The story of how I got my service dog | Why I had to wait 2.5 years | Story time
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- Опубліковано 13 жов 2022
- Welcome to our UA-cam channel! My name is Violet and my SDiT is Atlas- he is a year and almost 2 months old golden retriever. This is the story of how I got Atlas and why I had to wait 2.5 years before getting him. It’s a long story with ups and downs, but I hope you enjoy and maybe even learn something along the way! Like and subscribe for more future videos!
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Service dogs and miniature horses are the only animals permitted under the ADA to go to public places with their handler to mitigate their disability. Please do not bring your pets into non-pet friendly places. Please do not fake a service dog- this is illegal as well. Remember you’re not just faking a service dog, you’re faking having a disability. Penalty can range anywhere from a fine, misdemeanor, or even a felony depending on state laws for bringing pets to non-pet friendly places, for faking a service dog, and for distracting a service dog.
Service dogs are specifically task trained to help mitigate their handlers disability. This can take years of intense training! Please do not distract a service dog or a service dog in training as it is vital for the safety of their handler!
Thank you for watching!!✨🐕🦺
I wanted to chime in here and say that this is a summary of how I got Atlas and how I knew a service dog would be right for me. There was a lot more that went on in order to know that I indeed could benefit from a service dog. I worked with my doctors and talked to them about it and before that even, my conditions were deemed disabling by them and therefore to myself and my doctors, I would definitely benefit from a service dog. And so I began to research about it and learn before even thinking of a dog breed to choose from.
There was also the matter of finding the right dog breed for my needs which I also didn’t discuss in my video. This is also extremely important when searching for a service dog. There were a couple of breeds that I thought of but ultimately a golden retriever fit them all. It’s also a matter of personality for me as well. I’ve always loved goldens and meshed with their personalities. Everybody’s situation and experience is different and therefore different breeds will fit a different individual.
This video could have been a lot longer, but I really just wanted to summarize how I got him and my journey. If anyone is interested in any other topics regarding finding reputable breeders, the service dog laws, what breeds are typically used for service dog work, and any others please let me know! Thank you so much for watching! ❤️✨
I loved this video! It was super cute and heart warming. Could you make a video on how it was first bringing him home and your training process right after Gotcha Day?
Thank you so much!! Of course, I’d love to! That’ll be a video I’ll have to do soon as well! 🥺❤️✨
Ahhh my future service dog is gonna be named atlas😊
So exciting!!!✨
hi i would like to suggest a more in depth video about what to look for in a service dog breeder! you know like the res flags, things you should ask, etc. :)
I’ll have to do that soon! Thank you!! It’s on my list now ✨🌸
Thank you for sharing. Love your videos!
Thank you so much!!! 🥺 You’re support means the world!!❤️✨
I would love your input now that you’ve been training your dog for a good amount of time. I adopted an 8-week-old German Shepherd/Husky girl I named Remi about a month ago and have some questions. I was wondering what you thought about a pup being so relaxed in public that they would rather fall asleep than walk around. Likewise, she is so good at avoiding distractions like other dogs and people in favor of focusing on me. I don’t want to lose that focus but also want her to know that people in public are okay to greet like she does when we have visitors (and she greets sweetly with maybe a kiss and pat on the head but doesn’t jump and go nuts like regular puppies). A bit of a back story: I had the opportunity to temperament test the litter at 6 weeks because one of the rescue’s top people was my other dog’s foster mom. Remi’s litter was born in a home the night her emancipated momma was brought up to the foster home from a shelter in the Carolinas, so she didn’t have the Trauma that my boy Krieger did. I unfortunately fell and broke my femur the day after choosing Remi, so spent the next 25 days in the hospital. I was still in the hospital the first 10 days she was home, but my mom took that as an opportunity to crate train, potty train, begin the basics, etc (she’s a former dog trainer). When I came home, I pushed through the pain to reinforce her sit and then teach down, paw, lap, off, and wait. Her come and stay are still a work in progress. But I’m getting MAJOR flack from some for bringing her in public despite her being a little under 13 weeks old. She got vaccinated and cleared by the vet to go in public last week, so we went to Lowe’s on Monday where she happily looked around at the sight and sounds but was most content to lay next to my wheelchair and nap. Likewise I had an appointment at the prosthetist yesterday to work on getting a new leg (I lost my leg to a nerve condition about 18 months ago and then lost more this March). She layer quietly in the waiting room on a towel that we brought while I treated and gave extra rewards for ignoring loud noises, loud doors, etc. She then slept on her towel in the room we were in the majority of the hour-long appointment. My mom held her leash, but she made no attempt to get up even when I moved away from her to try out my “check socket.” My prosthetist tried to greet her without my permission, but I let it go, and she did her normal kiss and pat on the head greet. However, I think she needs more exposure to people. Some say not to let others greet or treat her in public while others say to do so. I had planned to train Krieger to be a SD, but my health declined early on in his training, and while he is super smart and obedient, I never got to the point of bringing him in public. So this is my first time really training what will hopefully be my future mobility service dog (she’s expected to be around 90 lbs). I’m sorry for writing a novel. It’s just that most people in self-train “support groups” tend to tear you down rather than build you up, and you seem super nice.
