GSD's Excel in service dog work !!!...... - Page 1

I am a 32 y/o female disabled vet and I have been blessed to have been matched with a 2 y/o male Swiss Shepherd as my service dog.  I am Totally in love with him and the breed!  I think Nordic is the best thing ever happened to me.  Amazing that inside of a couple months of being attached to him 24/7 how much he has changed me into a better person.  I know a dog can touch anyone but a dog trained Specifically for this job is especially awesome to see working...  Nordic heels perfect with a hands-free leash in public, goes to the bathroom on command, and besides retreiving objects and being my constant companion he also has this uncanny ability to know my moods and react accordingly.  A Great example was the other day.  There was a death in the family.  I was crying and hurting pretty bad.  Nordic was laying on a the floor, asleep, when suddenly he leaps up and bounds off into our room...  And comes back smiling and happy with his favorite stuffed wiener dog, prancing around and jumping in front of me...  It was too funny!  And it really made me think: how doggone intelligent and caring he is! 

Nordic has been in training since he was 10 months.  His trainer, Susan, is an amazing person!  She took an abandoned 10 months old pup into her program and held onto him for 2 years and trained him for medical alert; he can smell seizures, low blood sugar, and even panic attakcs before they happen!  As I said I am a disabled vet so he fills a gap in my life that was torn open nearly 10 years ago when I was a young gal in the US Navy.  In short; I intend to give back by taking an intensive 8 week training course designed to teach me how to train dogs; then move onto the next course which will teach me how to train service dogs so I can train them and donate them to needy vets such as I was. 

Kudo's to you.  Yes dogs are quite amazing creatures.  Have a wonderful day;  I also find that if my day is not going so well, you can put your arms around them, smell them and just hug them;  you will feel much better.  do regularly.  Nan

My oldest bitch, Zambi isn't certified as being a service dog but she takes the job natrually as if she was born with the title. Her mother ( V Sorelle vom Sekullerhof, SchH1) is a certified therapy dog (until she came to America for retirement) to service the disabled people in Austria including her grandmother (Questa vom Sekullerhof SchH1).

I suffer from severe depression, but I don't take those poisonous antidepressants that are known to be quite addictive, but those psychatrists won't tell you about it since their making money off of the drugs that they prescribe :)

When I get severely depressed Zambi comes to me wagging her tail and sometimes (if I'm actually crying) she starts licking my tears off of my face as shes trying to tell me "mom please don't cry"

It is such a great feeling that an animal, a dog that is suppose to be a lower spieces animal has such an intellect to do something like that. it is extremely incrediable how it works.

Zambi's daughter, Amber is fallowing in her footsteps. When I'm depressed she does anything to cheer me up, and to make me happy. I love these 2 bitches to death.

It is important to note that many GSDs are highly unsuitable for certain types of service work. They are a protective, often high drive breed and in our unfortunately litigious society, this can be problematic for those with serious physical limitations as a handler. We live in a world where a dog's personal space is often not respected, and many organizations have moved to labradors, goldens, and they like to circumvent potentially dangerous situations where a GSD may become protective. It's wonderful to see a fine GSD at work, just food for thought for anyone reading this looking for a service dog.

"My dog is two years old and laying at my feet just happy to be by me. Not something you see in a high drive SchH dog."

This is NOT true.  It's not something you see in ALL high drive dogs, SchH or otherwise, but it IS seen in as many high drive dogs as not. 

"But I believe that the shepherd that the breed was intended to be is still there: even if people are trying to turn it into something it is not."

The breed was intended to be a jack of all trades, able to perform any job its handler asked in a satisfactory and servicable manner.  Because these are living creatures and not manufactured goods turned out of identical molds, within each litter of pups will be variations on that 'jack of all trades' theme--some will be better suited to guide dog or service dog work, while others will excell in SchH or law enforcement, but all should be capable of being good companions and family members.  For the most part, regardless of whether the breeding is European working lines, European show lines, United States lines or Canadian lines, the breed as a whole is still outstanding in that latter function.

The service dog trainer was most likley getting his/her dogs from a bad source. That's why the trainer was getting dogs that were too nervy or too drivy. I know of a beautiful many times SchH3 (on national level) dark sable workingline that has very high drives (he was a nasty SOB when it comes to protection work) but when he wasn't working he was a pussy cat. He loves his kong being tossed around and everything else. To be honest with you I was afraid of this dog for a while until he showed me just how stable he was when he was getting his universal sieger title. I was watching him and he decided to give me a lick on the face , and showed me that he wasn't such a bad dog. Since then I started loving the workinglines. He eventually become a certified service dog.

I wonder if many of Xato von der bösen Nachbarschaft's offsprings had this kind of temperament that this dog had? (he was a son of Xato by the way) If so I'd dig it and get my next dog from his linage.

I think many service dog trainers are too afraid to take in dogs with SchH titles... especially for therapy work.

"Not something you see in a high drive SchH dog."

Theirs probably more workinglines with many times SchH3 under their belts that probably qualified for service work then a showline. I don't know... Maybe since then I started favoring the workinglines more than I do with showlines. I do love dual purpose dogs... I can work them in SchH base on their high drives, and I can use them for service work at the same time.

Spot on, Hexe. I have seen, and had, very high drive gods whose rock-solid temperament allow them to not only lie quietly at my feet every day, but they would have been fine in pet homes and as therapy dogs. It is about TEMPERAMENT, not bloodless.