Breeder you said and I Quote: "Also, donating a pup for service is noble for you, so you can toot your horn. But, it is not the best life for a dog. If you really want to do what is best for the pup, and not for your ego, you would find them a nice pet home. Service dogs do not always have a great quality of life."

I would like to know why you think a Service Dog does not have a great quality of life????????

I have been donating pups for a long time and I also foster and train service dogs. I do not know where you got your information from but the Service dogs I know have the BEST life.

What other dog gets to spend 24/7 with there partner? These dogs get to spend every day all day with the one they love. The have a job and purpose in life.

Do you really think a dog likes to just lay around and do nothing all day?

Pet owner might do basic obedience and a few will go on to train for some type of performance event but the majority of pet owners do not take any type of obedience training and there dogs might get taken to the park or a walk around the block but usually their owner are too tired or too busy to play with them or walk them so they go outside by themselves and may get at total of 8 to 9 hours a week with their owners.

Do not get me wrong there are great pet owners who take very good care of there pets but they are few and far between. We as responsible breeders may see a higher majority of the great owners because they took the time to find a good and caring breeder. They spent the extra money to buy a quality puppy. We interview and weed out the bad owners but there are those that can promise you the moon and make you believe they are the best when they are the worst. They are the ones that love a puppy but seem to lose interest in the dog. These dogs are the ones that get re-homed or thrown in the back yard or become just another thing around the house but they never become that cherished and precious loved one that you would do anything for.

I have never met an unhappy service dog. I have not met a family that would not bend over backward to get a service dog for a disabled loved one. These dogs have the best vet care, the best food and more love than any dog could ever need. If you could see the faces of these dogs and their partners when they meet and begin training, it would make you cry. These dogs understand that their partners are different and they need them to make it through the day. There is a special bond between them. The stories they tell of the special things their service dog did for them. The time the dog saved their life or was just there for emotionally support. I could go on and on with how special these dogs are but that would make this a really long post

I usually only lurk here but that post got my blood boiling. I was not the one you were replying to but I will tell you that I do NOT donated to make myself feel better or to brag about it on my website. I donate because it is the right thing to do. I train service dogs because I LOVE to work with dogs and this is a great cause. I breed for myself first and the service dog organization second and if there are pups left them they are sold to a pet home that was very carefully selected.

In case after reading my post you forgot my original question here it is again.

I would like to know why you think a Service Dog does not have a great quality of life


Breeder & Service Dog Trainer

I'm not 'breeder' and I do think that vast majority of dogs have a great quality of life as service dogs. That being said - please go look at my website at http://www.waterdownlabradors.com/ricky.htm

That is my now deceased rescue boy. He came from a school in the States and was given to a blind man in Ontario. They worked that dog until he was 14. They then claimed he bit and dumped him in the shelter. Coincidentally, they had a new dog coming from that organization.

Labrador Retriever Rescue Ontario pulled Ricky from the shelter and he came to live with me. They also contacted the organization. They couldn't have cared less and were still planning to send the new dog up.

Ricky, because he was never retired, didn't have a chance to be a dog until he came to my house. While I'm sure he loved him, I know that the best part of his new life was playing with my other dog - the chance to just enjoy life was what made his last year (I hope) happy.

So, again, I would argue that most service dogs have a great quality of life - but that people need to be very, very careful about where their donated puppies are going.

Thank You for your post, I was the one who donated, which is not on my website by the way. I finally got sick of responding to someone who would keep on coming up with trash so I stopped. not worth the effort.

Thank You!

I looked for the post you were talking about, but could not find it. But, I will put in my two cents. Many people who get service dogs may or may not be animal lovers. To some, the dogs are a tool necessary to get through the day. I have seen a local blind man with his poor lab, on the hottest of days, panting, and walking on sidewalks you could fry an egg on. I have stopped, and offered water, and told him to please feel the sidewalk, and he jerked the dog to him, and kept on his way. That dog looks miserable every time I see him. Most guide dogs look miserable when they are working. They cannot be petted while working, which I understand. The dogs that live with true dog lovers probably do fine. But, many of them go to people who would not own a dog under better circumstances.

I am so sorry for your rescue and I agree that was no way to treat a very loyal companion. I am assuming he was only trying to protect his owner when he snapped at the wife. But that was most likely a rare case.

Like I said above there are those that can fool anyone. And just like us the service organization interview clients and those that are good at lying sometimes slip thru the cracks.

I will agree that not every organization is the same and you need to do your homework before you donate but you can not say they are all bad because of one bad apple.

Our organization stays in contact and helps the clients for the life of the dog. We do not have a set age of retirement, we leave that up to the dog.

Another misconception is that all these dog do is work. That is so untrue. They still get to be just dogs. They still get to play ball and go swimming and play with other dogs. One of the dogs I just finished training gets to go swimming everyday, which beside playing fetch is his favorite thing to do.

He gets to play with the grand kids and his partner plays ball with him a lot. He his a replacment service dog. The first service dog still lives with his partner and it took time for him to give up his duties but now he loves it. They both get along great and he has a wonderful life. I still get to see him. He still loves his mom but if it came to me or his partner he would choose his parnter everytime. He loves his new home and life.

I'm fairly sure there was no biting attempt at all - that was just their excuse to dump him.

I'm also fairly sure that he was never given the chance to play/be a dog/etc. He didn't know how to play when he came to me. He never really learnt - unless, of course, it involved a stuffed Kong.

