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Getting A Service Dog.

@Kimberly Williams - rather than search the internet may I suggest you seek out the services of a health professional working in the fields of disability that the dog may be able to work with ppl in. They may know where reputable service dog providers are in your State and possibly even assist you to approach them & find out information that you need.

I'd be a little wary of thinking you require one breed type and only one. It's true there are established breeds with a good reputation but depending on what the dogs role will be in your home there may be other suitable breeds and mixes.

I'm in Aus., so cannot help with USA.

But good luck I hope your search is successful.
 
@Kimberly Williams - rather than search the internet may I suggest you seek out the services of a health professional working in the fields of disability that the dog may be able to work with ppl in. They may know where reputable service dog providers are in your State and possibly even assist you to approach them & find out information that you need.

I'd be a little wary of thinking you require one breed type and only one. It's true there are established breeds with a good reputation but depending on what the dogs role will be in your home there may be other suitable breeds and mixes.

I'm in Aus., so cannot help with USA.

But good luck I hope your search is successful.
Thanks I appreciate your help
 
I've up'd the games... we're now into searching for toys that I'm hiding under stuff; shimmying along the floor...all around the house...balancing stuff - she'll actually extend out her nose to allow me to put things on it lol...

But we got a nasty fright tonight. Walking in the rain.... minding our own business, when I saw a rather large dog leading it's owner towards us. Stepped down a drive-way (street side) to allow them to pass unhindered... you know covid safe?

The owner allowed the dog to march right on over to us... The owner seemed to have no control.

K wagged her tail and backed up a bit... I backed up too - we had nowhere to to go because the road was the last place to go. Dog kept marching into our space and then tried to monster my little K. ugh... I just about jumped out of my skin and the owner yanked on the lead and pulled the dog away.

The dog started straining for more length to follow up...and the STUPID owner let it. Oh I saw red... and stood btwn K and the dog - made it clear that there'd be no more bs from that dog or it's owner.

I'm really angry - ppl who have unpredictable dogs or don't know how to handle their dogs or don't know the dogs well enough etc.. ugh.. get what I mean?
 
Yesterday whilst out with K a woman approached me and introduced herself as a Beagle breeder. Wow! We had such a lovely conversation and she was so impressed at K's serene disposition as we were walking around the shops.

She gave me her business card and invited me to write to her with my details bc she's forming a group for Beagle owners in my area. I'm so pleased bc she was around my age and wasn't put off by K being a two part dog. Some ppl are particularly interested in pure breeds only and that's okay but of course we don't belong to that club. 😎

Meanwhile, K and I have been upping the training sessions each afternoon/evening. Hopefully the dog club will open again soon.
 
The 22nd February my dog has her final review and if she passes we'll be good for all states for 2 years. I've been running her through her commands every evening and just randomly through the day and organically she's doing her job very well. I've asked a friend to help with one of the commands and we were all set but they cancelled at the last moment and hasn't called back. Not sure what to do now. We've been going out in public to all sorts of places and spaces and she's great. Screaming children and sometimes over zealous adults don't worry her in the least.

We did have a terrible encounter with a large dog at a stock feed place not so long ago. It was awful for us both. The dog was half my height and I'm not really short. It jumped out of a vehicle when I got my dog out of my car and just began to stand over her, pushing me away. It was getting very dicey till the owner of the stock-feed business came out and sent his dog back to the vehicle. It didn't want to go though. K and I slipped inside the premises quickly. But the same thing happened when we exited. I had to call out to the owner to again call off his dog who simply resumed the monstering at the door of the business. Such was the dogs behaviour that we could not walk forward or backwards. He was standing over my dog and circling, very offensive behaviour and I was powerless.

I just don't know what to do in these circumstances. I'm concerned that it I pick K up which would be a very hard thing for me to do that I might find myself in the middle of a very nasty dog fight and I reduce my dogs ability to defend herself significantly if I did. Actually I don't think I could pick my dog up anyway so that's not an option. In any case it signals to K that she needed to be very worried and that's a problem because I don't want to make her nervous around other dogs. She's normally friendly and happy to greet other dogs if they apply the standard etiquette. She will be submissive in the face of overwhelming odds but really - ppl should not let their huge dogs run rampant at places of business or outside their homes. However if wishes could be horses....... but, they do and I don't know how to handle this. I'm vulnerable to attack and so is my dog.

I'm going to contact the trainers and ask them what is the best thing to do. Have any of you service dogs owner/handlers had this problem. If so, what did you do or recommend?
 
I'm going to contact the trainers and ask them what is the best thing to do
This is the best thing to do. Not just for reliable advice for your specific dog, but for the reassurance of talking to a certified trainer (who knows you and your dog - big bonus, because that means they can tailor their advice to things you guys are capable of), but also to keep them across the situation.

Me personally? For every stressful experience my dog has with another dog? I set about countering it with as many positive experiences as possible after allowing a 24 hour detox. I can do that because we have a lot of friendly dogs in our area and a lot of reliable dog parks.

In that exact same situation? I'd personally have probably handled it much the same way. Get my dog beside me, exit if possible, relax my body language (rounded shoulders, arms down, slow breathing), and talk at both dogs in a calm voice if I possibly could.

Tbh? I go out of my way to avoid dogs that have been left tethered outside a store. Even friendly dogs can get stressed in that situation (where's boss? I seem to be stuck...help! Back off everyone! Etc etc), and a lot of dogs will treat the extent of their leash at least as the space they need protect.

