Resolution: Fully-Trained Service Dog
Hello all!
I find it poetic justice that, going into this New Year, I am starting over in the Service Dog situation. That said, one round of poetic justice is enough–no more is needed if you’re listening, God!
For all those newly joining us, I have previously covered the differences between Service Dogs [SDs], Emotional Support Dogs [ESDs], and Therapy Dogs [TDs] (https://servicedogstory.com/a-service-dog-is-a-service-dog-is-a-therapy-dog/), as well as many of the different jobs SDs can have (https://servicedogstory.com/my-how-many-types-of-service-dogs-there-are/), and why I’m getting an SD (https://servicedogstory.com/why-a-service-dog/). I would highly suggest reading those if you haven’t already, because I am continuing with the assumption everyone knows the details discussed therein.
As I stated in the previous post, there are some differences in the journey taken to receive this puppy as the three previous. In this post, I am going to start to cover the biggest one. Details will come in later posts.
Let me start out by saying this: since discussions about an SD started, my heart has always been to save a rescue just as this SD will save me. Give a home to the one giving me independence. A life for a life.
However. The goal has always been a fully trained Service Dog.
After Ozzy, Teddy, and now Yaha, I can feel my heart bleed when I wonder if the next will make it, or if my heart and hopes will be dashed yet again.
Here’s the thing: I have never had so much as a reciprocated crush. I can’t and don’t claim to know what breakups are like, just as I can’t and don’t claim to know what being a parent is like. But these three puppies [pictures] have given what I can maybe call a hint or a taste.
Going forward, I want to be able to bring home puppies and full-grown dogs knowing I’m saying ‘yes’ forever. That they will always have a home with me. That I’m not just another number of abandoners. Heart-breakers on both sides.
If that’s my goal, I have to have a steady foundation to support my crazy dog lady lifestyle monetarily.
What do I need to do that? A steady method of income.
What’s necessary for that? To be able to stand on my own six feet. Trust they won’t waver. Be sure my joints won’t randomly stop functioning, that time will stay steady and not be a constantly skipping CD. To know I can cross the street on my own without wondering in the back of my mind if this is the decision that makes those self-same dogs and puppies wonder why I never came home. As touching as Hachi’s story is, I don’t want to be the cause of another story like it.
I don’t want to hold myself apart from a puppy. I don’t want him to wonder why he’s not enough. I don’t want to expect failure. I don’t want to lose before we start because I’ve hardened my heart and become jaded.
But I need a fully trained Service Dog. ASAP, if I’m being honest.
So I have decided to go with a breeder.
*pause for reader’s moment of instinctive recoil*
Done?
Go ahead and reread that first part again, if you need to.
Now. What do you think of when I say ‘breeder’?
Honestly, what do you think of?
A backyard stacked with cages on top of cages? Dogs living in the same cramped cage their entire life, forever in their own excrement?
Please recall I said ‘breeder’, not ‘puppy mill’. There are respectable breeders out there; breeders who care more about their puppies and dogs than a lot of people give them credit for. Breeders who don’t care more about the money than the homes their puppies go to. Breeders who will refuse thousands of dollars because the people wouldn’t be good for their puppies. Or because the people don’t understand what raising a dog of this breed–or maybe even in general–will entail.
Finding these breeders takes a bit of homework, yes, but there are good breeders out there.
For example, responsible breeders will take pride in their dogs and want them to be the best they can be so their puppies will be the best they can be. Responsible breeders will therefore enter them in competitions and shows. Agility, obedience, kennel clubs, and the like. Responsible breeders are breeders because they love the dog world, and so, many will also be involved in work within the canine world but outside of breeding, such as rescue work or–in the case of Misses Amanda and Karina–service dog training on top of shows and competitions.
Red flag to watch for: Mama and Daddy dogs that don’t have an AKC-certified name and titles after their name. “These puppies are just for pets–they don’t need any special skills.”
