Og Returning

[Lurch]

Good morning,

I decided to reintroduce myself to the group since it has been a few years since I have been active.

I am still AD and still in therapy. I am fortunate that my PTSD symptoms are very limited at work. I still cannot go to a civilian movie theater, mall or most stores without serious physical pain afterwards.

NEW: I am currently certified by the American Society of Canine Trainers to train Service and Therapy Animals along with behavior modification. My wife and I started a business and then a non-profit to work with abandoned dogs to make their lives better. I also train SDs for cerebral palsy, autism, Tourette, GAD and PTSD. I am working with two other non-profits training SDs for service members and wounded warriors.

I am glad to be back and hope that I can help.

 

[Deleted member 43454]

Hey Lurch, welcome back.
I was Dr. Black before.
Been a minute. That's real cool you're training service dogs I bet it's a good therapy in itself.
And helping other vets by doing so. Win win.

How long is the process to train a service dog and does it depend on each dog or breed type?

 

[BaMuoiBa]

Hey Lurch, good to see all is well by you, welcome back/

Ba

 

[Lurch]

Hey Lurch, welcome back.
I was Dr. Black before.
Been a minute. That's real cool you're training service dogs I bet it's a good therapy in itself.
And helping other vets by doing so. Win win.

How long is the process to train a service dog and does it depend on each dog or breed type?

Manofire, it really depends on how much the owner is willing to work and what state the dog is in when we get them. We only work with rescue animals form either a shelter or one of the several rescues that we work with. When I am looking for a new dog, I will spend 80+ hours with multiple dogs finding one that wants to work in this field and has the compassion that is needed. Not all dogs are suited for the taskings. It is way easier to train a dog to assist someone who is paraplegic then it is for GAD or PTSD. Paraplegic assistance dogs can be any type of calm dog that has a good play drive, while GAD and PTSD really do need to have a different connection that really cant be trained to get the most benefit. I am not breed specific to increase the probability of success. We have place American Stafford Terriers, Labradors, Boxers, and Labradoodles. Depending on a clients specific needs, we could train a Chihuahua. However, we usually leave the smaller breeds to Emotional Support Animal duties. Not because the breed and size cannot handle the work, but because of the perception of the owner/handler and the general public. My experience is that most owners of small breed dogs do not do the required obedience work that is required to keep a dog trained at the level they need to be to be considered a Service Animal.

Normally it is 200 to 1,00 hours of directed training to get a dog to the standards that we want them depending on the difficulty of the tasks. A lot of this training is owner directed to save on cost and to keep the training going. If I can teach someone how to train their dog, they can keep the dog's skills up after we part ways. Really my knowledge is to work around problems that they are facing. According to the ADA, any handler/owner can legally train their own dog to reduce the cost.

We do make sure they meet the requirements of the ADA and International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP) prior to us calling them fully trained Service Animals.

 

[Deleted member 43454]

Damn, that's awesome.
Good deal, all the best in your business and dog rehabilitation/training.

 

[Grizzly]

Welcome back Lurch. Thanks for all you do. I'm sure it's helping many out there.