therapy dogs.. best place to buy? - Page 1

 seems a lot of the dogs with good drives are dog agressive and not real good around small children.. if i wanted a real good therapy dog and suggestions ?

My dog has dog aggression issues, but that is directly related to her previous owner not socializing her when she was a pup.   She is, however, fabulous with children and is nearly ready for her therapy dog test.  The last hurdle is the part of the test where they have to meet a neutral dog - still have problems, but we're working on it.  When I got her, I talked to her breeder extensively about what I was looking for and what kind of therapy I was going to be doing since she will be going to work with me.  The breeder was able to make a good match - Georgia's personality is the key, not the drives.  In fact, she has high prey/ball drive and is our resident mouse catcher.  Between therapy sessions we take breaks to play tug or catch just to burn off some energy and refocus.

I would find a breeder with lines you like and talk to the breeder about what you are looking for.  Good socialization early on is the key for raising any kind of working dog.  I think there are many here with titled dogs that also do therapy work with those same dogs!

Opal

 Try your local shelter! They have great dogs at shelters- a rescue always seem to know it was saved, and tries so much harder to please, always wearing its heart on its sleeve :) There are so many good, family orientated dogs at the kill shelters now, de to the sorry state of the economy, and foreclosures, Our rescue has pulled so many, and all are wonderful dogs

Marjorie http://www.gsdbbr.org ---- > The German Shepherd Dog Breed Betterment Registry   Please utilize this Registry to ensure a healthy future for our breed! BE PROACTIVE! http://mzjf.com -- > The Degenerative Myelopathy Support Group New Beginnings Shepherd Rescue: coordinator/liaison http://www.newbeginningsrescue.com

I THINK LOYILVILLE IN PA. HAS THERAPY DOGS.SOME VERY NICE ONES .YOU MAY WANT TO CHECK MY SPELLING ON THE KENNEL NAME .IM NOT TO BIG ON THE SPELLING THING.SOME ONE HERE MUST KNOW WHO I MEAN...

loyalville? seriously? I just looked at their site and they are selling "rare" blues for 1000-1250. Gag me. I'm sure they are nice dogs, but a fault like that should be toted off as some rare, special, marketable thing.  I'm not bashing blues, just saying you call a spade a spade.

edit: I see they do have a lot of TDI dogs, I'm sure thats what you're looking for. I just could not get past the marketing of a breed fault.

I THOUGHT WE WENT THROUGH THIS ALREADY,NOT ALL HER DOGS HAVE BLUE... I HAVE SEEN ONE OF HER DOGS AND HE WAS A VERY NICE THERAPY DOG..HE WAS MINDFUL AND IN ORDER.ALITTLE OVER ANGULATED BUT WELL SUITED FOR THERAPY. WHATS YOUR PROBLEM ???DO YOU HAVE A LITTER YOUR HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING RID OF DO TO THE ECONOMY.LET ME KNOW I WILL PUSH YOUR KENNEL ALONG TO MY FRIENDS....TRUE BLUE JEANNE

ROFL. Are you kidding? I don't breed heavily and when I do I have NO problem holding on to pups until the right person comes along. I don't need your referrals. 

Second, NOWHERE did I say the dogs were poor or unsuited for therapy work. I said I had a problem with a breeder deliberately marketing what it clearly a disqualifying fault, and selling it for 4 figures to boot.  Did I say anything that was not true? You have a real problem with only understanding people's posts as YOU want to understand them A little reading comprehension might go a long way for you.

SO SHE GETS BIG BUCKS FOR HER PUPS ,GOOD FOR HER .WE SHOULD ALL BE SO LUCKY  !!!!  WHO CARES,IF SHE SELLS BLUES,SHE SAID IT WAS FOR A FRIEND .EVEN IF IT WAS FOR HERSELF, WHY DOES IT MATTER TO ANY OF US WHAT SHE DOES.IF SHE GETS STUCK WITH ALL HER BLUES THATS ON HER . IF PEOPLE WANT TO BUY THEM AND PAY THAT MUCH FOR THEM THATS ON THEM...SO BE IT .LET NOT THE COLOR OF THE DOG BE THE DECIDING FACTOR .BE IT THE HEALTH AND TEMPERMENT!!!  Good for you kczaji I see you were promoting your own dogs.No wonder you were so quick to dismiss loyaville..

I have plenty of nicely bred TDI certified GSDs with nice ball drive but no aggressive issues-only blk/reds and blacks. None of  my dogs are child-aggressive, although one who is TDIed can also do bitework. I think its how they are raised and handled during training. A positive experience from puppyhood is crucial for a good dog to develop secure in their own skin.

That is correct, katjo. I have a SchH titled bitch and a PPD trained bitch and both are certified with TDI. They have done many demos for 4H clubs, scout troops, and home school groups. That's the beauty of a well balanced, well trained GSD.