If you read what I said, I never came close to saying "they are all bad because of one bad apple". You said "I would like to know why you think a Service Dog does not have a great quality of life". I'm simply giving an example. I don't think this is how MOST service dogs are treated, nor how MOST service dog organizations have run, but how would you feel if Ricky was one of your puppies

I understand you did not say all or even most are treated bad. The problem is that people see only the bad cases and think they are all treated that way and that is not true. We have a really hard time getting breeder to donated quality pup for service because they do not fully understand what a wonderful life I service dog can have. Because they have only heard the horror stories.

I posted that question to try to find out why the poster felt that way, so I could let them understand the true benefits of a service dog and the wonderful life they can have.

Again you do have to do your homework. The organization that I work with would have NEVER let that happen to one of their dogs. I would never let that happen to one of my dogs. I know who has my dogs and I am always kept update about the dogs. I will say that we do not train dogs for the blind. We train Service dogs not guide dogs. And again our dogs get to also be dogs and have play time.

It also depends on the type of service.

For example, drug or bomb detection dogs do not have a good life in my opinion. They are crated most of the time, and can only play when it is a reward for finding the desired item. I know they live in the home of the handler, but the family members are not allowed to "play" with the dogs--no fetching etc.

It all depends on the type of service, the program, the trainers, the organization, the recipients, etc. And all of that is out of your control when you donate the dog.

MK

How is it out of your control?

Most organization specialize in certain areas. If you do not want your dog to be a bomb detection dog, then do not donate to them.

Service Dogs are specially trained dogs that assist people with physical disabilities, as opposed to guide dogs (which help the visually impaired) and hearing dogs (which help the hearing impaired).
Lots of different kinds of people use Service Dogs... People with Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, Paraplegia, Quadriplegia, Arthritis, and many others. They might need to use a manual wheelchair or an electric one. They may not need a wheelchair, but need the dog to help give them balance.

The dogs we train can open and close doors, pull a wheelchair, provide balance, turn on and off lights, retrieve dropped items and go get help. But the one thing they do not have to be trained to do is to provide unconditional love and companionship.

They never live at a kennel. They are raised and trained in a loving home. They must work but they are also allowed to have play time.

Again do not discredit all because you do not like some. I am only talking about Service Dog for the Physical Challenged. Do your homework. A good organization will give you updates about your dog. If you have the time volunteer to help. I promise you will never regret it.

This is why I do did. This is about a boy on our waiting list. I have removed his name, the oraganizations name and his schools name for his right to privacy and I am not on here to push one organization over the other. I just would like breeders to think about donated to a wonderful cause.

XXXX is only 10 years old and lives with a form of Muscular Dystrophy that makes his balance unsteady and long distances difficult to walk. He is bright and positive despite his disability. In fact, he brags that, because the fluorescent lights cause him migraine headaches, he is the only kid in the XXXXX schools that has a doctor’s prescription to wear a baseball hat to school! XXXX has been on XXXXXXXXXX waiting list for several months and knows that it will likely be several more before a dog is ready for placement with him. He wrote in a letter to XXXXXX . . .

“I get very tired from walking in my school. . . I get knocked over once or twice a day by kids who are running, not paying attention or just a lot bigger than me. It happens in gym class, in the hallways, at recess and nearly everywhere. I get so tired of my face hitting the ground. ”He went on to say . . . “I think a service dog would really help me. I know I would not get knocked over as much at school. I would be able to walk farther and would have more energy. I would take care of him. I already know how to take care of a dog. I can learn to use my dog. I really hope you pick me.” We did. Now it is just a matter of time.

My point is that once you select the organization (or they select you--I have been solicited to provide service dogs for handicapped) you have no say in the training or the home in which the dog goes.

You assume the organization does thorough screening, etc, as we all try to when placing our dogs. But sometimes things don't turn out well.

The fact that it is a service organization does not guarantee a happy home.

No one is criticising your choices and you appear to have found a wonderful organization. We are just trying to point out that we can't make broad assumptions on this topic any more than all the other ones discussed here.

MK

Breeder & Service Dog Trainer-

You've made a lot of valid points and have presented a different point of view.

If one is interested in volunteering, how does one go about doing it?

Most people, myself included, have no idea where to start or what the volunteering would be like or what it would entail.

I think the above poster has it exactly right. Those dogs lucky enough to be serving animal lovers have a great life. But I have seen a woman being led by her sighted boyfriend with her dog being dragged around by his leash, his harness twisted under his belly. He was not happy. The owner seemed to be cluelss, and the boyfriend was definitely oblivious.
I was at Seaworld in Orlando on Graduation Day for about 100 puppy raisers. It was 95 degrees and these young dogs were on the hot pavement all day. I suggested to one of the foster parents that his dog's paws were probably burning. He looked at me like I was nuts.
My friend no longer takes the elevator at work because a blind woman's guide dog wants to greet my friend. The woman then hits him. Yes, he is working, but jeesh.
These instances may be few and far between. I hope so. But I think it would be a REALLY good idea for every service dog organization to routinely follow up on each dog they place. Visit the owner in the home, workplace, whatever. Check on those dogs, and if they aren't being treated as the wonderful gifts they are, take them and place them in a pet home.
I know it's cumbersome, but the organization has a responsibility to those dogs. And what about the loving families who raised that puppy????
Follow up could be done with a network of volunteers throughout the US. I would gladly volunteer. I would be more than willing to travel within a couple hundred miles radius to do so. And, I would travel farther to be trained in what the service organization expects in the follow up and what to look for.
Just my honest opinion.

As a former puppy raiser from Texas, at a guide dog school in Florida, during a fundraiser (walk a thon) I witnessed a blind man commanding his dog to keep walking! The dog was about to drop from heat exhaustion! People were all around and nobody said anything to him to help the dog, I am ashamed because I didn't say anything either and I truly love dogs and if I ever witness any abuse again I will speak up or if necessary report abuse!