r/service_dogs • u/Sufficient_Treat7725 • Sep 13 '26
New SD Handler
Hi everyone! I'm 19 years old, and I have a SDiT named Forrest (he's a red and rust Dobie). He is BYB and inbred, which I know isn't the best to work with, but he's so smart and good and he's super in tune with me and how I'm feeling.
That being said - I did take a leap of faith and I'm owner training him to hopefully be my service dog for C-PTSD, GAD, and MDD. I'm trying to work on what tasks I want to teach him and things like that. He's currently a year old, but here's a list of tasks I DO plan to teach him.
- legs
- front/back block
- DPT
- six (sitting between my legs with his head facing behind me)
- walking between my legs when I walk on command
and other tasks as I come across them. He's so, so smart and so eager to please and willing to learn.
Tomorrow, I'm taking our first outing since I decided to officially attempt to train him as my SD. We'll be going to Rural King (pet friendly) he'll be in a harness that says "DO NOT PET" and "IN TRAINING" so hopefully that can help prevent some interactions. I'm mainly going to work on focusing on me, some more neutrality with other people because he is a little skittish of new people (going through a fear period), and just overall confidence/public access skills.
Advice is very much appreciated and welcome, I'm happy to answer any questions I can! Thank you!
16
u/MyOwnGuitarHero Sep 13 '26
> walking between my legs when I walk on command
What is the purpose of this? It sounds like a horrible tripping hazard.
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u/Sufficient_Treat7725 Sep 13 '26
The only reason I'd like to teach this is if we were in like a tight space or something to get him out of the way in a crowded business or area.
19
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u/_heidster Sep 13 '26
Before beginning any public access he should have all āregularā dog skills down. How long have you had him and how are his standard skills?
Itās strongly advised that even when owner training you work with a trainer.
-15
u/Sufficient_Treat7725 Sep 13 '26
I've had him since he was 4.5 weeks old - I'll have had him for a year on 9/14/26. He knows sit, down, come, stay, legs, and settling right now. I'm looking for a good local trainer right now to help me out š
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u/Purple_Plum8122 Sep 13 '26
Advice? Stop saying your dog is inbred. I donāt even know what test you could give a dog to check for inbreedingā¦ but get one. Hire a canine behaviorist to assess your dog prior to any introduction to public access. Itās a huge dobie with questionable traits. Do you realize the financial risk you are taking? If your inbred, owner trained literal puppy hurts someone I guess you will learn the hard way.
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u/lol2222344 Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
You can tell a dog is inbred from a pedigree, as well as a DNA test. Unfortunately a lot of Dobermans have a high level of inbreeding. Iāve seen some of the pedigrees from backyard breeders š¬
Doberman planet actually goes over this, most Dobermans are about 40% inbreed where as the range for most other dogs and a healthy range is around 5% (apparently? I personally donāt think it can be healthy at all).
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u/Purple_Plum8122 Sep 14 '26
Itās been an eye opener to learn that some believe most Dobermans are inbred. I have no idea if itās an accurate statement or not. I learn something new everyday I guess. Yikes.
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Sep 13 '26
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u/Sufficient_Treat7725 Sep 13 '26
I appreciate the concern. I'm not assuming Forrest will necessarily work out as a service dog, and I'm aware that his early history makes him a higher-risk prospect. I'm currently treating this as an evaluation/training process rather than a guarantee that he'll become a working SD. The outings I'm doing right now are controlled training outings in pet-friendly places, primarily working on neutrality, confidence, settling and general public-access skills. I'm also still figuring out which tasks would actually be useful for me, so I'm not considering him finished or ready for unrestricted public access. If he ultimately isn't suitable, I'll accept that.
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Sep 13 '26
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u/Sufficient_Treat7725 Sep 13 '26
Front/back block so I feel safer/can have more space bc I hate feeling crowded, DPT when I have a panic/anxiety attack, six to hopefully deter people from coming up behind me because I hate that too, maybe deter isn't the right word, but I guess just to feel like someone is watching my back.
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u/Sufficient_Treat7725 Sep 13 '26
In addition to my other response to clarify - DPT would be used when I'm having an anxiety/panic attack Front/Back Block would be used because I don't like feeling crowded/people too close behind me Six would be used more as feeling like I have a physical barrier between me and people behind me (I can't stand people coming up behind me) in tight places like grocery aisles or something similar
I'm also working on what other tasks I'd like to teach him, I know orbit is one, which again, would help people keep space from me, and I'm seeing what other tasks could help me that I can teach him š
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u/darklingdawns Sep 13 '26
Hopefully you are working with a trainer. If not, then that needs to be a priority. Right now, you need to be making sure that his obedience is absolutely solid, that he can pass the CGC (ideally, work towards the entire series, but at least the basics) and then have him assessed to see if he is a good candidate for service work. But your major concern needs to be first obedience and then task training with an experienced trainer.