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BPO Working Dog Forum => Big Dogs with Jobs => : CAHOLO May 27, 2007, 02:59:12 AM

: Big Dog Service Dogs
: CAHOLO May 27, 2007, 02:59:12 AM
Hi, I am disabled and partnered with a Service Dog.  My current Service Dog is a Border Collie.  But my new Service Dog in Training is an Anatolian Shepherd.  I needed a larger dog for mobility and balance issues.  JC, my Border Collie is mostly Medical Alert and some Balance support that she provides me.  Beauty,my ASD, will be trained mostly for Mobility and balance support.  She will have training for the medical alert, but it won't be the focus.  I have had her for only 2 weeks today and her training is coming right along.  Yes, you can train you own Service Dog and certification is not required for access.  But the Service Dog still must be fully trained and be invidually trained to do work or tasks for the disabled persons needs.  Therefore, she won't go everywhere with me until she is fully trained and ready to take JC's spot as Service Dog.  JC will stay with me for the rest of her life after she is retired.

: Re: Big Dog Service Dogs
: bigdogs@5501 May 27, 2007, 05:29:06 AM
Congrats on using the Anatolian as a service dog- I think that the larger dogs would be great as service dogs- Welcome to the board.
Paige  and the crew
: Re: Big Dog Service Dogs
: EnchantedGypsy August 03, 2007, 09:41:35 AM
Hi! I'm new to the board and just found your post. I'm glad there are a few other service dog people here. My future Borzoi will be my mobility assistance dog (balance issues).

I also plan to train my own service dog. How old is your Anatolian Shepherd? I will be getting my future Borzoi as a baby puppy (about 12 weeks). I also have indoor housecats.... Since they've never lived with a dog, I need to start with a young pup. 
: Re: Big Dog Service Dogs
: navarre1316 August 04, 2007, 08:27:01 AM
That is so cool!!!  I met a lady last year who had service dogs, I can't think of what they were!!  Anyway, she was telling me about a man who got a mastiff as one as he needed help with balance and he was a pretty tall man too.  She said that he was looking into a dane as his next one.  I thought that was so interesting!! 
: Re: Big Dog Service Dogs
: Ali August 05, 2007, 03:24:11 PM
Welcome to BPO! Can I ask you a question? Actually, this is for anyone who has service dogs...My kids always want to pet people's dogs, and of course I have taught them to ask first. When we see service dogs out and about, I taught my 8 year olds and am teaching my 4 and 1 year olds that they can't ask those people about petting those dogs because those dogs are busy working and can't take a break from that. Is that accurate, or is it ok to ask someone if we can pet a service dog? The other day, a blind couple was coming out of a restaurant and their dogs started to sniff my kids. I reminded my kids not to pet because the dogs were working, and the lady said "that's right - they're working" and then she told her dog "leave it". So, I felt like I had been doing the right thing. Any feedback?
: Re: Big Dog Service Dogs
: Anniekins January 25, 2009, 12:36:53 PM
People feel differently about it but a lot of people feel like I do. When I am out in public with my service  dog I would like people to ignore my dog.If someone asks to pet him the next person wont  even ask and by the time I get home I will have been stopped 20-50 times! I have chronic pain and nausea so I just want to get my errands done and get home, ya know? What I really  hate are the people that ask but ignore my answer.The parents are worse than the kids too. Even buying huge patches that say do not pet in big red stop signs are ignored! Also many service dogs find it hard to visit during working time and the get right back to work.It is hard for people to realize that people stop us over and over during any one shopping trip too.If it was just once in a while I wouldn't mind. My take on it is try to ignore a working dog if you can but definitely ask if you feel you must. My service dog is a 70 pound Border Collie/ ACD mix and my pup in training is a 80 pound 8 month old Pyr/collie mix. My service dogs are also owner trained.

Anne and service dog Ralph, service dog in training Charlie
: Re: Big Dog Service Dogs
: aggghgmom January 25, 2009, 01:26:21 PM
Welcome to BPO - I'm sure you will like it here - it is very addicting and the people and pups are wonderful - your pups are beautiful. 


As I have mentioned my next door neighbor has a service dog for her son.  When Rusty has his vest on he is working and we can't pet him.  Next year Rusty and Zach will be attending the school I work at - I know I can't pet him and talk goofy to him the way I usually do - I hope he understands why.

My neighbor politely tells people not to pet Rusty while he is working - he needs to stay on alert at all times.
: Re: Big Dog Service Dogs
: CadillacQueen January 25, 2009, 06:37:50 PM
My Saint Bernard X Mastiff x Great Dane was an ex-security/service dog.
He was bred and trained especially for assisting and protecting his charge.

But as he failed at the aggressive behaviour part of the training {basically, his aggression levels were 0}, he was given up to the shelter.

But he's an excellent service dog. We apply it to everyday life. He taught my daughter to walk, actually.
: Re: Big Dog Service Dogs
: podiecat January 26, 2009, 10:01:24 AM
Hi All,

It's been quite a while since I stopped by and I just found this thread so I felt I should reply.  In August I rescued my two year old pyr mix Tess (was Lia).  I'm training her to be my multitasking SD including hearing assistant.  She's doing a great job.  Tess is not a natural for sound alerting as a border collie mix could be yet she is finally getting the one-way and just starting on the two-way sound alerts.  It's been a real challenge training a two year old rather than starting with a young pup but we are getting there.

Tess is amazing in public access and I find that the store owners and staff are more of a problem than the customers.  The staff usually act like because it's their store they can bend go up to the dog no matter what.  I'm quite hard of hearing so usually I don't notice it until it's already happening.  I have found that most other people are more respectful.  I was so impressed with several kids and their parents last week when I brought Tess in her SDit vest with me to pick up my granddaughter.  Tess loves kids and I wanted her to have more practice sitting calmly while they would pet her.  Every single kid asked me if they could pet her before approaching!  They were so good about listening to me when I explained that they could pet her as long as she stayed calm and seated but if she got up they were to turn away and ignore her.  It was a success and a great training experience for all involved. 

Good luck with training.....

: Re: Big Dog Service Dogs
: BritnyLe January 26, 2009, 10:17:09 AM
My Saint Bernard X Mastiff x Great Dane was an ex-security/service dog.
He was bred and trained especially for assisting and protecting his charge.

But as he failed at the aggressive behaviour part of the training {basically, his aggression levels were 0}, he was given up to the shelter.

But he's an excellent service dog. We apply it to everyday life. He taught my daughter to walk, actually.


This is kinda off topic but I would love to see any pictures you have of him. Where did you get him? I'm just excited because I havn't found anyone that has the same mix as Hades before and we've always wondered how big he'd get and how he might look as an adult. We got Hades in Appleton from a guy that had a female Saint Bernard and a male English Mastiff/Great Dane mix and they had puppies. Hades was the second litter they had and we've been trying to find people from the first litter.