Friday
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I wonder about this dog-lady. Someone once suggested to me that I get an attack-type breed. Are ya nuts??? Last thing in the world I need is someone egging me on. I need a dog who counters my weaknesses. Not one who I get angry, and they join in looking for a target! Great! Let's bite someone!!! Nooooooo. A good friend's bias. She was pretty timid, and had the sweetest Dobie. Both gave her the courage to stand up for herself, and got her used to giving commands (that were instantly obeyed) instead of being a doormat. She said I reminded her of her dog. Yeah, well, she's got a human to rein her in. I guess I do need that, but it's aside from the point. I tend to match well to huskies & hybrids (although I have my son's lab at the moment <grin> Love that dog, I don't usually get on with Labs.). Breeders often match people personalities & dog personalities. I wonder if this dog-lady thought "Extreme Anxiety, Runner, Dauntless, Determined, Strong, Needs gentle handling" ... And made the leap to matching you with a greyhound? If so,.. I'd be a little nervous about her future picks. There are a lot of breeds that are super anxious, and very flight-oriented. Sounds like the opposite of what would give you strength & calm. Like matching me with an attack dog or terrier, some things are just a recipe for disaster.
I think you did fantastically well, in a bad situation. I tend to agree with your therapist: following a bad episode with a dog, what instantly "worked"? Another dog. A dog with the right personality and temperament. Your brain didn't lump all dogs together. That was a bad situation, this is a calming one. That's kind of awesome. Especially if you tend to blur triggers & stressors.
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Just me talking about breeds...
((I wrote this first, the above paragraph was the last thing I wrote, but the only thing that was really important. The rest of this is just me musing/ thinking out loud.))
I'm really surprised anyone would try to turn a greyhound as a therapy dog. I suppose it could happen, but thousands of generations of being bred to "Flight!" & "Reach target at all costs!" (Used to run messages across battlefields, coursing, etc.. Long before racing. And racing has bred most of the smarts out of most of them, speed over all else) has made the entire breed pretty flighty & neurotic/ super anxious. They used to be wicked smart, some still are, but it's a coin toss. They can be loves, but when they get startled, they can be 5 miles across town before you can blink. And if there's oncoming traffic? Greyhounds who get loose, usually don't survive. Know a few race-rehabbers... And it's their constant fear: no matter how many years of training, that flight response kicks in? You've got a cloud of dust where the dog used to be. Drive across town in whatever direction they were headed, and pray they don't get hit or have a heart attack.
There are always individuals which defy breed parameters. However, it's generally a good idea to know what breed standards are.
- I'd think an attack dog breed (intensely loyal to one person, hypervigilent, intelligent, & disobeys instinct to obey commands; think dobermans) before I thought courser.
- And I'd think a herding breed before attack breed (almost any dog with "shepherd" in the name, and several without... Avoid any bred for range work unless you've got some serious time to exercise them, Australian Border Collies were bred to patrol the borders of huge ranches... They need miles of daily exercise; think 10 miles is a good start. Smart as whips, border collies, they also get super depressed/neurotic of they don't have work keeping them busy. Sheeple being their 2nd favorite thing to herd & keep safe.)
- or babysitting breed (mastiffs, namely, big suckers though... Known as babysitters because they're one of the few breeds you can give complex commands to: certain nomadic groups use them to mind the children while the parents are away) for their unflappable calm-calm-calm before I thought attack dogs.
....In fact, I think the only breeds lower on my standards list than racers/coursers would be temple guard dogs (chows for example) who tend to be pretty cranky & standoffish. Crankiness & wanting to be left alone being a huge attribute in their bred line of work, not so much for the being loved on & loving on.
Working (to include sporting&hound) dogs were generally bred for both intelligence and specific tasks. So they generally make good working dogs ;). A service dog being a working dog. But not always! Depends on what they were bred for, and the individual breeds are very different from each other.
Huskies, for example, trust their own judgement over their owners. Oh, they know the commands. But they decide whether or not they think the command is a good idea before obeying. Which isn't that often when they think you're being stupid. It's beautiful out. Coming inside is dumb. Not gonna happen. I've got a hole to dig. It might get cold tonight, and you're clearly not doing anything about shelter. Again. Yeah, yeah, yeah... You've for one house. I've got eleven holes. Who's prepared now??? And your territory is much too small. Let's annex the neighbors! 5 houses down. What??? What're these complaints?
I know 2 huskies who are phenom PTSD service dogs for their owners, because no matter how much they get pushed away? Sorry, human. You're being dumb. Again. Haven't we talked about this? Most of the time, for most people, a husky would be a lousy choice. Like really, really bad. These are both very outdoorsy exMilitary guys... The breed standard fits exactly what they need in general, and then the service training just cements everything together.
Retrievers, meanwhile, have become America's Lawn Ornaments because of their generally sweet dispositions & ease in training. But there is a big difference between a Labrador Retriever & an Irish Setter. Both are often used as service dogs... To two entirely different classes of people. Setters tend to be a lot more mellow/patient (not as puppies, they're lunatic puppies, one of the 2yo+ breeds), and do really well laying for hours under a desk while someone is at work, for example (also students; used for kids with high anxiety around reading/ dyslexia like crazy... They can stay under a desk for 8-10 hours perfectly happy happy happy & mega chill, until it's time to be doing, and then they're bounding along). Labs tend to get bored, meanwhile, and need more attention.
