Training a sheltie as a service dog

Aearoniel · Mar 27, 2012

Echoing the sentiments above it's all about temprament and not breed. Which is why organisations training service dogs have puppy walkers, people who take care of the litter and do their socialisation, basic obedience and housetraining before the dog is assessed for full service training. Many of the pups fail and don't go on to the full service training.

Hope all goes well with your pup :smile2:

OntarioSheltie · Mar 27, 2012

I agree with what everyone has said, its about the temperament, not the breed.

Lise · May 30, 2012

Hi there,

My name is Lise van Dijk. I am new here and read your post. I come from the Netherlands, so excuse me if my English is not 100 % correctly.

I work for MissionPuppy Netherlands, an organisation for children and youngsters with eating disorders, PTSS or autism. We train dogs to become a personal therapy dog for the children and we usually use Shetland Sheepdogs for this job. Not all shelties are good for it, so we have to select them very critical, but those who come by the selection are really wonderful dogs to work with! Our best working sheltie is Luca, our very first trained missionpuppy. He is 3 years old now and has a very stable and well balanced character. Though Luca is not castrated, he does his work incredibly well and continues to keep attention, also in distracting, busy or stressful situations.

For more information about our work view our page on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/missionpuppy.nl/info

Luca's owner is Anjana Gort. She is founder of MissionPuppy Netherlands.

Lise · May 30, 2012

I've read all the other posts but notice there is a little difference between the service or thereapy dogs in the Netherlands and those who are trained in other countries. Our dogs are not specially service OR therapydogs. They can be both, because there's no strict dividing line.

Example: Luca can be deployed as therapy dog for young people with anorexia, but because a too low glucose value also regularly prevents among this target group, he can also be deployed as service dog for diabetes-related complaints.

dblock · May 30, 2012

Wow,

I love this thread. I got my Beau to help ease my panic and anxiety attacks. He is not specifically trained to do this however. My Doctor wrote my landlord a note saying that he thought having a dog with me would be beneficial.

I would like to know(especially since I'm on disability and receiving SSI) if there are any organizations that are out that can train him to do this for real at a cost differential

I have had many people on the street tell me that she should be trained because it seems as if he has a natural affinity.

Chris · May 30, 2012

Here in the US, there is a real distinction between therapy dogs and service dogs. Layla is a therapy dog with the Red Cross Therapy Dog Team at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. For five years she has provided support to our nation's Wounded Warriors.

OntarioSheltie · May 30, 2012

dblock said:
I would like to know(especially since I'm on disability and receiving SSI) if there are any organizations that are out that can train him to do this for real at a cost differential.

I don't think there are specific organizations that will train your adult dog to be a service dog. But I do know that some training facilities have classes or private lessons for training your dog to be a service dog

Lise · May 31, 2012

OntarioSheltie said:
I don't think there are specific organizations that will train your adult dog to be a service dog. But I do know that some training facilities have classes or private lessons for training your dog to be a service dog

Well, in the Netherlands we do have these organisations, they are rare but in attendance. For example, MissionPuppy Netherlands trains usually puppies, but in some cases adult dogs can also be trained as assistance dog! (Therapy or service dog.) I have no idea if this is usual in other countries, but here it may be so though.

OntarioSheltie · May 31, 2012

Lise said:
Well, in the Netherlands we do have these organisations, they are rare but in attendance. For example, MissionPuppy Netherlands trains usually puppies, but in some cases adult dogs can also be trained as assistance dog! (Therapy or service dog.) I have no idea if this is usual in other countries, but here it may be so though.

Yes, there are several organizations in Canada and the US that breed and train puppies to become service dogs. They have their own breeders and the puppies are placed with foster families at a young age to be raised and socialized before they undergo more specialized training.

But to my knowledge these organizations won't take a family pet and train it for you. I know training facilities with will often work with people in the training of their dogs as service dogs, but thats all that I know of.

Lise · May 31, 2012

OntarioSheltie said:
Yes, there are several organizations in Canada and the US that breed and train puppies to become service dogs. They have their own breeders and the puppies are placed with foster families at a young age to be raised and socialized before they undergo more specialized training.

But to my knowledge these organizations won't take a family pet and train it for you. I know training facilities with will often work with people in the training of their dogs as service dogs, but thats all that I know of.

Yes, maybe this is the difference between our countries. I think there are more possibilities to make your own dog a service dog here in The Netherlands. There are a few organisations that will do this for you if the dog has endured the test for suitability to become an assistance dog.

So there are still conditions, but it is possible in some cases. Perhaps that is different here than in other countries.