On the Inconvenience of Working a Giant Dog.

[seth_unholy]

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

Comments

[queen_chihuahua]

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]

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]

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]

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

[seth_unholy]

And haaah thanks. :D I don't think I'm that cool but hey! I try? And for some reason your replies are going to my spambox. WTF, email.

MANY EONS LATER

[queen_chihuahua]

That would be absolutely fabulous!! I would love the help if it's not too much trouble. I do have a trainer, but I'm not totally confident in her, so any extra help you would be willing to give would be AMAZING.

Oh, yeah ^^;; I find that when I say psych service dog people give me this clueless look... I guess it just needs explaining.

I have a list of tasks actually; the short and skinny of it is that he will be trained to help me cope with my depression, anxiety, and social phobia. Perhaps I could PM you the tasks and you could explain how I should be training my dog to do them? The legal tasks might be a bit different, as I am in Canada, but hey :D

Re: MANY EONS LATER

[seth_unholy]

Sure! :) You can actually email them to bowerbirdsoaps@gmail.com if you want to do that, I don't always get LJ PM's because... it hates me I guess. I'd love to help. I also have anxiety and social phobia... a combination of generalized anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, so I totally understand a lot of what you're trying to train to help mitigate, which definitely helps.

[queen_chihuahua]

As my mother (who has the meaner versions of my disorders) would say, "Isn't it awesome being crazy?" :P

List sent! Appreciate it muchly, my friend :)

[seth_unholy]

Hahaha. Replied! Finally.

[queen_chihuahua]

Yay!!! Got it, and thank you so much!! I will respond to the e-mail when I have time proper-- I just wanted to say a quick THANK YOU SO MUCH <3