Breed temperament runs true in most dogs. Personality might highlight one area over another, but it's rare that you'd get a Great Dane who isn't a lapdog (really, biggest dang lapdogs on the planet), or a terrier who doesn't attack first and think later, greyhounds who don't spook, a husky who isn't bossy, or a depressed golden retriever (happy! happyhappyhappyhappy!!! Jooooooy!) Mixed breeds are always a coin toss. Or 24 sided dice toss. They could run with the temperment of any of their parent breeds... Or none at all.
Individuals really can vary, but I think I would start by finding a good breed-match.
I think you did fantastically well, in a bad situation. I tend to agree with your therapist: following a bad episode with a dog, what instantly "worked"? Another dog. A dog with the right personality and temperament. Your brain didn't lump all dogs together. That was a bad situation, this is a calming one. That's kind of awesome. Especially if you tend to blur triggers & stressors.
___________________________________
Just me talking about breeds...
((I wrote this first, the above paragraph was the last thing I wrote, but the only thing that was really important. The rest of this is just me musing/ thinking out loud.))
I'm really surprised anyone would try to turn a greyhound as a therapy dog. I suppose it could happen, but thousands of generations of being bred to "Flight!" & "Reach target at all costs!" (Used to run messages across battlefields, coursing, etc.. Long before racing. And racing has bred most of the smarts out of most of them, speed over all else) has made the entire breed pretty flighty & neurotic/ super anxious. They used to be wicked smart, some still are, but it's a coin toss. They can be loves, but when they get startled, they can be 5 miles across town before you can blink. And if there's oncoming traffic? Greyhounds who get loose, usually don't survive. Know a few race-rehabbers... And it's their constant fear: no matter how many years of training, that flight response kicks in? You've got a cloud of dust where the dog used to be. Drive across town in whatever direction they were headed, and pray they don't get hit or have a heart attack.
There are always individuals which defy breed parameters. However, it's generally a good idea to know what breed standards are.
- I'd think an attack dog breed (intensely loyal to one person, hypervigilent, intelligent, & disobeys instinct to obey commands; think dobermans) before I thought courser.
- And I'd think a herding breed before attack breed (almost any dog with "shepherd" in the name, and several without... Avoid any bred for range work unless you've got some serious time to exercise them, Australian Border Collies were bred to patrol the borders of huge ranches... They need miles of daily exercise; think 10 miles is a good start. Smart as whips, border collies, they also get super depressed/neurotic of they don't have work keeping them busy. Sheeple being their 2nd favorite thing to herd & keep safe.)
- or babysitting breed (mastiffs, namely, big suckers though... Known as babysitters because they're one of the few breeds you can give complex commands to: certain nomadic groups use them to mind the children while the parents are away) for their unflappable calm-calm-calm before I thought attack dogs.
....In fact, I think the only breeds lower on my standards list than racers/coursers would be temple guard dogs (chows for example) who tend to be pretty cranky & standoffish. Crankiness & wanting to be left alone being a huge attribute in their bred line of work, not so much for the being loved on & loving on.
Working (to include sporting&hound) dogs were generally bred for both intelligence and specific tasks. So they generally make good working dogs ;). A service dog being a working dog. But not always! Depends on what they were bred for, and the individual breeds are very different from each other.
Huskies, for example, trust their own judgement over their owners. Oh, they know the commands. But they decide whether or not they think the command is a good idea before obeying. Which isn't that often when they think you're being stupid. It's beautiful out. Coming inside is dumb. Not gonna happen. I've got a hole to dig. It might get cold tonight, and you're clearly not doing anything about shelter. Again. Yeah, yeah, yeah... You've for one house. I've got eleven holes. Who's prepared now??? And your territory is much too small. Let's annex the neighbors! 5 houses down. What??? What're these complaints?
I know 2 huskies who are phenom PTSD service dogs for their owners, because no matter how much they get pushed away? Sorry, human. You're being dumb. Again. Haven't we talked about this? Most of the time, for most people, a husky would be a lousy choice. Like really, really bad. These are both very outdoorsy exMilitary guys... The breed standard fits exactly what they need in general, and then the service training just cements everything together.
Retrievers, meanwhile, have become America's Lawn Ornaments because of their generally sweet dispositions & ease in training. But there is a big difference between a Labrador Retriever & an Irish Setter. Both are often used as service dogs... To two entirely different classes of people. Setters tend to be a lot more mellow/patient (not as puppies, they're lunatic puppies, one of the 2yo+ breeds), and do really well laying for hours under a desk while someone is at work, for example (also students; used for kids with high anxiety around reading/ dyslexia like crazy... They can stay under a desk for 8-10 hours perfectly happy happy happy & mega chill, until it's time to be doing, and then they're bounding along). Labs tend to get bored, meanwhile, and need more attention.
Breed temperament runs true in most dogs. Personality might highlight one area over another, but it's rare that you'd get a Great Dane who isn't a lapdog (really, biggest dang lapdogs on the planet), or a terrier who doesn't attack first and think later, greyhounds who don't spook, a husky who isn't bossy, or a depressed golden retriever (happy! happyhappyhappyhappy!!! Jooooooy!) Mixed breeds are always a coin toss. Or 24 sided dice toss. They could run with the temperment of any of their parent breeds... Or none at all.
Individuals really can vary, but I think I would start by finding a good breed-match.
