Nice meeting you all!

[Whiteshepherds]

Welcome to the forum Terry.
Good service dogs are an asset to the breed, nice to see someone working towards that goal.

[msvette2u]

Yes, welcome, so sorry some feel the need to grill you until it hurts

[Lauri & The Gang]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

A simple google search yields...

Become a Certified Service Dog Trainer: Certification and Career Roadmap

And that website says (coloring is mine):

Step 4: Obtain Certification

While some states require service dogs to be certified or licensed, no mandatory certification exists for trainers. The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT) offers voluntary certification for dog trainers in general. Once an apprentice has completed a minimum of 300 hours of training and obtained three recommendations, he or she is eligible to sit for the Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) certification exam. This 25-question exam covers occupational topics, such as animal husbandry, instruction skills and learning theory.

I'm not "grilling" this person. If I I came on the board and said I have a Masters degree in Clinical Canine and Feline Neuro-Psychology I would HOPE someone would ask me to prove what I say.


I don't know this person so why shouldn't I ask for proof of what he says?



There are websites that will allow you to simply click a couple buttons, send them some money and they will 'certify' your dog as a Service Dog (with tags and a vest, too).


This causes problems for those with REAL service dogs. If someone with a fake service dog takes their dog in public and it causes problems, that reflects negatively on the REAL service dogs and makes life harder for those people that truly rely on their dogs.

[Jmm4]

I'm not sure that msvett was saying YOU were the one grilling her Laurie...

Welcome, I love service dogs and appreciate the people who train them


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[Jmm4]

I think instead of some people going out of their way to be...well, rude is the word popping into my head right now...it might be better to send a message In private to the person. If you don't like that they have information they're not wanting to share online or otherwise, get over it. If you don't like the way they train, breed etc, get over it. It took me a long time to sign up for these forums, mostly because I was afraid to write anything without getting stones thrown at me. Can't we all just get along?

Julie


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[Wild Wolf]

Originally Posted by Jmm4

It took me a long time to sign up for these forums, mostly because I was afraid to write anything without getting stones thrown at me. Can't we all just get along?

Julie

It's part of interacting with humans, community can be ravenous...

[Freestep]

Originally Posted by SFGSSD

I do not buy from "brokers". What I am looking for more than anything requires a lot of searching and evaluating litters hands on.

So if not via a broker, where are you finding these litters? PDB? SchH USA? Classified ads? Craigslist?

I am sure you do know breeders that would be happy to demonstrate the workability of their lines. I suspect these breeders are Working line breeders. Most of them would not have a problem showing you the workability in their lines. It is the working/show or show lines that you are more than likely to have and issue. Domestically as well as Imports.

Okay, you may be right about that, but what is your point? Do you not want to use working lines?

I would love to be introduced to the breeders you know. If we could help each other that would be great! Thank you

Be prepared to open your mind! You're already talking to one of them--Carmspack--and there are many more right here on this forum. I always hate naming names because I am sure to miss someone important--but Chris Wild, Blackthorn, Cliffson, Vandal, are some very experienced breeders/trainers and there are many others not on the forum like Julia Priest in California. The aforementioned all are working lines, but there are some other good breeders doing show lines and working/show line crosses--I hope they introduce themselves because I am terrible at remembering names.

Stick around the forum for a while, and you will discover who they are.

[Jmm4]

Wild Wolf, you're absolutely right I don't know maybe it just bugs me that all this is going down on a Welcome portion of the forum. Maybe another thread could have been started instead, since some posts were not very welcoming lol


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[Freestep]

Originally Posted by SFGSSD

I am not here to be scrutinized. If I thought this forum was about scrutiny. I would have passed up on signing on. I have more important things to do with my time then answer a bunch of questions, defend positions and correct statements taken out of context.

Really? Why did you join the forum? You have to understand that EVERY breeder gets the third degree, especially when they are selling $30,000 "service dogs". Please don't be offended, I'm just trying to explain why your welcome wasn't as "friendly" as you may have expected. It's normal.

I understand you feel defensive, but that is not going to help your breeding program or your understanding of bloodlines. I assume you joined the forum to learn, not just for a pat on the back. As another poster mentioned, there are a lot of crooks out there and we don't know you--the fact that you are secretive about your breeding program is a bit of a red flag. Of course it's a work in progress. ALL breeding programs are a work in progress, but it doesn't keep most people from posting pedigrees and experiences. I suppose you have your reasons for not being up-front, but generally, that's not the way that reputable breeders do things.

You seem to be somewhat "outside" the GSD community, whether by accident or by design. You use terms no one else uses like "Elite bloodlines" and "interracial breeding" which is a rather arcane (and mildly offensive) way of saying "outcrossing". I am sure that in itself has gotten some hackles to rise. I am sure that you feel like you're being rejected because you aren't part of some "inside" group, but the fact is, you seem to make claims that YOU are going to do something important, that no one else has done, when in fact others have done it, are doing it, and could help you if you are open to it. But we like the openness to go both ways.

Again, just trying to explain why you are getting so many questions.

You don't seem to know any other breeders in the community (I could be wrong, but you don't seem to know anyone here). Just saying, you seem to have an ambitious goal and yet very little support. Dog breeding is at best a collective effort, so that everyone can pool their knowledge and share, for the good of the breed. At least that is the way I see it. Perhaps that is why you joined the forum?

[SFGSSD]

Originally Posted by Lauri & The Gang

That's great! Can you send me a link so I could look into that more. I'd be very interested in learning what it's all about.

Here you go.. Enjoy
Five Steps to Licensing - Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind
While this is a State cert/license other certifications like the CPDT-KA are IMO weak. An apprenticeship IMO is the best and only real way to learn as NOTHING IMO beats hands on. There are a lot of different trainer certs out there and you can actually be a "Master Dog Trainer" through an on line course. Yeah the certificate is real pretty but the reality is that a Novice trainer could pass the 25 question test for the CPDT-KA or be a Master Dog trainer without ever seeing a dog in person. If you truly have aspirations to be a Working Service Dog trainer, find a good mentor with decades of working Service dog training experience that has trained trainers as well.
As you said “There are websites that will allow you to simply click a couple buttons, send them some money and they will 'certify' your dog as a Service Dog (with tags and a vest, too).” There are also tests like the CPDT-KA that just take $500.00 a year for a simplistic 25 question test. Or you can go all out and get that “Master Dog Trainer” title on line.
No thanks… I would not trade a minute of my 10 year hands on apprenticeship for one of those titles.
“This causes problems for those with REAL service dogs. If someone with a fake service dog takes their dog in public and it causes problems, that reflects negatively on the REAL service dogs and makes life harder for those people that truly rely on their dogs.” You are correct! I am pushing for a Federal License mandate that will help clean up the mess. It is met with a lot of resistance believe it or not. The resistance is mostly driven by the owner trainer community.