Possible service dog!

[The Albatross]

Very happy for you, congratulations on your new companion. :tup:

 

[FindingMyself88]

Thanks everyone :) She has completely blown me AWAY! Her first day as a service dog in training she went to Petco, McDonalds, Dollar Tree, and Food Store! You would have never thought she had only been in training for a day! McDonalds was crazy busy with tons of kids. She walked in beside me, laid down by me at the table and fell asleep, didn't let the kids bother her at all! I could cry I am so proud of her!

I was also surprised no one gave us any problems, in fact 2 people complemented on how well behaved she was. The ONLY time she gave any problem was a worker at Petco came rushing up to her and she stepped in front of me and gave a warning growl, but otherwise sat down and remained calm. I will have to train her out of this completely, but considering I've had her LESS than 24 hours, I am quiet a happy camper! :). She made going out in public so much easier for me. She walked constantly beside me, always touching my side and occasionally looking up at me. She also pawed me once at the table at McDonalds. I think it was an alert because I was anxious. Wow… I feel like this is a dream lol!

 

[TimeToHeal]

Aww, @FindingMyself88, yay!!! So very happy for you, AND for Cady!! Can't wait to see new pics! :) :hug:

 

[FindingMyself88]

Thank you @TimeToHeal !! She pawed me again tonight at dinner when I was having a mild anxiety attack. It is amazing how quickly we have bonded and she has tuned into me. She kept pawing me until I started petting her.

Here are some pics :)

 

[The Albatross]

Very glad to see your animal companion. I was looking for your photos today. Thanks for sharing them.

 

[TimeToHeal]

Aww, she's so pretty! I love GSD's, they're my favorite - and so very smart!
Give her a hug from me! :)

 

[FindingMyself88]

@The Albatross You're welcome, I am sure there will be more as time goes on :). Right now she is laying by me as I type.

@TimeToHeal Thank you! I do too, I had one as a little girl and they are just amazing. She really is very smart! She seems to be a natural alerter as she has pawed me anytime I start to get anxious and she woke me up from a nightmare last night. I will for sure :).

 

[KP the nut]

Many congratulations.

 

[FindingMyself88]

It seems our only problem is she is already over protective of me! Anytime someone comes directly towards me she will growl but she doesn't show her teeth. She can tell the difference in someone going past me and someone coming towards me. We are working on this and you can tell she doesn't like disappointing me, so I believe with training and age we can work her out of this. I've been working on getting her to do commands when someone comes into house or she starts to growl and it seems to be working some. Today has been a stay at home day because I am at my dad's and we have my Uncle and Aunt coming over. I've taken her for 2 long walks to make sure she is getting exercise. Currently she is laying on bed beside me, she LOVES to cuddle :). Earlier, she fell asleep with her head laying on my neck during our nap lol.

She also refuses to listen to anyone else aside from me. While I am glad all of her attention is on me, I do want her to become more respectful of others, especially family. Which I guess that will come in time. I cannot believe how quickly she bonded with me, she doesn't let me out of her sight if she can help it. I had to shut her in my bedroom for me to take a shower. When I came back, she was sitting in the exact spot as when I left her.

We also worked some today on training her to ground me with deep pressure therapy. She doesn't like the idea very much yet of getting on top of me, so I've been doing it on the floor first and getting her to lay across my legs while I give her treats and tell her to "ground". We also have worked on getting her to do a down stay behind me that will come in handy when in lines at stores.

She loves the work and I am sure these other issues can be worked out. She is only 13 months old and I've only had her for 2 days. I think we are doing pretty good :)

 

[FindingMyself88]

I don't even know if I can type this. I am so stupid SO SO SO stupid! Cady's over protectiveness has gotten worse to the point that she just isn't going to work. She is perfect with me, but unpredictable with other people. Me and her owner agreed for me to try her for 2 weeks and if it didn't work she would give us our deposit back plus our post dated checks. Now that I called her to tell her it's not going to work she is saying she will give us the checks back but not the deposit!

I am just devastated. In just the few days I have bonded with Cady and she with me. She knows something is wrong, she keeps pawing me and whining. I know giving her back is the right thing, but its hard plus now with her owner being an ***. I've had 2 panic attacks in the last hour alone and have been dissociated most of the afternoon. I couldn't even enjoy my dad's birthday dinner.

I mean if it was mild it would be one thing, but it is getting worse and she hasn't even gotten use to my dad and stepmom even though she has been here for 3-4 days. This has totally turned me off finding and training my own service dog. I guess no matter how long it takes, I will have to wait on the program.

To top it all off my Uncle and Aunt came yesterday. When I explained what Cady was going to be used for, he said "Aren't you wanting to be a therapist? Who would want a therapist who has to have a dog to keep them from going crazy." He said it jokingly but it was not taken that way. Honestly I am to the point of I just want to give up….

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Awww I am SO sorry! I know how you can literally bond with an animal in seconds, so I know it can be hard to give up a dog even though you've only been together a few days. it really stinks that the owner won't give back your deposit! So not cool. Maybe next time get all of the terms in writing so you have proof? But still, someone should stand by their word!

Please don't give up! There IS a perfect therapy dog out there for you! I don't know how much you've researched dog breeds, but maybe there is another breed that would be better?

And please ignore your aunt & uncle. Sometimes people THINK they're joking but what they say is just heartless and not funny at all.

and NO, you are NOT stupid!

 

[arfie]

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch and ouch again. I am unspeakably sorry for all of you.

I am quite passionate about my dogs and have been for long enough to have outlived quite a few of them. I have been called a gifted trainer. 3-4 days is as brief for a canine transition as it is for a human. If your current dog is young, that age also factors equally. A trained adult will make the transition more easily than a child. The number of feet is irrelevant. Trained adult or clumsy child, 3-4 days is not long enough to complete the transition.

Ignorance of dogs is even more common than ignorance of PTSD. Forgive your uncle. We all have blind spots.

Hope you can keep trying, Finding. My dogs are not therapists, but they are natural therapy. For what it's worth, I like mixed breeds. Too much inbreeding goes in to creating a breed.