Hey All,
So I have been getting several emails asking me questions regarding Bailey and his retirement. So here’s a list of frequently asked questions that I would like to answer for all of my readers.
Why are you retiring Bailey?
I’ve decided to retire Bailey because he’s been telling me (through his body language) that he is unhappy when working in public. In addition he is uncomfortable around strangers and will sometimes growl at them in public. Also Bailey has shown me that he is generally just a shy dog. I have two aides and a physical therapist whom Bailey has seen 2-3 times a week for the past five months. He still will not go up to them and anxiously keeps a distance from them. These people are no longer strangers and he still has issues with them. At fifteen months old this is not something that Bailey will just grow out of. This is a part of his personality. Just like with humans, some dogs are just more social than others.
He seems so well behaved, why does it matter if he’s not comfortable in public?
Bailey is an incredibly smart dog and a super good boy. But lots of dogs are smart, that doesn’t make them a good candidate for service work alone. Service dogs must LOVE to work for you, not just in the home but in public where there are many strangers, distractions and surprises. If he’s not comfortable working in public it means he is stressed. Stressed out dogs, if pushed too far can be dangerous.
How can you tell that he doesn’t like working in public?
I can tell by Bailey’s body language. His eyes are constantly darting around anxiously. He never wags his tail. He never opens his mouth in the natural dog behavior of panting (aka smiling). This is especially apparent when strangers come near to him (even if they are ignoring him). He immediately pulls away in fear (and Bailey does not usually pull away from me) and basically tries to hide and kind of just “shuts down”. Another way he is telling me he is uncomfortable is he will sometimes growl at a person nearby ,but never in an aggressive way so I know it’s not a “protective” type thing.
What if Bailey stopped growling at strangers? Would you work him then?
No. Even if Bailey were to stop growling at strangers that wouldn’t mean that he was comfortable with them or happy working in public. It would simply mean he was “trained” not to growl. That would actually be dangerous because then he wouldn't be able to communicate his fear which could lead to him communicating by eventually snapping at someone.
If Bailey became more comfortable with your aides and people visiting your home, would you try to work him then?
It would be awesome if Bailey was more comfortable with the people in my home. In fact since I’ve stopped working him he has become way more relaxed with people in my home. I think this is because he is less stressed in general and now just gets be a happy pet. I know if I started working him again his stress would come back and might appear in the form of anxiety in the home or something new.
I owe it to Bailey to listen to what he’s telling me and not try to force him to do something he is just not comfortable doing.
Is Bailey unhappy now that he’s fully retired and no longer a SD?
Actually the opposite, he thinks he’s just won the lottery! He now gets to go to the dogpark and play with other dogs which is one of his favorite activities. We’ve also been mixing little treats like left over chicken into his food now that I don’t have to worry about him not paying attention to yummy smelling food at restaurants. Also he gets the same love and attention and now has a stronger bond with my parents since he is not “my” SD but the family pet.
What’s happened with bailey, is it uncommon?
Service Dogs in training are carefully screened and chosen based on their temperament, breeding and family health history. Even after this strict process the success rate for a dog to become a SD is about 40%. I knew these statistics when I began owner training so I’ve always known they’re was the possibility that Bailey wouldn’t want to work or wouldn’t turn out to be the right candidate for service work.
What does a “happy service dog” look like?
This is a happy service dog...
As you can see this SD has no problem with people and/or objects getting close to him. He looks around but it is not with anxiety more curiosity. When people approach him, he is comfortable and inviting not shy or pulling away. I know this service dog’s owner and I know for a fact that he is very happy when working.
I'm so happy for Bailey that he gets to be a pet! I hope the process of finding a working dog for you goes smoothly and that your paypal jar fills up fast.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I totally <3 Bradley's expression while he's being petted, especially that moment where he goes from very serious (kindof regal) to all PET THE BELLEH YOU KNOW YOU WANNA.
Just wanted to mention that to me in the first video the dog does actually look slightly tense or anxious. It is probably not something most people would notice but I have had Goldens and have gotten very good at reading their particular facial and body language and the dog's eyes look anxious, the area around the eyes is tensed and the area at the back of the mouth.
ReplyDelete" I have two aides and a physical therapist whom Bailey has seen 2-3 times a week for the past five months. He still will not go up to them and anxiously keeps a distance from them. These people are no longer strangers and he still has issues with them. At fifteen months old this is not something that Bailey will just grow out of. This is a part of his personality. Just like with humans, some dogs are just more social than others."
ReplyDeleteYou are still in denial and still know very little about training dogs, Eva. If you watched any of the great trainers, you would know that there are ways to acclimate dogs to "strangers in the home that they fear", particularly AND especially aides that come into your home at that frequency! It's NOT a permanent issue, and this is why your relationship with him as an SD failed miserably.
Until you recognize that you are not a trainer, you will never comprehend that fearful dogs (Bailey in particular) do not have to live like that for the rest of their lives (I have trained and have met many others who have trained dogs in the same situations/mental states). You are the only one with a circumstance in which you are trapped, both physically (which is out of your control) and mentally (which is definitely within your control), so please don't "trap" Bailey into a circumstance in which he COULD come out of with the right training.