I thankfully talked my daughter out of a husky, we looked at the "working dog intelligence scale" thingy, and as previously was mentioned several times, Golden Retriever is near the top of the list.

Thinking it might take her a while to find a puppy, I suggested Chesapeake Bay Retriever mixes as a possible solution, since they're a lot sturdier than Goldens. Then today she found one, only by the grace of other people wanting them, we missed going to see them by an hour.

So we're considering a Golden/Lab mix and a Golden/Unknown mix ATM.

 

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Does your daughter know the first thing about training a service animal?


/battery check.

 

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We generally teach them not to piddle in the house first, along with "Come" and "sit".

 

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best of luck. That is a good choice, they are very smart which is why many are service dogs.


do you service adults with the piddle training? Only asking for a friend.

 

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adults have to wear depends, and I don't change them.

if you just need aim training, I'll put some cherrios in the bowl for you to sink.

Edit: I also ordered the 4H dog training book, and have downloaded several other obedience training books. The services the dog will provide are things that have to be trained individually, and there are a lot of forums with information and videos on how best to accomplish each task.

 

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I have taught my cocker spaniel how to play out a death scene...

I put my palm out to her and tell her "Reach for the sky!", she sits and puts one of her front paws up.

I point my "gun" fingers at her and say "Maggie, bang!" and she falls over and plays dead.

she definitely responds more to the hand gestures though.

 

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we have one of those programs at work...
amazing what the inmates get those dogs doing and not doing.

 

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All I can hope for is another dog as good as Maggie at learning new things. She was trained when I got her, I've taught her a few things, she learned "play dead" originally in less than 5 minutes. Then I changed it up with the "bang" hand motion, and she picked that up without issue.

She does get excited sometimes after a few commands and start doing random tricks for treats.

 

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Glad you talked her out of a husky, it would have been a disaster. They are very willful and independent dogs. Intelligent but usually for the mischief side of things.

 

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That was exactly how my Aussie Shepherd was, willfull till the day she died.

Sometimes I'd call her to come inside, she'd look at me, acknowledge that she understood what she was supposed to do, and then run off, or simply ignore me.

as if she was saying, "Come inside? are you insane? I have things to do out here.... I'll come in when I'm ready!"

 

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