service and therapy dogs?

[Roly Nelson]

There are wonderful dogs that are highly trained and used as service and therapy dogs, and I think that is great. Most places won't allow dogs into their establishments unless they are truely licensed dogs, with special vests indicating their purpose. However, my friendly little pomerainan fits most of the well-mannered requirements to be a certified therapy or service dog, but I won't take her through the training that is necessary, since there are many hoops that she would have to jump through, so I have done the next best thing.

I bought her a snug, colorful vest that looks a bit like the official thing. I have printed very clearly on both sides of the vest, the words: "SURFACE DOG"! It is made of reflective material to make her more visable after dark, which is the reason I bought it. However, I thought I would have some fun with it, and often answer the typical dog-walker's comment: "Hey, what kind of dog is that, a Surface Dog?? Never heard of one like that". That is when the fun beguins, with a play on words, ie "Surface vs Service Dog"

I tell them that my Foxy Roxy, was going through the secret, Navy Seals, underwater dog training program, but she failed the underwater swimming part, therefore, she is now simply labeled as a "Surface Dog". Wow, the looks and comments she gets, makes it all worth while. I have yet to take her into a store, just to see if they tell me that there are no dogs allowed. I don't want to bend the rules, I just want to explore the limits and have a good time faking out folks with my cute little "Surface Dog". I can't wait for the next gathering, where I am sure she will raise some eyebrows.........Buckskin, here we come.
Roly, living just to have fun with my dog, and loving it. Woof.

[Woodbutcher]

Roly, you are a nut! I love the way you think!

[eaglesdare]

most places will not even ask if they are licensed or not. i think the reasoning is due to the hippa laws (could be wrong thoug). put that vest on and take walk into someplace like walmart and see what happens.

[droid_ca]

I have 3 dogs one is being trained as a search a rescue dog but first and foremost he is m bud then I have another that assists in the training of the other two dogs she might tag along on search and rescues but wont actually assist but she is a good motivator for the other two and my last dog she is a service dog in training she goes and trains with the police ad as well as the military we are working very hard with this animal as I'm in the process of setting up an off site breeding facility for them she is classified as an officer in training as well as military personnel but for the majority of the time I still don't bring my dogs into stores and what not unless it is a training exrsize but if I do I have an ID that implies I'm the handler and she has an ID as well and then there are smaller IDs that we have as well...

[angib]

And have you thought of painting your car in black and white and adding some lights and a sign to the roof that says "POLITE"?

That would enable you to get your surface dog where she needs to be much quicker.....

[Catherine+twins]

[lamacose]

We had a pooch that traveled with us. We called him our seeing ear dog. That always raied an eyebrow. I took him into Starbucks and was asked to take him out. I said sure, but he wanted to pick out a treat since they weren't visible from the drive in.

On a serious note, my 7 year old niece just got a diabetic service dog. It alerts when her blood sugar is too high or too low. They hadn't taken the dog out of the travel crate when it went wild. Sure enough her glucose was dangerously low.

[JSadler]

Dogs are amazing. I love hearing stories about how they can sense changes in our bodies and alert us. As for having a "Surface Dog"...man, I wish I had thought of that one.

[mikeschn]

We had a pooch that traveled with us. We called him our seeing ear dog. That always raied an eyebrow. I took him into Starbucks and was asked to take him out. I said sure, but he wanted to pick out a treat since they weren't visible from the drive in.

On a serious note, my 7 year old niece just got a diabetic service dog. It alerts when her blood sugar is too high or too low. They hadn't taken the dog out of the travel crate when it went wild. Sure enough her glucose was dangerously low.

I never knew there was such a thing as a diabetic service dog. I just did a quick search, and it's amazing. They can determine by scent, if blood sugar levels are at dangerous levels. Did you know that training can take up to 2 years? Wow!

Mike...

[eaglesdare]

if you can think of a service they probably have a dog for it.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Nice one Roly!

[pete42]

We had a pooch that traveled with us. We called him our seeing ear dog. That always raied an eyebrow. I took him into Starbucks and was asked to take him out. I said sure, but he wanted to pick out a treat since they weren't visible from the drive in.

On a serious note, my 7 year old niece just got a diabetic service dog. It alerts when her blood sugar is too high or too low. They hadn't taken the dog out of the travel crate when it went wild. Sure enough her glucose was dangerously low.

I never knew there was such a thing as a diabetic service dog. I just did a quick search, and it's amazing. They can determine by scent, if blood sugar levels are at dangerous levels. Did you know that training can take up to 2 years? Wow!

Mike...

I'm diabetic wonder what one would do for me I sometimes have a hard time remembering my insulin



pete

[droid_ca]

There are therapy dogs that help you remember to take pills and what not if it is a daily routine they can also use the phone if you have an episode....my dogs are a little bit different the main one that is being trained she is only 40 lbs but can take a grown man down to the ground and my boxer he just wants to find stuff and give people hugs (that's my neighbors fault) So for dog wise I think I'll be pretty safe when I take them camping

[angib]

Roly, I thought of you when I saw this. Why not get your surface dog to drive you around?

Driving School for dogs in New Zealand

And they didn't even take the easy way out with automatics - these dogs drive stick.

stick.JPG (41.13 KiB) Viewed 971 times