service dogs - Page 1

I have a question for those of you with experience in picking puppies for potential service dogs. In this case, the dog would assist a person with cerebral palsy. What would you look for in a puppy, and is there a way to test or evaluate a puppy,I would also like to know the best age to determine if the puppy meets the criteria. Thanks in advance for your help.
                                                                                                                              Michael

I don't think you could be this specific with any puppy.

The puppy should have high pain tolerance, in case he gets stepped on or run over with a wheelchair. He should be willing to please, people oriented (comes readily when called) and gun sure. Strong prey drive would be a no-no, as he would have to ignore cats or other fast-moving animals and objects.

Most of these things are evident by 8 weeks of age.

I really  think your chances of finding something that would work out service dog wise  in choosing a l year old;  I think you have a better chance with health, hips, eyes and structure at that age.  also I think the temperament will be easier to assess at 1 year old to see if the dog is suited for service dog work.  If I could choose my dogs at 1 year old, socialized, hips/elbows/eyes and temperament at between 1 & 2 years old, I would be a happy camper.  All of these things are critically important in choosing a service dog.  In your case it sounds like you will also need a dog that has been around kids and is very forgiving and watchful and compasionate with children.  Good luck  Nan

8 weeks ?

sigh.

I have trained dogs for service and you need a dog that likes to please and is attentive. A dog that obviously is healthy and strong, not shy of noise or movement,no aggression, and good with people. Through the right training it should ignore other animals and people and only serve the one that is in need of that dog. 

Lav,
can you select such a dog at 8 weeks?

Moons- Yes it is possible if you know what you are looking at.Mostly I would want to know what the dam and sire are like and the history.(depends on what breed of dog is being looked at as well) I wouldn't suggest just anyone getting a 8wk old pup and expect it to be a service dog. As a pup there are traits to look for and then training that needs to be done and the way it is raised matters too.At least with a younger pup it can be molded to what is needed if it does have those traits that will make for a great service dog.If a dog is raised in a bad way and bad habits are allowed it is going to be harder to train through that.Especialy if the history of the pup isn't known.(sire and dam)

I disagree,
that one could pick a service dog from a litter of 8 week old puppies, solely by looking at the puppies and these tests.

Certainly you must know the lines,
and there are things an 8 week old puppy can tell you but there are limits to this thinking in my opinion.

Also how the puppy is raised and handled is critical.

You might find good candidates that I would agree on, if you look at the whole picture.

And what kind of service you expect the dog to perform will be another deciding factor.

It will take more than eight weeks in my opinion.

I should have been more clear. At 8 weeks, you can tell which pups might have the potential, just as you can with picking a schutzhund dog or police dog candidate.

Many, many dogs wash out of training for all of these things.

However, I have seen professional service dog trainers begin trainng the pups even before their eyes are open. They get them used to handling. They soak a rag with the mother's milk and have the pup follow the scent through a plastic tunnel to get them used to strange surfaces, etc.  By 8 weeks, these pups are learing to turn light switches on and off, and tug on ropes to open doors and pull zippers up and down,  I've seen pups as young as 4 months retrieve the cordless phone when it rings. Even after all this, you won't know for sure until at least a year. And if your are planning to use the dog for weight bearing or pullling, you won't know until it can get final OFA x-rays at 2 years!

Even a fully trained dog can sometimes become unsuitable for unexpected reasons. I heard of a beautiful rough collie that was up for adoption because it couldn't stand the noise of the machines in the shop at school. Prior to its owner deciding to take shop, the dog performed beautifully as this young man's service dog.

Okay, I have to wonder just how thoroughly they tested this dog for gun sureness before training it...