Postings by Kaylee's Family

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Kaylee Wag more, bark- less!     Barked: Tue Feb 19, '13 11:27pm PST  Frankly, I got tired of people using the board as a personal journal, the bad grammar, and the inability to say anything the least bit critical without being frozen. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Kaylee Wag more, bark- less!     Barked: Tue Feb 19, '13 11:26pm PST  Happy's already posted a realy good post about finding good breeders, so I thought I'd be a little more specific. One thing about the breeds you've picked is that I don't really seem much of a theme beyond rarity. I think you need to very carefully consider what it is that you need in a dog as far as training goes. I've addressed how I feel about Husky SDs in this thread - http://www.dogster.com/forums/Service_and_Therapy_Dogs/thread/722645 - and I should also add that since I wrote that, Jack has washed out of training. He's a WONDERFUL dog, and he's doing great in sports (admittedly, not obedience - but he's having a blast in dock dogs and lure coursing) and we may do therapy work- but he's just not got the work ethic it takes. There are a number of people with Chessies as service dogs out there and they can be a good choice IF you have the right Chessie. There are a lot of downright weird temperaments in the breed, and as a 'protective retriever' there's some pretty weird stuff accepted as 'normal' behavior that *I* would call bad temperament. I've only met three curlycoated retrievers. Based on those three, I just couldn't recommend them. Flighty, flakey, lovely dogs, but they were like an even sillier flatcoat. I'd also be very concerned about health. I think if you like curly, you'd be better off finding a well bred standard poodle or portie. Yes, you have to clip them, but you'd have a LOT more options for breeders who DO stuff with their dogs (although msot curly people do apparently hunt. YMMV). Rotties, we've got rottie folks on the board and hopefully some of them will speak up. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > Force Free Training

Kaylee Wag more, bark- less!     Barked: Sun Jan 20, '13 2:09pm PST  The most important thing, if you're committed to force free training with your puppy is to find a VERY good trainer to workw ith you in person. You need someone who has trained with these methods to a very high level (preferably service dogs or competition obedience). A great deal of avoiding any corrections in training (other than NRMs) is to set dogs up to succeed by NOT putting them in a situation where they will get to practice incorrect behaviors. A good FFT will help you do the set ups you need to get lots of practice with slowly increasing distractions and encourage you to move forawrd, without overfacing your dog. Having a trainer (objective third party) who can also make sure you're acounntable and truly ready to be a fully trained SD team is also really important, especially if you're not a super experienced trainer yourself. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > Service Animal Registry of America (SARA)

Kaylee Wag more, bark- less!     Barked: Wed Dec 5, '12 9:53am PST  Yup - but if you've got a trainer who's comfortable giving a pbulic access test, an affadavit and certification from them is not an unreasonable request. I do this for the teams I work with, if they want it. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > Is this a legit reason for a service dog?

Jack ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM     Barked: Wed Aug 15, '12 4:16pm PST  I'd also throw out there - 10 months out from a broken femur? You're goign to be really surprised what comes back and what doesn't. Give it time! Cait (who broke her femur in 2001) my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Jack ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM     Barked: Tue Jan 24, '12 3:31am PST  What everybody else said. Indy did therapy visits years ago for a local nursing home- at the time, our local program that went through one of the big national orgs (I don't remember which one- it's been like 8 years!) wouldn't certify dogs that were intact and Indy was still being shown. We called around and found a local nursing home that was willing to have a dog visit just based on interviews and a handler who was willing to go through their regular volunteer orientation. YMMV my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > Where to find inexpensive backpacks.

Jack ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM     Barked: Thu Jan 5, '12 7:10pm PST  I love my ruffwear packs, but for cheapies, the Petco ones really aren't bad. neoprene just wears out FAST. I *do* like the easier on/offness of them - the ruffwear has better-quality hardware that's harder to do and undo. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > Where to find inexpensive backpacks.

Jack ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM     Barked: Tue Jan 3, '12 5:07pm PST  Petco also sells a "Dickens Closet" backpack that's about $15. It's less adjustable than the outward hound ones but IMO, it's better designed. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > New person-best breeds for south/hot service dog work

Jack ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM     Barked: Tue Jan 3, '12 4:57pm PST  Definitely not a husky - See the other thread about husky SDs- or a Flatcoat - http://asdbymyside.blogspot.com/2007/12/for-record-general-use-of-fl at-coats-as.html Both are fun breeds, but tehre's REASONS that you don't see many huskies doing complicated obedience routines or flatcoats in anything but dedicated hunting and sports homes. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Jack ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM     Barked: Thu Dec 29, '11 9:48pm PST  I'm not a huge fan of Raspberry fields because I hate their shipping policies, but Hmm. May end up with them. Argh. Hate spending money! (Also, okay, I admit it, I'm shallow. All of Kaylee's stuff is purple. Jack looks awful in purple.) my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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