Service and Assistance Dogs

Originally posted by Wolfspirit on January 23, 2006.



I have taken on the task of training (really training) my first dog since
my bout with depression in 1995-96 and will be training Carlitta my 8 month old
as a service dog for an autistic child in Texas. it will take approximately
2 years before this dog will be able to do the job of helping my grandchild
through life. Christopher gage is almost four years old and eats only jars of
baby food. he has a touch sensitive disorder as well as many others.

He started walking about a year ago and doesn't
talk. he has a variety of issues so numerous it is hard to explain them all. I
am hoping this dog may be of tremendous help to him. the dogs name is Carlitta
von der schwarz, some of you may know her. She will give me a litter of pups
during her training in able for me to continue the breeding of these fine
dogs.



I plan on taking on the training of another service dog this
one for the elderly and would like some of your impute as to what I should
train this particular dog for. The dogs name is Celestial morning star. She
doesn't know that she is meant for a special job as of yet.



The following link applies to service dogs and may be of some help to some
of you as I know a few of you will be training your Alsatian SHEPALUTES for such
duties. Perhaps we can do this together.





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What are assistance dogs?

"A dog providing assistance to a person with a disability". While most of us
have heard the term "guide dog" or "seeing eye dog", there are many more types
of assistance for which a dog will be trained.


* Guide dogs for the blind or visually impaired.
* Hearing dogs (sometimes refered to as "signal" dogs) for deaf or hearing
impaired persons detect everyday sounds such as door bells, alarm clocks,
smoke alarms, timers, telephone or a crying baby.
* Social or Therapy dogs, whose work is to effect a change in the person's
emotional or psychological state.
* Seizure dogs who detect when a person is going to have a seizure (yes,
even before a seizure actually occurs).
* Service dogs performing physical tasks such as pulling a wheelchair,
retrieving dropped items, turning on a light switch or opening a cabinet door.

* Therapy dogs for special needs persons (such as my grandchild) will help
Christopher become more grounded. will assist him out side his home and stop
him from running into the road or being bullied by other children. will help
him when he falls and i hope will help him with his touch sensitivities by
allowing Christopher to touch the fur, face, ears, teeth, tail and become
aquatinted with different textures. this service dog will provide the
child with a friend or entity (living object) who will make Christopher
not feel so alone. Christopher also has bouts of
frustration in which he physically hits himself with his fists in the face and
causes pain and bleeding. hopefully this dog will divert Christopher's
attention away from that type of behavior by licking Christopher's face or
stepping in between Christopher and his fists. The dog will be able to take
the blows and not be effected, but with the touching of the dog by
Christopher's fists, this alone will stop the undesirable behavior and anger
and divert Christopher's attention. This dog will also be strong enough to
pull Christopher away from any dangers. This dog will be attached to
Christopher's waist with a harness on both Christopher and the dog.


Public Access Information


1. Commonly Asked Questions
About Service Animals in Places of Business
From the U.S. Department of
Justice.
2. Assistance Dog Laws and Legal
Resources
International Association of Assistance Dog
Partners