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Location: B'ham (nr the airport)
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 2,963
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Hi,
Many thanks for the replies.
I don't have my dogs' history so can't check back withint the relevant "families" to check for any problems. The dog I choose will have to be health checked properly by a vet anyway but I was intending to pay for extra tests such as bloodwork etc to be more sure in my own mind of the health of the dog. Most of what I would consider the "obvious" tests as you have described, Labman, are not routinely tested for so I will ask for those anyway.
Zane is 20 months old, Yiannis is 10 months old. Zane knows more purely because he's had 10 months more training than Yiannis has. The main differende between the 2 is the absent-mindedness of Yiannis (which although amusing at times must be reduced over time otherwise he won't get very far with training) and his general clumsiness. I can honestly see Yiannis tripping me up with his big clumpy feet by standing on the foot attached to my "good" leg when we're out and about!
The enthusiasm for training generally is the same in both dogs, although Zane is a lot calmer whereas Yiannis still gets excited about doing ANYTHING at all.
The level of dependencey on the dog, once trained, will vary from day to day. At times it can look as though I'm walking normally (albeit with a stick much of the time) so on those occasions if I'm out with the dog I wouldn't dream of allowing him to wear the vest or go into shops not normally allowed. But more frequently now it's getting to the point where if the phone rings and I'm sitting on the sofa, I can't get up quickly enough without causing paind and damage to my left knee before it stops ringing. So there are times already where I would rely on the dog 100%, 24/7.
At the moment, I'm leaning towards picking Zane. As said, I have the closest bond with him. And maybe I can start the competition obedience earlier with Yiannis to keep him occupied in that sense.
The problem is that once I've applied formally I have to state which dog I intend to use. But once assessed, if DOgAID decide that Zane isn't suitable I get rejected and have to reapply. Although not the end of the world, this would be frustrating at best and as there is a waiting list, my knee would get even worse by the time I was allocated another trainer with a different dog.
Fortunately I've been sent lists of what the dogs ahve to do to reach each level of training. So I can at least start to train them in the basic tasks, like picking up keys, closing doors (they already open them!) etc.
I'll have decided by tomorrow morning. I'll post back and let you know.
Laura xx