peteyfoozer
Herd Master
I figured Boone has put his time in so he gets his own thread. It’s the least I can do for him.
For those who don’t know Boone, he is my ASAD. (Anatolian Shepherd Assistance Dog AKA Service Dog in Training)
This is absolutely NOT something I recommend to anyone as LGD’s are not temperamentally suited by nature to do public access work, having abnormally high defense drive and being stranger wary and often dog and/or human aggressive.
My situation is a little unique, as we live 4 hours from town, never get visitors, and the 4-6 trips a year we do go to town, we go to the same places and see the same people. (Mostly doctors, but groceries and feedstore too)
I have 12 years hands on experience with LGD’s as well as having done a great deal of research years ago, so I am aware of the potential problems it presents and I was a horse trainer in my former life so handling a powerful animal isn’t new to me.
In addition to all that, should Boone ultimately fail public access, he still serves me at home both as a Service Dog and protecting our small stock from nighttime predators. So the only loss would be my independence away from home.
I spent awhile researching and considering the idea of an AS SD. Both my previous Service Dogs were English Shepherds and while they did amazing work for me, both had problems being charged at by large, (and small) untrained, poorly controlled pets masquerading as Service Dogs. If people realized how much time, money and hope goes into a Service Dog and how quickly an experience like this can ruin one maybe they would quit, but I doubt it. Some people are just selfish and entitled and don’t really care if the only way a disabled person can enjoy some normal activities, like going grocery shopping, or out to dinner is to be able to depend on a safe environment for their team member. They will take their miserable mutt anywhere because they feel like it.
(Sorry for the rant. I have seen far more phonies than legitimate dogs and have actually been denied entrance to places because I don’t carry phony certificates purchased online. ADA clearly states there is NO such certification, but these aholes make money giving false legitimacy to phony teams a the expense of people who actually depend on their SD. and many businesses are unaware of the laws or of their own rights should any dog, even a REAL SD should misbehave in their place of business. )
Ooops. Sorry. I digress.
Ok. I was saying that LGD’s don’t feel threatened by other dogs, they know they are the baddest boys on the block and don’t need to prove it. So :
1. For the pro column
2. I now require mobility assistance which my sheppies are not large enough to do. Most giant breeds are short lived so a dane or Bernie only has about 3-4 working years after the 2 years it takes to train and “finish” an SD. Anatolians average lifespan is nearly twice as long.
3. Unlike labs, goldens and sheppies, LGD’s are not overtly gregarious with strangers. In fact, on the occasions I do allow Boone to interact with people, he tends to sit calmly, say hello, then returns his focus immediately back on me.
4. When allowed to greet, LGD’s don’t suddenly explode with pent up energy, wanting to play, kiss, jump, wiggle and go insane. Boone just sits, enjoys a hello and when he’s had enough, he flops to the ground as if someone pulled his plug
Children will sometimes be gifted a swipe of a giant tongue.
5. Unlike herding breeds, especially, LGD’s are masters of energy economy. Where it was torture for Fen to sit quietly in a waiting room, then be expected to lay down and be invisible in a restaurant or hospital/Dr office, Boone is perfectly happy to nap at any and every opportunity.
6. A Service Dog needs to be strongly bonded to its handler. Heath and I had that. Fen and I did not. He was not keene on women as I was his 4th home in his brief 5 months and his owners were all women. He bonded to Randy on sight.
LGD’s bond to other species to the point of sacrificing their lives. Both a pro and a con. Boone would no doubt bond with me.
So I felt there were many good reasons to give him a chance.
On the con side,
1 It’s possible he may no longer be tolerant of strangers or other dogs in close proximity to me at maturity. On the flip side, if he washes out, he won’t be my first failure, as Fen is the brightest I ever owned and trained, learned things even my Heath couldn’t do but HATED the job. So he failed first.
2. Livestock Guardian Dogs don’t think or react like other breeds and rarely have high food or toy drive which makes task training difficult. This I consider to be my biggest hurdle. Where Heath could open and close doors, pick up and put away his toys and bring my meds to me at 12 weeks, Boone was just being completely weaned from his littermates and ready to make the trip here from Colorado. I figured if all he did was prevent me from falling it was enough. Fen would have to fill in until Boone learned more tasks or I got yet another prospect to try.
Boone is almost 8 months now. We have spent every moment together. I have worked super hard to make sure he has only positive experiences with strangers and neutral reactions with strange dogs. Avoid any resource guarding between he and Fen (always the highest priority of all)
He enjoys people. He likes going to town with us. He is friends with all of my medical staff. He knows the people at the feedstore. He has been secure enough to let me hand him off to someone with whom we’ve only been recently acquainted and is accepting of medical staff taking my blood pressure, giving injections and causing me varying degrees of discomfort as long as I assure him it’s ok. He can open the back door and let himself out. He heels beautifully in town, and is the perfect height for me to simply hook 2 fingers in his flat collar so I don’t fall, while an emergency “brake” is a halter he wears that is attached to a no hands leash, so should he for any reason try to charge someone or something, I will have control of him, in spite of his massive size. He happily picks up anything I ask him to and hands it to me. The hardest thing for him has been fitting himself under tables in restaurants, but once there, he is content to nap.
