[QUOTE=

- No organization I know of uses pit bulls as service dogs in training. They are simply too aggressive. A service dog must be confident but very at ease with following direction from its handler, and must never growl, bark or show any signs of distraction or aggression toward other dogs or people. Particularly children. I know of no organization that would ever train a pit bull. Most use labs, golden retrievers, standard poodles, german shephards, belgian tervurens, labradoodles/golendoodles. Hearing dog organizations may use these dogs but also use corgis, as corgis are herding dogs with very confident/stubborn personalities. All of the big service dog organizations have their own breeding programs, and I'm telling you they do not breed pit bulls. There are a few small organizations that I think use pound dogs or donations, but if they accept a pit bull into the program I promise you it is not a reputable or large organization.

QUOTE]

One of the vets I work with is training a service dog right now and she is a pit bull. She was rescued from the local shelter and is very gentle and gets along with her 3 kids, 1 cat and 2 other dogs. Personally I would not trust a corgi around anyone except its owner. They are a breed that is known to bite (at least among vets and I think we have a pretty good concept of what breeds will or will not bite). When a corgi comes in I automatically have the muzzle waiting.

[QUOTE=aggieAXO;1840948]Your vet is training a pit bull. Not a service dog organization. Or are you saying your vet is training a pit bull for a service dog organization? If it's the latter, I'd be curious to know which org. it is, because I would be very shocked to hear if it was one of the big ones. Temperament is the most important trait in selecting a service dog and standards are so high in the leading organizations that only about 30% or so pass.

If your vet is training the pit bull to do something like Delta Society, that is different. Delta is a great organization for individuals who want to certify their pets to become therapy dogs. Anyone can do it if they go through the proper training and certifications - and of course your dog has to have the right manners. People volunteer in their own time, with their own dogs - it is very different from a puppy raising program from one of the organizations I'm talking about.

Yes, Corgis nip heels, as some herding dogs do. They have been known to herd children and nip at them. If they're nipping fingers, I'd chalk that up to poor training :rolleyes: But that is one of the reasons why CCI stopped training them as hearing dogs - that and the breeding of them was difficult.

I will find out which organization it is. As far as corgis go-they nip more than just heels. One of my professors at school bred and raised corgis and she even would tell us to be careful around them.

Yeah, I know they're not recommended for families with kids. But I've never trained one, only seen them at the dog park and stuff, so don't have personal experience.

I agree with you all the way!!

And BTW: this thread needs to be renamed from "Training a service animal in sorority house? " to "Selfish, lying people, smuggling an animal into a sorority house, and then lying about it to everyone and misrespresenting it as a service animal just so that they can keep it in the house".

[QUOTE=PeppyGPhiB;1840952][QUOTE=aggieAXO;1840948][QUOTE=

- No organization I know of uses pit bulls as service dogs in training. They are simply too aggressive. A service dog must be confident but very at ease with following direction from its handler, and must never growl, bark or show any signs of distraction or aggression toward other dogs or people. Particularly children. I know of no organization that would ever train a pit bull. Most use labs, golden retrievers, standard poodles, german shephards, belgian tervurens, labradoodles/golendoodles. Hearing dog organizations may use these dogs but also use corgis, as corgis are herding dogs with very confident/stubborn personalities. All of the big service dog organizations have their own breeding programs, and I'm telling you they do not breed pit bulls. There are a few small organizations that I think use pound dogs or donations, but if they accept a pit bull into the program I promise you it is not a reputable or large organization.



Your vet is training a pit bull. Not a service dog organization. Or are you saying your vet is training a pit bull for a service dog organization? If it's the latter, I'd be curious to know which org. it is, because I would be very shocked to hear if it was one of the big ones. Temperament is the most important trait in selecting a service dog and standards are so high in the leading organizations that only about 30% or so pass.

If your vet is training the pit bull to do something like Delta Society, that is different. Delta is a great organization for individuals who want to certify their pets to become therapy dogs. Anyone can do it if they go through the proper training and certifications - and of course your dog has to have the right manners. People volunteer in their own time, with their own dogs - it is very different from a puppy raising program from one of the organizations I'm talking about.

