Assiatance dogs - Page 1

What GSD blood lines would  have a temperamants to  likely make good assistance dogs? They would  be unflappable in noisy crowds etc. not reactive etc

 Any one bred to standard.  

What type of assistance exactly?

The problem with a good GSD is it's going to be protective and drivey, and sometimes people who need an assistance dog are not capable of handling a stronger breed. It's part of why you see less and less GSDs being used for service, more and more labs, goldens, etc.

Sadly, we live in a society where the ignorant masses expect every dog to be a public teddy bear- even dogs for service, seeing eye, LE, etc.! A good strong GSD will not always stand for that.

50 years ago if someone pet a dog trying to do it's job and got swiped at, everything would call them an idiot for trying to touch a dog that they should've left alone. Nowadays people are crying lawsuit.

I mean are there any bloodlines that a more often used in dogs that will be assistance dogs for brace, balance, blind.

My GSD  is 17 months ,very well socialized, knows commands, a and has learned some assistance tasks, although is still easily distracted, but he  does not have the tempermant to be an assistacne dog in the real world, because he is  reactive , sometimes just gets fearful of someone. I do not think even with training he will fully out grow this reaction.  I did not get him to be an assistance dog so do not expect that of him. He is a great  companion. He is becoming a Therapy dog and we visit hospitals once a week, he is good with the people, I tthink because we have been gping to a  care home to visit my mom who has Alzheimers since he was 8 weeks old.  Still  I always have to be viigilant and watch when he starts t get unsure of someone.
 There seems to be so many diferent typpes pof GSD's these days and I am  just interested if there are particulat bloodlines used for Assistance dogs and other bloodlines for police, SAR, etc

"Any one bred to standard."

  Perfect answer, beetree!

eichenluft has bred dogs currently working as certified assistance dogs.  I'm sure there are others that people will mention.

Hope you find the dog your looking for :) 

While a GSD is an all-around working dog, they are also generally protective with guardian instincts.  There could be an issue when a dog knows if the handler is weak or ill and becomes protective over them, say the owner is on the ground having a seizure and the dog knows the human is in a vulnerable state, and 2 EMT's run up to help-- if the dog becomes aggressive, a GSD may not be a good choice!  Or if the person becomes immobilized and needs assistance to come into their home, and the owner cannot give a cue- they cannot come in if there's a protective dog.  I suppose you could train for that scenario of strange people running up to assist, or coming into the house, but it would not be a good choice in a dog if that were the case.  It depends on the person and the tasks the dog has to perform.  Service dogs often have to think for themselves and sometimes disobey a command, say a blind person was telling the dog to go forward but it saw oncoming traffic.  GSDs have the intelligence and work ethic, and the loyalty and aloofness to others, and some have the sound body structure to support weight, but it's the protectiveness and drive that can be the problem.

Like KC said, even with the "Do not Pet" harness on, people will still try to reach out and distract the dog.  One handler/dog team I met said people try to give her dog food sometimes.  Some have no regard, and it would be a big problem if the percieved someone as a threat.

Here are some videos of me training a mobility service assistance dog (Ulu vom Alyeska) for a woman who has bouts of arthritis associated with systemic lupus.  Although its not perfect it does show the working line german shepherd to be an excellent service dog.  If you need help finding an appropriate GSD for service work feel free to contact me at lovemycanine@gmail.com or visit...

www.youtube.com/watch

www.youtube.com/user/uluboogs#p/u/2/eTNacuw8MrY

www.youtube.com/user/uluboogs#p/u/6/c0LaupvfOSA



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I have some more task based videos if you would like to see them.  Not all working line shepherds are cut out for this kind of work, but hey I will never be a pro basketball player either.  Look for good breeding,take an expert with you to pick out the right pup,train hard and pray for the best.  Also keep in mind that only about 50% of dogs that start service assistance dog training make through.  Best of luck to you.

There is no particular "line" , I have placed several rescued GSD's with no history as assistance dogs. Even the organizations who breed their own have a sugnificant "career change" rate.