Service Dogs

[combat pitbull]

I cant go anywhere without my dog how can i make her a servie dog. I do have ptsd please help
thank you

 

[tho9900]

how do you mean can't go anywhere with her... is she aggressive or is it just because she is not a service dog? And Tim and Bailey will be along soon to answer... they are the experts..

 

[tho9900]

oops you said without her.. sorry.. ya Tim will be able to fill you in..

 

[Brian Jones]

Well I am not Tim and he does have more experience than I do with service dogs. I currently have a service dog in training, and may be able to help you.

There are two major ways to attain a service dog.

1) go through a program where trainers train the dogs and once they get to a certain level you would go and take a class for several weeks where the final training goes on and you learn to handle the canine. Costs for this kind of training can be limiting for many vets, however there are groups out there that do donate service dogs or take up donations to pay for the training.

2) Training your own service dog. This is the harder of the options as it is very time intensive and you as the trainer/handler should have either a good background in canine training or have a solid group of people and trainers that can help you with the training. How I have done it is with a good trainer that is a good friend who is helping me when I hit a bump in the road. Basic obedience is first and it has to be rock solid, then get your canine good citizen award for the pooch and now you are about ready for working at training the tasks you need the puppy to help you with. Overall, for me it looks like it is going to be about a 2 year process before Khalessi is ready to take her SDiT patch off and replace it with the SD patch.

There are several sites that I would point you to but dont want to put them up here. Just MSG me here and I will forward them to you.

 

[medic5]

I'm training my dog Mako with the help of Tim and Bailey's group. like Brian said make sure the pooch has been through obedience training and is well behaved. I was lucky, Mako cued into my issues without that portion of training. There are a few tasks I need help with in training Mako. I took Mako back into obedience training classes to re-enforce her obedience so she will pass the canine good citizen award. It is time consuming but you do really bond with the dog. I call Mako my "life line" for helping me in coping around people. Service dogs are great.

 

[tho9900]

ya Nala has the emotional bond, responds to my moods like you don't lmow.. and most of the obedience done.. just need to reinforce the obedience.. and she will be good... but found a trainer to help me out now..

thanks Medic5 you have a cutie to help you out... from your pic

 

[medic5]

Hiya tho,
How is Nala doing with the heartworm treatment? I'll have to update Mako's picture, she is no longer a cute puppy, but a good looking adult dog. Not like I'm biasis or anything.

 

[tho9900]

lol she is still that puppy inside.. well she is on round two.. we are doing the steroids and antibiotics right now.. and a potent vitamin supplement.. Roxy's mom (gotta post pics of Roxy.. she is Nala's BFF) is a RN and is going to hook me up with pee pads from the hospital... the steroids have her drinking water like crazy and antibiotics have her on the verge of diarhea... so far so good tho overall no accidents yet....

Will keep you posted.. she is still my barbie doll...

I would looove to see more pics of Mako.... those eyes tell a story.. true love...

 

[Sludge]

I have a service pug that has been trained by me under a pro's guidance. In addition to crowd control in public, he is trained to deal with my seizures, and a number of other tasks. He IS a pet, but a well trained pet that easily differentiated from our other two dogs. It actually upsets me a bit that the little dude spends so much time taking care of my ass rather than being a dog, but we make a great team. I learned that often, pets do not make good service animals, however this is not always true.

The tricky part is that currently PTSD dogs count as "Emotional Support Animals" so they are not covered by the usual service dog laws in many places. It stinks, but there are far too many of the Purse-Chihuahua Club that took advantage of the title and make it difficult for those of us that actually need them.

My advice is do what I did : work with your doctor and the Veterans Administration to get down the correct path.

 

[tho9900]

It actually upsets me a bit that the little dude spends so much time taking care of my ass rather than being a dog, but we make a great team.

I think service dogs feel more of a dog because of their role... it is one thing to roam with the pack so to speak.. another to have an active role in the pack... the pack being you and the dog..

Nala has another boxer friend here named Roxy, both are fairly well trained... Nala has a problem with wanting to jump on people and Roxy's human has done wonders in training her to not do that. It melts my heart now to see Nala go to a sit position automatically when Cindy comes out to the courtyard. And Nala's tail (stump lol) just a wagging because she is making one of the alpha's happy..She is pleased that we are pleased with her and does everything she can to please us more..

Look on it as the other dogs only wish they could get as much attention as a service dog gets..

 

[tho9900]

oh and ya I saw on the service dog registry website Therapy Dogs cannot be registered there... I guess it is too big of a loophole.. I think I am going to get Nala trained to turn on the lights or something for me as my left wrist is nothing but titanium and surgical stainless pins and plates and totally immovable... (never mind my right one is fine) Just to get that certification.. I dont see that as bucking the system or cheating the service dog laws... I don't always need her out there but there are times I would love to have her out there... i.e. bad week, feeling the someone is behind me type moments..

 

[Sludge]

oh and ya I saw on the service dog registry website Therapy Dogs cannot be registered there... I guess it is too big of a loophole.. I think I am going to get Nala trained to turn on the lights or something for me as my left wrist is nothing but titanium and surgical stainless pins and plates and totally immovable... (never mind my right one is fine) Just to get that certification.. I dont see that as bucking the system or cheating the service dog laws... I don't always need her out there but there are times I would love to have her out there... i.e. bad week, feeling the someone is behind me type moments..

That website is a bunch of bullshit. LOL Be careful of the web. real service dogs don't need to be registered on some website.

Since you have a physical disability, you fit into a different catagory from poor bastards like me that have no publicly visible "real damage". (My zombie face and neck don't count...) You really should get with your Docs and the VA on the matter!