What Does Your Service Dog Do??

Service Dogs are tailored to those they serve. They all have their specialized skills. Most skills are trained but some just happen naturally. “My Dog is better than Your Dog”, definitely does NOT apply here. In a recent interview I heard Sara say that she could Climb Up Zorro (Malinois) if she needed to get herself up.

Jack (Aussie) can retrieve objects fallen out of Jana’s reach.

At 4 pounds of weight Jonny (Chihuahua) pressed a special panic button that called EMS when his mom was in trouble.

Chuck (Pointer) wakes his mom up in the middle of the night to alert of low blood sugar. Jewel (MinPin) retrieves mom’s asthma inhaler.

Sara describes Hero (Greyhound) as a “Four Wheel Drive Cane.” He Does Not retrieve objects like Jack does. He does Target so I could maybe teach him the Panic Button behavior that Jonny does. At a very sturdy 77 pounds he can support the weight of a 200+ pound man like myself to Climb Up him. Throw the cane away!

“Date Magnet”, is not a recognized Service Dog behavior but Hero gets us lots of attention when we are out.

I have trained my own dog GYPSY (Malinois) to perform a very wide variety of Service Dog behaviors that people might need. She is my Service Dog Demo. GYPSY is my canine training partner.

Years ago I was the victim of a Home Invasion. I was left handcuffed and thrown in my bathtub. It was hours before anyone found me like that. I still occasionally get nightmares. GYPSY wakes me up. I did not teach her that. Some behaviors just happen.

CGC Certification is what EVERY dog should be trained to do. Service Dog Certification is what YOU need your dog to do?

– Daniel