Even at dog shows and obedience gigs, a tethered dog you assume the length their leash allows them to reach is "their" space. And if that means I need to wait outside the store because I literally can't get past? I will.

You're gonna knock this assessment for 6. You really are. Am excited for you both that you're so close now to being nationally accredited:)
 
Tbh? I go out of my way to avoid dogs that have been left tethered outside a store.

^Thanks for the advice. This dog wasn't tethered. He literally 'appeared' and was standing over my dog. I put my leg between his enormous head and my dog but he pivoted around to the other side dismissing me & continued to do his stand-over tactics. My little K was by then cowering and beginning to roll onto her back in submission but also trying to get away too. It was horrible.
 
My little K was by then cowering and beginning to roll onto her back in submission but also trying to get away too. It was horrible.
IDFK If it helps at all... but unless my dogs off off-leash/playing? I count this as extremely BAD behavior. As bad as aggressive behavior towards a child / requiring swift & immediate response on my part. Usually? I just hiss at them like a cat, because it’s fast & grabs everyone’s (with 4 legs) attention, or an insulted “Oy!” (Which also grabs most 4-footed attention. It’s the insulted tone that carries. Regardless of the language). Then I direct my Oh-f*ck-No towards the other dog, whether it’s a standoff until their Boss comes, or they back down. I’ll deal with my own dog later. Which is usually/nearly always the wiggle body OMG I FORGOT! I’M SO SORRY! dance of please-please-please-pleeeeeeeease let me prove my fealty by licking/biting your jaw! Because I am YOURS and you are mine, and I didn’t meeeeeeeeean to offer my life/fealty to a stranger! It jus came over me and I wasn’t thinking and pleeeeeeeeeeease please please please forgive me / don’t leave me/ be okay/ please-please-please <<< Wiggle body because my grown up dogs are caricatures of embarrassed shame the few times it’s happened / refusing to look at me or anyone else, until I tap “up” and then it’s either a horrifyingly wet collarbone to hairline lick 👅 (yuck!) or the oh-so-careful-feather-light-teeth-to-jaw... and then MR BOUNCY as they go craaaaaaaazy with the whole “I WAS FORGIVEN!!! I AM LOVED! Gotta run-run-run. LOVED & FORGIVEN!!! run-run-run-run! Okay. Heeling now. BEST behavior. Best. Best. Bestest. You WONT REGRET IT. Because I love you. I love you sooooooooo much.

They can get as submissive as they like if I’m NOT present, or in playtime, but if I am? I’m boss. Not some random dog or bloke on the street. ALL the authoritwa! ;) is mine.

A boyfriend taught me that trick. I was far more familiar with alpha-type dogs, so I was tying my submissive dog in KNOTS not standing up for him / giving my authority away left right and center, by allowing him to offer up his life to every Joe Schmoe & Johnny Come Lately who crossed our paths. My alpha-dogs I was instantly taking command when they got aggressive, (never letting them twist in the wind, or tie themselves in knots, not knowing “who” Boss was) cementing their/my roles in our little pack, and making them happy-happy / secure-confident by doing so... just because that’s how I’d been taught... you immediately call halt! to aggressive behavior that isn’t in playtime. But I was letting my submissive pup twist in the wind. As soon as I started treating submission-to-strangers like aggression-to-strangers? I had a MUCH happier dog.
 
I'm in the same camp as @Friday....there's only one alpha bitch in this situation and it ain't you dog. 😍

Couple days ago a dog came running at SD while we were at the store and I spun around with my "dont you dare!" face. Scared the dog so badly it yelped lol. Then the owner accused me of kicking it because "she never yelps" I gave her my best eye rolling are you kidding me face and said ....I didn't need to kick her to show her who's boss "..them walked off.

I have zero patience for asshats like that owner who can't control their dogs and let them behave like this...chasing other dogs and such. Glad K didn't get hurt!
 
As soon as I started treating submission-to-strangers like aggression-to-strangers? I had a MUCH happier dog.
^^Thanks Friday. I hadn't thought about going on the offensive with the other dog and re-establishing my authority.

Okay - I will in future because I'm not sure whether K and I attract unattended, unleashed dogs or it's just a really big problem that I didn't know about before I had a dog that could accompany me everywhere. My last dog was a huge LGD and nobody ever challenged him.

Going to get my best kitty kat hiss up and running which for me is quite a harsh sound bc I push air through my teeth and it's scary.

K has decided that the just turning grapes on my vines are hers... hmmm we've had words about this several times. They don't seem to giving her a belly ache but still.... When she's warned off those she heads on over to my passionfruit and I'm fairly sure she's partaking there too because despite having a healthy crop I cannot seem to ever find a ripe one on the ground.

And then when we went to my mothers recently K decided that pecan nuts were nice so unbeknown to me she commenced cracking the nuts with her jaws and eating pecans. Of course I objected.

All of this exotic eating doesn't seem to adversely effect her gut at this time but it's not seemly for a dog to go foraging in this manner. I mean we don't have any wild-life that she's allowed to run down. Kangaroos are very nasty when cornered and have been known to either slice and dice dogs or drown them. I firmly believe since I feed her she should not be doing it. If somebody fed me I'd not shop or cook?
 
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