cost of service dog - Page 3

A JRT I rescued and re homed with my father as a companion when he was terminal cancer soon developed ability to warn us of both his seizures and his strokes. It was invaluable to me. She was also part of him for his last years. After he passed we almost lost her to refusal to eat, and she just did not want to stop grieving for months.

It's so ridiculous on BOTH sides (people conning people who are desperate AND people thinking they need a support dog to cure their seasonal depression, debt, relationship with mother in law, etc. LOL) that I think I physically recoil every time someone calls and asks me for a dog for service. Sounds terrible, I know, but if I hear one more sob story that is nothing more than LIFE, and the person wants a FREE dog from me to fix it, I'm going to scream. On the flip side, I have this super nice dog here who could do a little kid some good and I can't find one with parents who can handle the dog. 

 

Kind of entertaining story- typical man (no offense, guys)- Dallas' old owner was telling me how his blood sugar was too low and he ran off the road into a ditch. I was on the phone with him as he was dealing with the police. I just happened to call right then. I said "Didn't he tell you?!" He replied "Heck, yes, about 50 miles (or minutes- can't remember) ago. I thought I could make it." They only work if you heed their warnings!  

All true Jen you do have to listen to the dog and trust the dog.  Sounds like your boy is too much for Joe Blow as you said.  Sorry about that, they are who they are and personally Iwould not want to change that but maybe excell them with more training??  Just a thought, however does not mean you will be able to change, just add to his knowledge and experience.  Wish you luck though, don't waste him, would really be a shame but also you cannot afford for him to make a mistake in public eyes either.  Kind of a diliema. (SP)??..  Oh well.  Good luck  Nan

I think it's sad that 90% of society cannot handle a real dog. It's not rocket science. Just common sense.  No one wants to take personal responsibility and learn how to do anything. They want it all on a silver platter. If it were my child, and I had no handling skills, I'd LEARN. 

There is nothing wrong with a dog with strong aggression. I am not going to correct him for proper GSD temperament. He's not a Golden and I don't want him to be. He is true to his breed; if someone wants a Golden, they should (and can) get one, but I am not liking this trend of breeding totally watered down GSDs for "therapy" or "service" (mostly done by glorifed puppymills). The GSD temperament is not for everyone. 

Mini-rant over. LOL

 

True Jen you would only want to enhance what he knows and train him as far as he would go for  you.

 

Back to the "Cost of a Service Dog".  The $25K does sound really over the top,  however you have to consider the type of training and to what extent the dog has been trained and for what.  If I had a child in need of a service dog with ANY disability, emotional, physical, mobility wise I could see putting out that kind of money if I was assured I was getting what my child needed.

 

On the other hand my current GSD boy is only 20 months old, is about half way to where I need him to be mentally, physically, emothionally with his training and I already have over $10K invested in him so by the time he is 3 to 3 l/2 years old and is able to assist me with his knowledge I will also probably have $25K invested in him and that is doing most of his training myself.  The cost is astronomical these days and it continues for the life of the animal along with his training and upkeep.  And that is also as long as they remain healthy in mind and body,  No unexpected issues healthwise or training wise or it could be more specialized training where I may need help with a problem or a severe health issue those costs could skyrocket.  Nan

A portion of an interent ad from a training facilty in FL. 

We Offer Service Dog Certification

We can certify any dog to be a service dog. All of our Shepherds can come to you certified, imagine taking your ______ Shepherd anywhere you want!

Please contact ________ for details. Or email ___________ 

I would call them and go by the facility and see what the h- - -  they think they are talking about...  I would be curious to know.  Nan

I might stop in, they are only a few miles away and I pass them almost every day. They also advertise OB,  IPO training and puppies. I think the trainer might be a member here, he  has American Bulldog's.

Yeah, Blitzen would you let us know.  Thx  Nan

 

PS:  LOve to cruise in unannounced to find out whatz up.  was kicked out of a pet shop for doing that as they had sick puppies they were exhibiting for sale. 

I have been following a FB group about fake Diabetes dogs being sold.  Almost every single fake diabetes dog has been from this same "Warren Retriever" guy.  There are so many victims from this guy that it is upsetting.  He sells them for about 25k.