Comments on: What Happens To A Retired Guide Dog?

By: Becky Erasmus

Becky Erasmus — Sun, 01 Oct 2017 22:24:00 +0000

we have lost two dogs to cancer this past year, and now have a blind border collie who has lost her support group. We thought a retired service dog might be a good fit for her! She navigates pretty well around the house and yard(fenced), and other than being lonely, she does pretty well.

By: Colby

Colby — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 01:47:02 +0000

In reply to Lis.

Hi Lis,

Our guide dog pups go to a lot of different places with us as part of their socialization training, but they also spend a significant amount of time alone in their kennels so in general we usually don’t see this problem. I can see how it might be a problem for a dog that is with his handler 24/7. You might check with one of the service dog organizations like Canine Companions for Independence.

Colby

By: Lis

Lis — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 17:20:10 +0000

I am wondering if you have any resources on service dog “Re-entry” into the typical world. We have adopted my niece’s service dog, but are having problems with her~ because she is used to being able to go everywhere, and be with someone 24/7, she has major issues with being left alone even for 1-2 hours (She bangs her crate around until she can reach something to destroy~ basically throwing a temper tantrum). I would love to see resources for those of us who want to care for previous service dogs, but want to have a life outside of doggy-hood also~ with 3 children of various ages, there are too many places that they need to go that don’t allow dogs~ and it’s becoming a bit of a problem.

Thanks for any help you might have~

By: Quick Facts

Quick Facts — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 05:30:54 +0000

Best you should make changes to the page name title What Happens To A Retired Guide Dog? to something more generic for your blog post you make. I liked the the writing however.

By: Colby

Colby — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 01:15:45 +0000

In reply to Suss. @Suss thanks for visiting our site. We're and California and unfortunately I don't know too much about service dogs in Texas. However, I have come into contact with puppy raisers from Canine Companions for Independence and I'm pretty sure they provide service dogs to people nationwide. Their website is at www.cci.org. Good luck with your search!

By: Suss

Suss — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:11:52 +0000

Thank you for your help. I am looking for a place to adopt a retired service dog for and elderly widow who is hearing impaired. This lady had a retired police dog until he passed many, many years ago. Is there a site in Texas that you could direct me to where I might find a dog for her to adopt.
Again thank you for any help.
Suss

By: Colby

Colby — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:55:12 +0000

@Stacy, the best thing to do would be to contact a local dog trainer for professional assistance preferably a trainer that specializes in service (seizure) dog training. A second option and something that may help your dog in public situations is a group training class.

However, if you cannot afford a professional trainer you might start off by getting a good dog training book. The book I first bought and reference quite often is Puppies for Dummies. It covers a lot of the basics and you can get a used copy through amazon.com for just a few dollars.

A good dog trainer could definitely help you out with your training. For instance a few things I learned along the way are:

1. You should only say a command once. If you say a command more than once then your dog might think that “sit, sit, sit, sit” and after 4 “sits” he should sit down.

2. We wean our guide dog puppies off of treat training by about 16 weeks of age. If you’re having difficulty with your treat training this is something you might consider.

3. Socialization – Our dogs are issued training vests and we take them into most places that people go such as the mall, grocery store, movie theaters, etc. There are definitely some things people should know before working on socialization. A couple big ones are:
– You don’t want to comfort your dog when they get scared. This just reinforces and makes them think that being scared is okay.
– Make sure any outing is age appropriate for your dog. Meaning be sure your dog can handle the situation and if he cannot be prepared to take him home or out of the stressful situation.

I hope these few tips help. The best place to start would be to start reading a good book on dog training. Best of luck.
.-= Colby´s last blog ..Welcome TrainPetDog.com Newletter Subscribers! =-.

By: stacy

stacy — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:36:51 +0000

I have a 17 month old pup that I have been trying to train as my service dog since she was 5 weeks old. I got her on-line, not a SD breeder. I have seizures, and I basically need a dog that can stay with me and comfort be during and after a seizure. It seems that I am calmer when I come out of the seizure if I have a dog present, especially a black lab. I have been told that when I am post ictal, I call my dog Minnie by the name of a previous dog’s name. I don’t recognize anyone else, but am comforted by my dog. She is not able to go with me every where yet because she is nervous in public. I cant afford a program dog and I cant afford to wait for a dog to be available to adopt. So I have started training my own.

I get frustrated with her training. I feel that we have reached an impasse at times. She knows her commands, but is inconsistent with obeying. She is more likely to obey if she knows she will have a treat afterword, even then; it sometimes takes repeating the command several times before she obeys.

The commands she knows are: sit, down (obeys only when food is present and after repeated commands), drop-it, leave-it (except where the cat is involved). stay (rarely obeys), and “Go to bed!” (always obeys with that pitiful look on her face).

Is there any advice out there for me?

By: Dutch

Dutch — Wed, 13 May 2009 00:52:49 +0000

Hey bro, I will miss you. You are a great brother, we had the best of times together, riding in the van to GDA, making the most noise ever in the kennel, sniffing, whining and playing at the meetings when we were suppose to be on a down stay, running and jumping over each other at my house, nuzzling each other when our puppy raisers were talking to each other, comparing who had the longest legs, running in the gated yard in Dana Point. Our days together were the best and I will never forget you, you tall yellow lab. D’s rule. It’s amazing that even before our first birthday Ramona could put food in front of us and we would “leave it”, we can do a heel, down,and sit stay with the best of them. Everyone knows the D boys and we will always keep in touch because our puppy raisers have a bond because of us. Lov Ya Bro, Dutch

By: Colby

Colby — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:14:40 +0000

@Laurel, I like the way you put it that Derby rejected the guide dog program. I envision him career changing to an agility dog or maybe a splash dog.

@Tonka and James, I’m sure GDA will find a great home for Derby. Good luck at IFT, I’m sure Tonka will do great.