For responsible breeders, breeding is a labor of love for a specific breed. They will specialize in a certain breed of dog and try to preserve the unique aspects of the breed–hunting, working, guarding, etc. They won’t over-breed their dogs, resulting in only a few litters a year.
Red flag to watch for: “oh, we always have puppies available.” “These puppies are just for pets–they don’t need any special skills.” “We have multiple breeds; which do you want?”
For responsible breeders, their puppies are a part of their family. Their focus in finding a home for a puppy is finding the right home for the puppy and they will interview the potential buyer to make sure they are placed with the right dog rather than the possibly “cuter” dog, even turning away potential buyers if their home life isn’t right for a puppy.
Red flags to watch for: a breeder that doesn’t ask about your home life–who’s working/at school when. If you have time to care for a puppy’s demanding needs. If you have children or other pets. If you’re willing to put in the time, sleepless nights, and dead-on-your-feet-sick walks this dog will need. No interview or application. “They’re all cute; just pick one.”
Their puppies may be expensive, but, if you’re buying from a responsible breeder, you aren’t just buying a puppy. You’re buying the pedigree of their parentage–temperament and health background–and training since birth. Responsible breeders should be able to tell you about any health issues or tendencies for aggression or over-anxiety in the mother or father. Actually, one should be aware if they can, rather than being told there aren’t any. Ideally, you should be able to be introduced to the mother and, preferably, the father as well to prove the validity of such a statement. Of course, meeting both parents isn’t always possible when–like the litter my puppy is coming from–the male and female aren’t from the same breeder but is brought in with the explicit intent to breed because of his good genes. The point still stands, however, that responsible, intentional breeders will have no problem introducing you to the mother.
Red flags to watch for: hesitancy or refusal to introduce you to the Mama or Daddy. “(S)he doesn’t do well around people.” Hesitancy or refusal to show you the pedigree, vet papers, and temperament insight of the mother, father and puppy.
There are a few other big things that separate responsible from irresponsible breeders.
What happens if the dog isn’t a good fit or life happens and there comes a time you can no longer house the dog? A responsible breeder will always ask that you bring the dog back for them to rehome so they can make sure of a good fit. An irresponsible breeder, however, generally won’t care beyond the money they get for the pup.
Red flags to watch for: “Dogs aren’t like something you buy from the store–you can’t return them.”
Green flags to watch for: a part in the contract that states that, should this situation not work out, the breeders will have first claim to the dog.
How soon did they start socializing the puppies? When you buy a dog from a good breeder you’re paying for from-birth socialization, and, in many cases, training.
Red flags to watch for: the breeder insinuating that exposing the new puppy to new stimuli outside the litter is ‘scaring’ the puppy.* Statements expressing the belief socialization within the litter is all a puppy needs.
Green flags to watch for: the breeder should be able to give you a general list of things the puppy has been socialized with. These generally include noises like blenders, vacuums, cars, other dogs, loud music, and other things they’re likely to come into contact with.
*Puppies, like human children, are like little sponges. Almost as soon as they are born, they start to explore their world–even while that’s just the whelping pen. There is a small window of time–up to about sixteen weeks–where the puppy is accepting of new things as just a general part of the world around them. After that, within the chemicals of a puppy’s brain, it’s all desensitization rather than socialization. Does that mean you should throw new things at them every day relentlessly? NO! Again, they are babies. New things tire them out a lot faster than routine things. Sometimes for several days at a time. Be consistent, and bring in new things often, but throwing something new and high level at them everyday will cause them to burn out. The opposite of what we want. A responsible breeder will also understand this intimately and know how and when and how often to introduce new and strange phenomena into a puppy’s world.
So you see, not all breeders are crooked dealers who only care about the thickness of their wallet. A good many care as much about the pups as the adult dogs they are keeping–their pets as well as a way to earn an income and immerse themselves further into the canine world.
This is the type of breeder I am going with. More on them in my next post!
You were not born to fail!
💜 Lauryn 💜
P.S. For more reading and deeper study, here are some other links:
Good luck to you. I can’t wait to see more pictures. Thank you for taking the time to explain about service dogs and other dogs.