So far, I think we are winning. Only time and his maturity will let us know for sure.
For those who don’t know Boone, he is my ASAD. (Anatolian Shepherd Assistance Dog AKA Service Dog in Training)
This is absolutely NOT something I recommend to anyone as LGD’s are not temperamentally suited by nature to do public access work, having abnormally high defense drive and being stranger wary and often dog and/or human aggressive.
My situation is a little unique, as we live 4 hours from town, never get visitors, and the 4-6 trips a year we do go to town, we go to the same places and see the same people. (Mostly doctors, but groceries and feedstore too)
I have 12 years hands on experience with LGD’s as well as having done a great deal of research years ago, so I am aware of the potential problems it presents and I was a horse trainer in my former life so handling a powerful animal isn’t new to me.
In addition to all that, should Boone ultimately fail public access, he still serves me at home both as a Service Dog and protecting our small stock from nighttime predators. So the only loss would be my independence away from home.
I spent awhile researching and considering the idea of an AS SD. Both my previous Service Dogs were English Shepherds and while they did amazing work for me, both had problems being charged at by large, (and small) untrained, poorly controlled pets masquerading as Service Dogs. If people realized how much time, money and hope goes into a Service Dog and how quickly an experience like this can ruin one maybe they would quit, but I doubt it. Some people are just selfish and entitled and don’t really care if the only way a disabled person can enjoy some normal activities, like going grocery shopping, or out to dinner is to be able to depend on a safe environment for their team member. They will take their miserable mutt anywhere because they feel like it.
(Sorry for the rant. I have seen far more phonies than legitimate dogs and have actually been denied entrance to places because I don’t carry phony certificates purchased online. ADA clearly states there is NO such certification, but these aholes make money giving false legitimacy to phony teams a the expense of people who actually depend on their SD. and many businesses are unaware of the laws or of their own rights should any dog, even a REAL SD should misbehave in their place of business. )
Ooops. Sorry. I digress.
Ok. I was saying that LGD’s don’t feel threatened by other dogs, they know they are the baddest boys on the block and don’t need to prove it. So :
1. For the pro column
2. I now require mobility assistance which my sheppies are not large enough to do. Most giant breeds are short lived so a dane or Bernie only has about 3-4 working years after the 2 years it takes to train and “finish” an SD. Anatolians average lifespan is nearly twice as long.
3. Unlike labs, goldens and sheppies, LGD’s are not overtly gregarious with strangers. In fact, on the occasions I do allow Boone to interact with people, he tends to sit calmly, say hello, then returns his focus immediately back on me.
4. When allowed to greet, LGD’s don’t suddenly explode with pent up energy, wanting to play, kiss, jump, wiggle and go insane. Boone just sits, enjoys a hello and when he’s had enough, he flops to the ground as if someone pulled his plug
Children will sometimes be gifted a swipe of a giant tongue. 5. Unlike herding breeds, especially, LGD’s are masters of energy economy. Where it was torture for Fen to sit quietly in a waiting room, then be expected to lay down and be invisible in a restaurant or hospital/Dr office, Boone is perfectly happy to nap at any and every opportunity.
6. A Service Dog needs to be strongly bonded to its handler. Heath and I had that. Fen and I did not. He was not keene on women as I was his 4th home in his brief 5 months and his owners were all women. He bonded to Randy on sight.
LGD’s bond to other species to the point of sacrificing their lives. Both a pro and a con. Boone would no doubt bond with me.
So I felt there were many good reasons to give him a chance.
On the con side,
1 It’s possible he may no longer be tolerant of strangers or other dogs in close proximity to me at maturity. On the flip side, if he washes out, he won’t be my first failure, as Fen is the brightest I ever owned and trained, learned things even my Heath couldn’t do but HATED the job. So he failed first.
2. Livestock Guardian Dogs don’t think or react like other breeds and rarely have high food or toy drive which makes task training difficult. This I consider to be my biggest hurdle. Where Heath could open and close doors, pick up and put away his toys and bring my meds to me at 12 weeks, Boone was just being completely weaned from his littermates and ready to make the trip here from Colorado. I figured if all he did was prevent me from falling it was enough. Fen would have to fill in until Boone learned more tasks or I got yet another prospect to try.
Boone is almost 8 months now. We have spent every moment together. I have worked super hard to make sure he has only positive experiences with strangers and neutral reactions with strange dogs. Avoid any resource guarding between he and Fen (always the highest priority of all)
He enjoys people. He likes going to town with us. He is friends with all of my medical staff. He knows the people at the feedstore. He has been secure enough to let me hand him off to someone with whom we’ve only been recently acquainted and is accepting of medical staff taking my blood pressure, giving injections and causing me varying degrees of discomfort as long as I assure him it’s ok. He can open the back door and let himself out. He heels beautifully in town, and is the perfect height for me to simply hook 2 fingers in his flat collar so I don’t fall, while an emergency “brake” is a halter he wears that is attached to a no hands leash, so should he for any reason try to charge someone or something, I will have control of him, in spite of his massive size. He happily picks up anything I ask him to and hands it to me. The hardest thing for him has been fitting himself under tables in restaurants, but once there, he is content to nap.
So far, I think we are winning. Only time and his maturity will let us know for sure.
)
