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Homing a former Austism Assistance Dog, any issues ?

  • 27-01-2014 11:07am
    #1
    Shiraz 4.99
    Site Banned Posts: 824 ✭✭✭


    My wife has agreed to rehome a Lab/Golden Retriever cross who has reached retirement age, 6 years old.
    The dog has worked as an autism assistance dog for the past few years so we're not entirely sure what to expect.
    We already have a bearded collie who is close to the end of his days & always planned on getting a replacement but didn't plan for them to overlap in this way.
    Wife works from home & walks an hour a day so companionship or exercise won't be an issue, collie hasn't been able for walks for nearly a year now so she's looking forward to having a dog back.
    Kids are young but have known pets all their lives.

    Is there anything special to watch out for with these highly trained dogs that we might not have thought about ?.


Comments

  • #2
    borderlinemeath
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,346 ✭✭✭borderlinemeath


    I don't know much about service dogs to be honest, but you will be getting a very socialized, well able for all walks of life type of dog. I know with some working dogs when they retire, if they don't get enough mental stimulation to make up for their lack of active work they can become frustrated, so I would ask whoever she's being adopted from what a typical day for the dog was, what her cues were, how she alerts her companion etc. She may have slept in the same room as her owner so a change to that routine may also be worrysome to her.


  • #3
    DBB
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 9,790 Mod ✭✭✭✭DBB


    Be absolutely sure to know all of the commands that she knows, otherwise you could end up with a dog who sits there looking at you, waiting for a command that you don't know!
    I helped an owner with an ex-guide dog once, he was driven demented by this dog who was being "very bold" and "disobedient". There was nothing at all wrong with the dog's obedience... the owner just hadn't fully appraised himself of the little nuanced commands his dog had been taught. The dog was presumably more tuned in to the way his ex-handler carried them out too, so you may have to be very obvious in the way you ask her to do things at first.
    Depending upon where she did her initial training, there are some techniques used by some organisations that I would not condone, such as grabbing the paws and squeezing them if the dog jumps up. Some dogs end up with hang-ups because of these training techniques.. just be aware of this because it might help to explain some foibles she has.
    It'll be nice for her though, to be ale to chill out now. Being a therapy dog can be a harder life than people would expect.


  • #4
    Shiraz 4.99
    Site Banned Posts: 824 ✭✭✭Shiraz 4.99


    DBB wrote: »
    It'll be nice for her though, to be ale to chill out now. Being a therapy dog can be a harder life than people would expect.

    Is 6 years old the normal retirement age for service dogs, when you think of the time & cost expended in them I would have thought they would be worked longer.
    It's not that I'd be a slave driver but being a cross you'd expect them to live to 12 easily, anyway I'm looking forward to it now.
    We've contacted the previous owner re any special commands or hand gestures.


  • #5
    DBB
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 9,790 Mod ✭✭✭✭DBB


    Shiraz 4.99 wrote: »
    Is 6 years old the normal retirement age for service dogs, when you think of the time & cost expended in them I would have thought they would be worked longer.

    It does seem very young, doesn't it? I'd have thought 8ish would be about the earliest most service dogs would be retired, but dogs used for therapeutic purposes have a lot more to bear, I feel, than a sniffer dog, or search and rescue dog, or maybe even a guide dog. I've read a lot of studies that put a pretty substantial question mark over the quality of life many therapy dogs have. The expectations around them are pretty huge.


  • #6
    sillysmiles
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,170 ✭✭✭sillysmiles


    DBB wrote: »
    I've read a lot of studies that put a pretty substantial question mark over the quality of life many therapy dogs have.

    How do you mean?
    I too would have thought that 6 was pretty young to be retiring a working dog.


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  • #7
    DBB
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 9,790 Mod ✭✭✭✭DBB


    sillysmiles wrote: »
    How do you mean?
    I too would have thought that 6 was pretty young to be retiring a working dog.

    Not wanting to use too wide a brush here, there have been a few studies done to suggest that therapy dogs tend to suffer from chronic elevated stress. There are higher expectations of them, that they're to love and assist people all of the time. They often also have to endure excessive human behaviours by the very nature of their jobs. It's a lot to ask of a dog, and it seems that it does affect them negatively. I can't help but think that this is why they're retired young.


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