German Shepherd Dog Forums - View Single Post - Psychiatric Service Dog Questions-warning long

TiffC · 03-10-2013, 03:05 PM

1. I have no idea what the french ring is but if it involves any form of bite work/protection then the answer is no your dog cannot compete and still be a SD.
2. I would say keep trying to work with her on different surfaces but if she still has issues with surfaces after months of fear then it is likely that she may never be fully comfortable out in public. In which case she should not be used as a SD because it is just not fair to her.
3. Some dogs can alert their handler to an oncoming attack but an alert cannot be trained. Only the response can be. So if your dog does not alert naturally then you would have to give a command that the dog can respond to.
4. Find a local service dog or therapy dog trainer and have her evaluated by them. Future training can be done by any trainer.

Also just make sure that you qualify to have a SD. You have to be disabled, according to the ADA definition in order to have a SD. Just because you have some mental illness alone is not enough. Your disability has to substantially limit one or more major life activities. If you do not then your dog cannot be a SD.

I hope this helped! I also have panic attacks that lead to blacking out so I know how it is.

03-10-2013, 03:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
TiffC New Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Northern California Posts: 10	1. I have no idea what the french ring is but if it involves any form of bite work/protection then the answer is no your dog cannot compete and still be a SD. 2. I would say keep trying to work with her on different surfaces but if she still has issues with surfaces after months of fear then it is likely that she may never be fully comfortable out in public. In which case she should not be used as a SD because it is just not fair to her. 3. Some dogs can alert their handler to an oncoming attack but an alert cannot be trained. Only the response can be. So if your dog does not alert naturally then you would have to give a command that the dog can respond to. 4. Find a local service dog or therapy dog trainer and have her evaluated by them. Future training can be done by any trainer. Also just make sure that you qualify to have a SD. You have to be disabled, according to the ADA definition in order to have a SD. Just because you have some mental illness alone is not enough. Your disability has to substantially limit one or more major life activities. If you do not then your dog cannot be a SD. I hope this helped! I also have panic attacks that lead to blacking out so I know how it is.