Personally I’d rather a dog be relaxed enough in public to nap than a dog who is stressed and could potentially channel that stress into bad behaviors. I’m not a professional and I’m not there in person to see, but it sounds like you have a pup with a wonderful temperament. If you’re doing something like sitting and having dinner for a long time or you’re at a doctors office waiting for a long time i see no issue if the dog is napping. I personally worry more so about Atlas’ focus and his attention to me when we’re in an area that’s super distracting. However in the training stages I think it’s important to practice those focus and engagement skills in every single environment. But if you’re doing something where the pup doesn’t need to be lazer focused on you I personally wouldn’t mind if the pup takes a nap. After all they are keeping their down stay and maybe all the training/work they’ve done throughout the day is making them tired. Plus dogs/animals in general have different sleeping patterns than us, most require naps during the day. But again I’m not a professional! This is just from my experience with Atlas. And when it comes greeting or ignoring people in these early stages of life, I feel that depends on the individual dog and even their breed. Atlas being a super friendly dog and gets excited in a loving way I had to teach him right away that he can’t say hi to everyone and that his default should be to ignore people unless if I give him his “go say hi” cue. But with your pup and the breed that might look different for you! Since German shepherds can become protective it might be good to let your pup say hi every once in a while/blue moon. But not to everyone and definitely not all the time cause at the same time you’re still trying to teach your pup that you should be the center of their focus when in public. I hope that makes sense, again I’m not a professional and I’m not there in person with you, but I try my best to explain what I’ve done/my experiences that I’ve had and I try to tell them in a way that might be helpful. Thank you for your comments and for watching our content! I hope I was able to help in any way!❤️✨🦮
@@helperpupatlas7377 I really appreciate your thorough response ❤️ Right now, we are making sure she gets a good play session in before an outing to places she will need to remain in that down-stay…particularly doctors’ offices. Since she will not be fully vaccinated until next week, I’ve made sure to only bring her to areas with low or no dog traffic. Since she will be for mobility rather than medical alert, I am happy that she is just chilling out during those visits. When she is wearing her vest on an outing, she knows not to engage with anyone but me. But I have brought her unvested to a park to get exposure to kids, etc. so that she gets used to people of all ages. Unfortunately, she went from being mildly excited for visitors (wagging her tail and giving them a sniff and kiss on the hand) to now being defensive/skittish because my hound mix goes bonkers with excitement when people visit, and she seems to be interpreting that as danger. So now we are letting Remi greet while my mom takes Krieger outside until he calms dow. But we have some work to do because even then she is still barking and backing away. And like you said, German Shepherds have an innate protective nature, and I want to nip that while she is young instead of 100 lbs. At least she doesn’t make a sound when her vest is on and exhibits no defensive behavior when I’m working with my prosthetist or the home health nurse is taking my blood pressure, etc. She really seems like she was born to be a service dog with her temperament and manners that she naturally exhibits rather than me having to teach.
@@thewilltowalk6651Hello, I just want to encourage you to keep up the great work you are doing with training your dog. Having your mom available to help with the training is wonderful for both of you. May you continue to gain in your own mobility with time and the help of your new four legged friend. Your life is bound to open up once this puppy is fully trained. Keep up the good work and you will be so happy you did. Again, kudos to you and your mom.
@@gastrogal5353 thank you so much! Hard to believe Remi turned 6 months on Friday and is already opening doors, hitting handicap buttons, and performing DPT to help with my crazy heart rate. I also found ways to work on her heel outside of our house since it’s so tiny, and she has developed a beautiful loose-leash heel beside my wheelchair. Things have been hard because my mom took a bad fall 2 weeks ago, so everything has fallen on me. But I’m doing my best to get in some daily heel work in addition to working on the foundations for future tasks like retrieving objects. I keep having to remind myself that even though Remi is already 65 lbs, I can’t beat up on myself if she has a bad day or makes mistakes because she is still very much a puppy 🐾❤️🐾
So glad after all that time awaiting and preparing you found the right dog. Did you name him or did the breeder
Thank you! I was the one that named him! For the longest time I was stuck on the names Archie and Remy for some reason and I actually didn’t like the name Atlas for quite a while. It wasn’t until probably the last month of me waiting to get him did I start to come around to liking the name Atlas. I wanted something with more meaning and I remember talking to my breeder about what name I was thinking. And when I mentioned Atlas was one of those names but I wasn’t too sure, she absolutely lit up. She said she thought it was perfect and that the meaning behind the name is perfect cause he will definitely help carry my world. So Atlas he became and I can’t imagine him having any other name! ❤️
@@helperpupatlas7377 that’s a really cool naming story, glad you found the right name for him and you. My dog is from program so she came with her name and I first I didn’t like it but it’s grown on me and now I can’t imagine her with any other name as well
@@asecretcourtofcrowsandcloc4084 thank you!! It was the longest I think I’ve ever spent finding a name. What’s your pups name if you don’t mind me asking?
@@helperpupatlas7377 that makes sense, it’s like nameing a child you wanted to be the right name for you and them. Her name is Gretchen