Yes, Corgis nip heels, as some herding dogs do. They have been known to herd children and nip at them. If they're nipping fingers, I'd chalk that up to poor training :rolleyes: But that is one of the reasons why CCI stopped training them as hearing dogs - that and the breeding of them was difficult.[/QUOTE]


The organization is Austin Alliance (she mentioned something about assisting deaf people). I looked at their website and Delta Society was mentioned. Her dog unfortunately did not pass due to aggresion towards other dogs but did find a permanent home. She will likely be training another one -we shall see what breed she gets this time.

Hijack.

Thanks for that. I was actually thinking about getting a Corgi.

You need to post in the in-law venting thread my friend. :)

Umm first of all, no reputable person should give away a five week old puppy. Puppies shouldn't leave the litter until they are at least 8 weeks at the bare minimum. Secondly, pit bulls are rarely if ever used as service animals. She seems like a big old liar to me. I'm in with everything PeppyGphi said.

It goes for a lot of herding dogs, not that they're not great for families they can be, but it's their instinct. My friend had a border collie and while his cousins were having a party for their 5 year old the dog was trying to herd the kids. :) Must have been funny to watch.

hijack
If you're looking at a fun small companion dog, might I suggest the French Bulldog? Fun, fun, fun. :) But I'm biased as mine is totally awesome, and is an official AKC canine good citizen.

end hijack

Totally off-topic, but what do you think about Great Danes? They are massive! I've been reading lately that they're really good with kids and very docile. Their lifespans are really short, though. :(

Our neighbors have a GD and he's a lot of fun. I don't think he realizes how big he is though as when he runs over full speed to say hi I feel like I have to brace for imminent impact. :) My mom also had a friend who bred them. They are really wonderful dogs, but like all dogs need training.

My grandma had a Great Dane when I was little and he was terrific with me. As a toddler, I could pull his ears and fur and he'd never get mad. I'd crawl up on his back and he'd walk around :D.

My dad said he used to follow me around and make sure that I was OK. If I got to close to the pond or something dangerous like that, he'd try and steer me away.

We have a 9 week old puppy now, and he has separation anxiety so I miss dogs that take care of me instead!

//hijack

< Hijack continuation >

My mom adopted a "BorderJack" a few months ago. Half border collie, half Jack Russel Terrier. Imagine if you will, a short, 21 lbs fuzzy faced dog with border collie body markings with brown face markings. The herding instinct is extremely strong in her, on her walks she zig zags back and forth, if you let her she will circle you (we've almost trained that out of her), she likes to have you always in her sight line. She has the digging instinct of a Jack Russel, she loves to be picked up and handled, loves to sleep under the covers, some of the Terrier barkiness the combined vertical leap of both of them (seriously, she can leap from floor to my shoulder, and I'm 5'10). But the herding behaviors are pretty funny to watch..at a recent candle party at my mom's house, there was a 2 yr old running circles around the house filled with 14 women...all Shadow did was follow the little girl around at about 3 paces back. She didn't mind the little girl pulling her wiskers, her tail, trying to pick her up, throwing a tea towel on her (wish we could have put the kid on a leash!).

I think that all the things that I find quirky about her are what make me think she would be a good therapy dog. She's ridiculously smart and trained really easy (from being a mad woman to doing all commands with clicker and no food reward in less than 3 weeks). She's also small and very very cuddly. I'd love to be able to take her to rehabs or residences...gotta get that Canine Good Citizen distinction first though! (yeah shelter dog :))

< / hijack >

I dog-sit for our neighbors' Great Dane from time to time. She's the sweetest, goofiest thing ever. She gets along great with all the neighborhood kids - Gentle Giant is definitely a phrase commonly used to describe her.

It's funny because her name is Thumper, a name she earned as a happy puppy with a constantly-wagging tail. When my kids watched Bambi and paid attention to the animals' names, they couldn't believe that something as small as a bunny could have the same name as the neighborhood dog that towers over them.

Although she's 130lbs, and quite intimidating-looking in size, I have never seen her act aggressively towards anyone. Plus, one of the great things about her is that I've never heard her bark. Ever. I don't know that I want to be around if she ever decides to! (Her owners' biggest complaint is that they can't leave anything on the counters or else it gets knocked off by her tail.)

We have enough dogs right now, but when the day comes that we're dogless and ready for another, I'm totally up for getting a Great Dane. :D