Hi,
I just saw a documentary on service dogs and it is really amazing what these dogs can do for a person and how they can help human beings and touch lives. I also saw that for most people to get access to a service dogs, it is extremely expensive and there are huge waiting lists of up to 3 years. This made me really want to learn how to do this and actually train a dog to give it to someone in need for free, someone who would otherwise never have access to such an animal.
The problem is, I have no idea where to start, and I would like to know if there are any online programs out there that would teach you all that is required for a dog to be truly a good service dog. I just bought a book and a DVD called Teamwork II for this purpose, but I would like to know if someone knows of any specific standards, specifications etc that may be required.
I have a beautiful Presa Canario puppy (tentatively called "Penny") She is 9 weeks old. I am seriously considering to train her as a service dog, not to give away as she is my girl, but to gain experience in the process and then get another dog to train and give away to someone who may need this type of assistance. For this second dog I would probably go with a Lab which I know are very friendly and good for something like this.
Do any of you have ever heard, had or seen any Presa Canario trained as service dog? Do you think it would be worth trying or that the breed would be reluctant to do this type of work?
Don't take me wrong, I did tons of research on this breed and I LOVE IT, but I have found nothing about presa canarios as service dogs, so I assume it's either not a good idea or something not tried much. So this forum could be a great opportunity to get in contact with people who really have presas and could give me some more insight.
Thanks so much for reading these lines and thanks in advance for any ideas.
Julio
I just saw a documentary on service dogs and it is really amazing what these dogs can do for a person and how they can help human beings and touch lives. I also saw that for most people to get access to a service dogs, it is extremely expensive and there are huge waiting lists of up to 3 years. This made me really want to learn how to do this and actually train a dog to give it to someone in need for free, someone who would otherwise never have access to such an animal.
The problem is, I have no idea where to start, and I would like to know if there are any online programs out there that would teach you all that is required for a dog to be truly a good service dog. I just bought a book and a DVD called Teamwork II for this purpose, but I would like to know if someone knows of any specific standards, specifications etc that may be required.
I have a beautiful Presa Canario puppy (tentatively called "Penny") She is 9 weeks old. I am seriously considering to train her as a service dog, not to give away as she is my girl, but to gain experience in the process and then get another dog to train and give away to someone who may need this type of assistance. For this second dog I would probably go with a Lab which I know are very friendly and good for something like this.
Do any of you have ever heard, had or seen any Presa Canario trained as service dog? Do you think it would be worth trying or that the breed would be reluctant to do this type of work?
Don't take me wrong, I did tons of research on this breed and I LOVE IT, but I have found nothing about presa canarios as service dogs, so I assume it's either not a good idea or something not tried much. So this forum could be a great opportunity to get in contact with people who really have presas and could give me some more insight.
Thanks so much for reading these lines and thanks in advance for any ideas.
Julio