I have narcolepsy without cataplexy and POTS and a few other health issues. I've been thinking about getting a service dog but I'm not sure about it. It's very expensive and my family and I can't afford it. My best friends dog just had puppies and I was thinking of seeing if I could train one as a service dog. Any advice?
Scarlett Cross first thing I would do if sit down and make a list of the different task that you believe a Service Dog could do to benefit you. When I did this I found there are over 30+ task that benefit me that directly relate to my disabilities. Then look at the task and decide what kind of task they are more of. Physic, Mobility, Medical Alert, or Medical Response. Now it is perfectly fine to have a mixture of all those kinds of task just if you’re going to be needing Mobility kind of task you now need to look more toward large dog breeds. So you basically need to look at the task you need and see if they affect the size of dog you will need. For me I need mobility work the most so I got a breed of dog that is very large and will be the correct percentage of my size for doing mobility work. 50% my weight at the least and 40% my height. So it is perfectly okay to go with shelter dogs, adoptions, or shopping for a dog. The most important factor in all of these situations though is to find a puppy with the right temperament. Now this means either going through a breeder who temperament test the puppies or hiring a temperament tester to look at the dog. You need a dog with a good friendly, laid-back disposition, but has a good work energy. Now personally I knew I’d be getting a dog eventually so I saved up for three years and bought my girl through a championship, temperament tested, health tested bloodline but that was my preference. I really suggest getting on facebook and finding some service dog training support groups and inquiring with them that you’ll be getting a dog soon and need more information. They love to help everyone (disabled of course as the requirement) to get a SD if they really need one. Even if you don’t end up with a SD they love to educate people because of the lack of proper knowledge on SD Teams. There is a group on Facebook that is specific to service dog handlers with narcolepsy so I suggest checking that out as well to get ideas for task. There is a giant list of task online as well. Just search on google and it should come up to give ideas of things you could need help with or to train. If you have any other questions let me know :)
I just came across your channel. I hope you’re both doing well.
I have narcolepsy without cataplexy and POTS and a few other health issues. I've been thinking about getting a service dog but I'm not sure about it. It's very expensive and my family and I can't afford it. My best friends dog just had puppies and I was thinking of seeing if I could train one as a service dog. Any advice?
Scarlett Cross first thing I would do if sit down and make a list of the different task that you believe a Service Dog could do to benefit you. When I did this I found there are over 30+ task that benefit me that directly relate to my disabilities. Then look at the task and decide what kind of task they are more of. Physic, Mobility, Medical Alert, or Medical Response. Now it is perfectly fine to have a mixture of all those kinds of task just if you’re going to be needing Mobility kind of task you now need to look more toward large dog breeds. So you basically need to look at the task you need and see if they affect the size of dog you will need. For me I need mobility work the most so I got a breed of dog that is very large and will be the correct percentage of my size for doing mobility work. 50% my weight at the least and 40% my height. So it is perfectly okay to go with shelter dogs, adoptions, or shopping for a dog. The most important factor in all of these situations though is to find a puppy with the right temperament. Now this means either going through a breeder who temperament test the puppies or hiring a temperament tester to look at the dog. You need a dog with a good friendly, laid-back disposition, but has a good work energy. Now personally I knew I’d be getting a dog eventually so I saved up for three years and bought my girl through a championship, temperament tested, health tested bloodline but that was my preference. I really suggest getting on facebook and finding some service dog training support groups and inquiring with them that you’ll be getting a dog soon and need more information. They love to help everyone (disabled of course as the requirement) to get a SD if they really need one. Even if you don’t end up with a SD they love to educate people because of the lack of proper knowledge on SD Teams. There is a group on Facebook that is specific to service dog handlers with narcolepsy so I suggest checking that out as well to get ideas for task. There is a giant list of task online as well. Just search on google and it should come up to give ideas of things you could need help with or to train. If you have any other questions let me know :)