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Service dog handler lobby

@littleoc
She’s pretty serious to be honest, but incredibly loving and intuitive. She can be incredibly calm and we’re often complimented on that when we’re out, but she also gets her zoomies in at home and can be wild. She was born to be a mother, she’s so caring and watchful, she loves stuffed animals and treats them like babies (she’s spayed, was after her first heat, but man does she have maternal instincts). She’s super sensitive but non-reactive or mirroring to people with anxiety or general illnesses or disabilities, she wants to comfort and help however she can. I feel like I’m not the best at giving her direction with this either, because I often have something wrong and she knows but she doesn’t know what to do (digestive issues she alerts me to then follows me around until I feel better. I also may have POTS and she’s trained to do heart rate alerts and I think she gets confused when I don’t respond to her cues in public). She’s really food driven and easy to train (other than retrievals...she scored a 1 on that on her volhard test. Everything else was a 3). She’s independent but wants to be around a person and close to them at all times, mainly me and my mom, but she loves everyone in my family. She loves almost everyone. Some people she couldnt care less about and is super aloof around them. She gets bored if I’m not teaching her new things and solidifying others in each session. When I posted this I’m thinking about it the day she was acting bad she was pawing my leg which is her response for when my heart rate is above 120 bpm. I wanted her under the table but she was insistently pawing my leg, I thought she was just being bad but then when I stood up and started walking she kept sitting down and looking at me like dumb dumb...what’re you doing. She wouldn’t move and I had to encourage her into a heel. She kept trying to get me to the door. I had started to feel so faint and dizzy and my heart was racing. She whined at me in the checkout and I finally went to my parents car and she did DPT immediately when I got in the car
 
Hm. Sounds like she’s a smart girl! And seems like it would be good to trust her :) she’s doing her best and you seem self conscious — or maybe I’m projecting onto you, because I’ve had similar experiences.

I do wonder if you’d benefit from a private trainer session (one or two?) to try to see if it would help put you two exactly on the same page? It sounds like it’s going well, though!
 
Oh, good!!! Tell us how it goes!!

I’m at work without my service dog and it feels so strange. :(

Every time I feel a tired feeling, I get nervous my brain is about to suddenly forget who I am and where I am, not to mention get all PTSD on me. I’m trying not to pull a self fulfilling prophecy here
 
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So I’m watching a dog overnight that I can’t take Korra to because the dog (Slinky) hates black dogs and Korra is black and big. Poor girl has been through so much, she was rescued 6 months ago but is SO well behaved, other than fear aggression with certain dogs that with me has only been one lunge and two barks max, a quick no and a lead correct and she focuses back on me, even when something spooks her.

She’s a great pet (and she’s a DREAM to walk, excellent loose leash walking at all times. Doesn’t pull unless she sees a dog. Hasn’t chased after anything yet. So polite) but she’s made me realize that Korra is really coming out to be a great service dog, and that she has a special personality and temperament. I knew it and her breeder knew it and the Volhard test knew it but I didn’t know it if you know what I’m talking about.

One of my primary care doctors when I told him my dog stops panic attacks he said well all dogs do that. No, they do not lol. I have some dogs I watch that make them happen!! I’ve had bad nightmares and anxiety here that if I was home Korra would have stopped but I’m dealing. It’s kind of nice to actually see how much Korra helps me in contrast to seeing how I function less without her, especially in public and around people. It sucks to be experiencing an increase in symptoms but it’s a little reminder.

It’s funny to see the willingness to work really strongly contrasted to Korra and Slinky. Slinky isn’t big on learning new things. She often just lays down and wags her tail when she doesn’t want to do tricks haha, which makes me laugh every time.

But man, does Korra want to work. She LOVES learning new things. She picks them up in no time too except fetch that took three months lol. And she loves helping and taking care of people, especially me. She’s also so intelligent. I don’t know if I have really bad selective memory or what but I forget this isn’t standard dog behavior when I haven’t been around other dogs for a while/a long enough time to evaluate their personalities. I read every day on the Facebook groups that dogs that were pets don’t usually make good service dogs, and feel really lucky I have an anomaly. I think she needed a job this whole time. It’s like she’s a different dog, she seems so much more satisfied.
 
It’s funny to see the willingness to work really strongly contrasted to Korra and Slinky.

I see this as well. A contrast to when Chopper was a pet. Chopper LOVES working. He needed a job. I can see it contrast to when Chopper was a pet and today. Its nuts to look back and see how much he's changed. Our bond is so much stronger. It almost seems like he can read my mind many times and it seems like he knows what I need even though I dont know what I need. Its crazy to look back and see the change and watch that change unfold in front of you. Im sure every owner trainer knows what I mean as every service dog has that change during training. Its just weird and awesone to watch.
 
@littleoc I hope you ended up ok at work!

Thank you!

It’s been quite a challenge.

Besides PTSD I have multiple brain injuries, so the spacing out/dissociations have been interesting. I’ve been taking advice from members on this site though, and they’re helping!

Poor Nestle won’t be able to work for minimum four weeks. Maximum twelve weeks. So I will definitely need a little time for retraining. Poor baby has been so, so bored after being forced from working to sitting in one room and being carried up stairs. She hates it.

I had a pitbull boxer mix once who would so much as step on a rock and want to be literally carried home. Nestle is a hilarious contrast to that :P trying to keep working and preventing me from leaving in the morning despite having a useless leg. She’s a border collie/Ausie mix too, so she’s been asking for her daily runs outside even with the leg and the medications o.O I hope I’m as cool as this dog one day
 
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