Assistance Training

Hi,

For those who don't already know, I have a stumpy leg (hence the first part of my username) that is held together with bits of metal! (Lovely I hear you all say).

Anyway, I am eligible to train one of my dogs to become an assistance dog through DogAID - it's a charity set up to help dog owners train their own dogs to become assistance dogs and they are allowed into shops etc where other dogs aren't allowed (once training is completed).

Anyway, my dilemma is this - I don't know which dog to train (to the point of being able to wear the vest).

There's no point in me trying to train Ellie as she does it if she has good enough reason in her mind, whatever I've asked her to do.

Zane is very gently and loving. In terms of loyalty he will do ANYTHING I ask of him once he knows what to do. He doens't question or challenge me. Ever. He just does it because he wants to please me. I'm tempted to pick Zane because of the bond we already have - and with more training that can only get stronger.

Yiannis seems to want to learn all the time. He picks things up very easily and will do as asked 99% of the time. Although he can be very absent minded at times. He and I don't have that same closeness as Zane and I have, but I feel Yiannis is wasted without having specific training goals to go for at the moment.

Ultimately all 3 dogs will be trained for competition obedience but that is in the future. This training will be very intense. Zane can already do many of the tasks that would be asked of him whereas Yiannis has a lot more to learn. But I think he's pick things up more quickly than Zane.

So, which dog would you recommend I choose for training? I can only have one dog trained to Level 3 assistance but there's nothing to stop me at home training the others to pick up car keys or fetch the phone for me when it rings. The only real difference is wearing the vest and when we're out and about.

Any ideas please?

Laura xx

One thing you might consider is the age of the dogs. The training will be quite time consuming. The younger and healthier the dog, the longer it will be able to work. Get its hips X-Rayed, CERF for the eyes, blood work, everything. Check back in their family for genetic problems that could cut its working life short.

I would go with the dog you have the strongest bond with...

BTW, it's awesome that you get this opportunity... Good luck...

How dependent will you be on that dog? I guess not too much, since you "only" miss one leg, but you'd know better.

Age, as mentioned above, is also a consideration. And how much time/training you can give your dog and how much challenge you can give him.

Do you need a fully reliable dog to depend on, I'd say Zane is the obious choice. If that is not a definite priority, Yiannis would seem like a good choice, both because I get the impression he's younger (?), and he's a faster learner. And might not have learned things in a "wrong" way earlier?

Zane will always be around anyway, to help and support. You might want to use him as a support for the dog you choose?

Hope this was helpful, I am eager to hear your choice when it comes!

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

Hi,

Decision made : Zane will be trained to Level 3 assistance.

I tripped over Yiannis this morning, throwing my kneecap out of plae for a few seconds. Not serious but incredibly painful. Zane came tro see what the fuss was about and stood next to me, kind of in the way but thinking about it now, he was stopping Yiannis from jumping on me (cos he thought I was playing!).

When Yiannis went outside with Ellie, Zane moved to the other side and stood across me. I had to tell him and guided him by his collar. He stood there (he knows the "stand" command) and I was able to use his body to balance so I could get up.

I'm so proud of him. Even though he's had no specific training to do that and I had to move him myself, I know the other 2 dogs would have looked at me like I was an alien before launching themselves at me to play. After all, why else would Mommy be sat on the floor?!

Laura xx