Comments | seth_unholy: On the Inconvenience of Working a Giant Dog.

seth_unholy

On the Inconvenience of Working a Giant Dog.

Sep 30, 2011 14:22

I was talking to a friend the other night who, after meeting my Newf puppy, declared quite firmly that she wanted a Newfoundland for a service dog; no mobility work, but psychiatric ( Read more... )

Comments 12

queen_chihuahua October 3 2011, 21:56:00 UTC

Hold on, you have a newf puppy? I'm getting a newf puppy to train as a service dog next week!! I picked newfie for a few reasons though, specific to my disorder... I often get dizzy/disorientated and I am not a small girl, so I liked the idea of having a dog I could really brace my weight on ( ... )

seth_unholy October 4 2011, 00:48:34 UTC

I do have a newf pup. :) I actually don't mind talking to the people out and about, that I inserted mostly because that was the dealbreaker for my friend-- realizing that people will come up and speak to you CONSTANTLY really frightened her and I'm glad I thought to mention it because she would have been seriously ill prepared to deal with it. It was less a vent because I'm not stressed by it, I think it's funny that my dog has a fan club, but just musing on something that came up, you know?

On the subject of bracing... PLEASE please be careful with that. A well conditioned dog who has been trained and exercised for weight work can bear 30% of their body weight on an occasional basis (5/10% constant, in terms of things like carrying things in a pack) so if you're expecting to be bracing very frequently, I'd suggest another mobility aid, probably a cane-- that, and no weight bearing at all until the dog has reached 2 and been cleared with xrays to make absolutely certain the growth plates have closed and his/her joints are in good/ ( ... )

queen_chihuahua October 4 2011, 01:08:13 UTC

I can see how that would be frightening; I have social phobia and anxiety myself, and the thought of being constantly approached is frightening to me, too! However, most people around here are afraid of dogs, regardless of the breed (cultural thing, I suppose).

Indeed, indeed <3 No WAY I would brace myself against a puppy, LOL! I only get dizzy and disorientated during panic attacks/strong spells of anxiety, so it's not a constantly needed thing. Nor is is for long amounts of time, either. Plus I imagine the kisses and other tactile stimulation that will come from a big fluffy dog will help bring me out of panic mode-- it's just nice not to have to worry about hurting the dog once he/she CAN brace me ^^;;

Hey-- do you have any advice in terms of training a newfie for therapy purposes? I mean, other than the things you have listed here, of course :) Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated!! :)

PS. you're so cool, just thought I would say :D

seth_unholy October 4 2011, 01:20:53 UTC

I totally feel you there; it's very nice to have a big fuzzy dog when you panic (I have PTSD combined with generalized anxiety disorder, so I feel you there.) One of the reasons I chose such a large dog was because I fall so fast, so hard, and so frequently that a smaller dog, I risk injuring, and I can't take that risk ( ... )

Thread 10

canineatheart October 4 2011, 20:18:25 UTC

I really like this post and it definitely made me think about a lot of things differently for when I decide to start training my next SD. I had originally thought of a GSD or something even larger, but honestly, I am now leaning towards another heeler mix or fullblooded Heeler.

seth_unholy October 8 2011, 02:41:49 UTC

I'm still learning and still going "well, maybe next time..." haha. When I was looking for a new candidate, I honestly looked at a lot of things that were "what did NOT work the first time?" and then made sure I got the opposite of those things this time. I like Heelers, they're awesome. I have a friend with two seizure alert cattle dogs, actually. She rocks.