Question about service commands etc.

[alisagirl127]

Hello,

I pulled a dog out of a shelter that was supposedly some sort of companion or service dog. I do not have service/companion dog experience and found out that SARA is a total scam. Obviously, I did not let this derail me from pulling the dog out of the shelter as I do rescue work all of the time and know how to work on basic manners with dogs and behavior issues.

Anyway, this dog was living with a person who was mentally impaired and I am curious to see what she knows. I was wondering what sort of commands this dog may know within the service dog world when working for someone who is mentally impaired. I know this is broad, but would like to test her knowledge. I have only had her since yesterday and have allowd her some time to settle in and vet her. I have noticed she is very attentive - has an excellent recall - knows down, off, and up - loves to ride in the car and seemed very comfortable in the vets office laying down right at my feet - attentive and confident. Also, seems to know heel but is a little rusty - def knows to walk on my left. Her sit is terrible - which is odd to me...

Anyway, anything else you guys can think of? Or does anyone know of someone I can go to, to see what they think and if she was truly trained in anything?

Just curious for advice and or some input... again, I do not have experience in this area and feel a bit ignornant and would love top learn.

Thanks,

Alisa

[IliamnasQuest]

It's very possible that this dog was trained with normal, everyday commands (sit, down, stay, etc.) as general obedience is an important part of being a Service Dog. I'd start with those.

You say the dog's sit is bad - it could be that the dog was trained to stand/stay for balance assistance. I often have my girl stand when I feel wobbly so that I can put a hand on her shoulders to help with balance a bit. Khana also knows "sit" really well, but the stand is actually more important to me in her work as a SD.

It's pretty impossible to know what special commands a dog may have been taught. I use "take it" or "bring" for retrieve commands, but I also can tell Khana "look up" or "go back" in order to send her to a specific item. These are just commands that I developed in our training. Since the dog you have isn't likely to have any professional training through a specific group, the commands could pretty much be anything. Heck, Khana's command to lay her head on my chest is "toogle" .. *LOL* .. I just pulled that out of the blue and thought "hey, that doesn't sound like any of her other commands, I should use it!".

Good luck, and I think it's great that you're giving this dog another chance for finding a good home!

Melanie and the gang in Alaska