puppy doesn’t interact with you at all or does a quick “drive by” or nips your hands, then you definitely don’t want that one. 4. Acceptance of being held I prefer a puppy to feel limp when I pick them up. The puppy might wiggle a little at first, but the puppy you want settles quickly and cuddles. Avoid the puppy that squeals in fear or nips/bites your hand at being restrained or “held”. I don’t like a puppy that doesn’t seem to enjoy being held. This is something that can be changed a bit by the breeder. A puppy that isn’t held much by the breeder may not like to be held. 5. Following Individually take each of the puppies that are doing well and go to a spot they haven’t been before. Speak softly to the puppy and begin walking away. You want the puppy that quietly follows you because he will follow your lead in life. Don’t take the puppy that follows but bites your ankles or the puppy that hides or runs away. 6. Forgiveness Pinch gently between the puppy’s toes. If the puppy gives you a dirty look and then goes away, this pup is a poor prospect for service dog work. It will tend to get offended easily and then not work for you. You want the puppy that snuggles up to you or perhaps licks you in response to the toe pinch. This pup will forgive you when you get manic or angry and will help you when you need it. This information can be found at: http://www.psychdogpartners.org/resources/getting-a-dog/pick-puppy-service-dog-prospect

[growing-up-emt]

Look Ma I can focus well on you. #servicedogsofinstagram #servicedogintraining #sdit #futureservicedog #prospects #prospect #servicedogprospect

[lchaimcanine]

Lovely rescue pup and potential #servicedog candidate. Spent this afternoon working with her in a variety of settings and she jumped into each and everyone without missing a beat! Also bonded very quickly with her potential person! #rescue #servicedogprospect #clickertraining #lchaimcanine

[everythingshinysdit-blog]

Don't take the first dog you see.....

Or....do....

The day we lost Rhodey I was on his rescues website. They offered us a dog for free, at no cost, and the time to test any dog we wanted. It was a very generous and heartwarming offer.

I was on the rescues website not looking for a dog, but looking for dogs to cat test. We take our cat denzel to adoption events and use him to see how fosters do around cats. 

On the website I saw a familiar face....then two...

On the puppy page was a dog I had a fostered back in august. A dog that knew Rhodey and at three months had started responding alongside him.

Was Rhodey telling me something?

We didn't know. Well, my husband argued about the length of time it took for a dog to get to heaven...but I couldn't ignore it and asked rescue why Howard, the hound puppy was returned.

They said that he was returned for barking when left alone (8-9 hours a day) and he barked when he saw other dogs on leash.

I spoke to the foster about this and she said he hasn't barked at a dog on leash since, mostly because he now lives with other dogs. They have taken him to adoption events with 50+ dogs and not once has he barked at them. I convinced my husband that even though it hasn't been long since we lost Rhodey that I have to test this dog. He is literally the only connection I have to Rhodey, and a dog that actually responded alongside Rhodey after Rhodey alerted.  My husband of course was worried that I was thinking with my heart and not with my head. He asked how I would know if Howard was the one. I couldn't say "honey, you just know", so I showed him the Volhard test. I even got a friend (who knew Rhodey and had seen him work) who was also a service dog handler/trainer to come with me to test him and fill the test out on her own... We didn't follow the test exactly, and more used it as a guideline and data points.  Howard was truly exceptional.

He wasn't overly fearful of any of the loud noises or things being dropped. He was right in the middle for all of the restraint portions, moving a bit but not flailing over being overly submissive. He retrieved the toy I threw twice, and brought it back.He off leash heeled like a champ. In the video I know I ask him to sit after we stop walking, I won't request that when he is vested/in harness.  So after we tested him last night my husband picked me up. I could he was a bit grumpy at the driving and Black Friday, so for the first time in my life, I kept completely silent when I was bursting to tell him the good news. Instead I told the rescue and other handlers just how awesome it went. I showed them the short one minute video we took and finally... allowed myself to start thinking of names. The husband will help with the name once he meets him, but the best I did was wait until this morning to present everything to him. He had gotten a new video game from his dad so we played that all night and then this morning before breakfast I presented everything. I knew I had him won over when he said, "He's actually a good looking dog". He did ask if it would be better to look at a second dog and compare the tests. That's when I showed him the video, you can't ask for much better. This one minute video shows you how the 20 minute test went.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTGhVwgUPSY&list=UUgf9i-hBHnNmqY8M5NOxT3Q&index=1

So we will go pick up Howard tomorrow and will immediately continue working on the requirements for the CGC and CGC-A and simultaneously do public access standards and task training. I have never been so confident in a service dog prospect, simply because of how well he tested and how focused and attentive he was during the test and after.  He's about 6 months old and is already house trained. The training will move fast with him because he lived with me for a few weeks back and August so we are already familiar with each other.