Link: Chow Chow Service Dogs (Disability Aids)

[kiwani]

Excerpt:

We train Chows for use as Service and/orTherapy dogs.

Why the Chow?
Chows have been used for thousands of years as worker dogs: guards, cart dogs, babysitters. They are exceptionally devoted to their humans, and will work ceaselessly to help their human. They are strong, durable dogs, with great longevity. Chows can generally serve as Therapy dogs or Service dogs for at least a decade.




Do dogs that have been bred to become service dogs make better service dogs?
We can definitely see a difference! Zorro's Dynasty has bred and trained service/therapy dogs for 15 years, and we have developed lines of Chows with especially calm, stable and loving personalities. They are in use throughout Austria and now in America.




Where do I get such a Therapy Dog/service dog?

Whenever we have litters of pups, we carefully observe the personalities, and select certain ones as Therapy/Service Dog candidates. We don't sell these for pets, or for show dogs. We keep them, and train them from the beginning for obedience. When they reach about one year of age, they are suitable to begin training with the person who will become their permanent daily user/handler/owner. We urge potential owners to visit the pups during this first year, to observe for compatibilities, personal preferences, etc.




For what types of tasks/duties have we trained our Chows?

Reaction dogs: To warn of, or respond to, impending seizures in epileptics, or low blood sugar episodes in diabetics.


Guide dogs: To assist blind or deaf people to respond more appropriately to the world about them; to guard against unseen traffic, or obstacles, or to alert for unheard phones, buzzers, chimes, etc.


Wheelchair dogs: To pull a person in his/her wheelchair; to open doors; to bring specified objects; to assist the person in/out of the wheelchair.


http://www.ofzorrosdynastychows.com/therapy.htm

[Auddymay]

I guess it really is not a myth afterall. As with any breed, the initial selection is the key to success. I saw a show once that were culling litters of Goldens and Labs to find just the right personalities.

[Victory]

That's really cool. Melonie has trained Khana to be her service dog too.

[bama]

I think this is so cool! I am trying to train Colonel to respond to danger, which he has already shown an inclination to do.
I've never trained a dog for this, so I'm open to suggestions. My dog training expertise focused on herding dogs.
However, I believe basic training covers a broad spectrum of preparation for use in any field.

[Mia]

Kiwani,

I am training my Chutters ( who is blind) to be a service dog (I may be using the wrong word here) so that we can go to a place called Happy Tails and Chuttters can go visit kids and older people in hospitals.

Chutters has the perfect temperament in that he has never met a person/dog he didn't like, is so laid back that if you tossed something on top of him while he was in a deep sleep, he doesn't flinch. Noises, actions, crowds, wheelchairs, sirens, canes, yelling, loud or scary noises, don't seem to bother him at all.

Kids have played with him, tried to sit on him, held him and petted him - sometimes 11 kids at a time and he is patient, loving and mellow with all of them. We practice this every weekend.

Anyway, I was wondering if you had any tips for us to practice.

Thanks,

Lise

[Auddymay]

A handicapable service dog! That's great! What a trick to play on Fate! From a pup to be put down, to helping others. I wish you the best Lise!

[kiwani]

Anyway, I was wondering if you had any tips for us to practice.

Chutters seems to be *beyond* a master practitioner. I hope he gets to publish his story someday, with your help as his editor. Maybe the moderators can send an invitation to the Zorro's Dynasty site, to join us here and share their *working* Chows with us.

[Theo]

Do dogs that have been bred to become service dogs make better service dogs?
We can definitely see a difference! Zorro's Dynasty has bred and trained service/therapy dogs for 15 years, and we have developed lines of Chows with especially calm, stable and loving personalities. They are in use throughout Austria and now in America.

This is Titus' breeder. I can vouch for the personality of their chows!
TItus is definitely stable and loving, and is cute to boot!

I enjoyed meeting them and learning about their service dogs.

[Mia]

It all started because a friend of a friend of a friend had a daughter who had cancer and was going through real rough time. The little girl had lost an arm, her hair and her laughter.

So I made a bunch of inquiries and made some arrangement with the hospital, gave them all of Chutter's up to date vet info etc. and finally they agreed to let me arrange a surprise visit for the little girl and bring Chutters into a special place in the hospital. They brought the girl to the special room and I brought Chutters in.

She just LOOOVVVEEDD Chutters. How can you not love a chow, much less a fuzzy, lion-bear looking chow. The best part was that she loved feeling like she was taking care of him because he was blind.

She got herself into a wheelchair for the first time - all by herself. And, she took him for a walk making sure that he didn't run into anything. (Not that Chutters would have minded as he is always running into things.)

I think that the best part for the little girl was when she felt that she was taking care of a "handicapped" dog. She spent a lot of time hugging him and trying to cheer him up since she felt he might be sad having never seen anything. And she was trying to describe how things looked to Chutters.

It seemed to make her feel totally un-handicapped to be helping a little puppy she felt was more handicapped than her.

Needless to say, he was a hit.

So, Chutters and I had a chat (ok, I am just kidding.)

But, he loves to be cuddled and held and petted - and kids seem to love him.

He seems to be born for this. If a kid falls on him, or accidentally pulls his hair or tail - he is not phazed in the least. He seems to have very little defensive feelings. It's great, because, he doesn't ever seem to feel that anyone does anything on purpose to hurt him or scare him. He is the epitome of gentleness.

Chutters is also perfectly willing to be a rag doll to anyone who is loving him. He will stay and let a kid dress him up, roll him over, pet him, hug him or do whatever they want without pulling away.

When my neighbor's two year old girl waddled over and fell on Chutters, he just kept his front legs standing and let his rear legs stay down under her, until she could get herself up.

He's a doll.

So, we are training for that - almost every day.

[AmberLea]

Amazing!!

My girl AmberLea is a Pets As Therapy dog too, we visit rest homes for the elderly when required for pet therapy with Dementia patients and she thoroughly enjoys her visits.

Great to see Chows being used worldwide and spreading the Chow love..

[TJordan]

Oh you and Chutters are doing such a good thing. I always wanted Butters to be a therapy dog, then he turned into a monster. I am happy one utters can bring joy!!

And amberlea congrats. It makes me smile thinking of ya'lls chows doing so much good!

[IliamnasQuest]

Khana is currently working as a Service Dog (in an official capacity as provided by Federal laws) and prior to that she was registered as a Pet Partner (Delta Society therapy dog program).

The difference between therapy dogs and SDs is considerable. A therapy dog is a well-socialized, obedience, friendly dog that is handled by the owner and taken to places to visit with people who would benefit from interacting with a warm, furry critter. There are places that can help train and register therapy dogs, and even provide insurance in some cases, but there are currently no laws in place that require any specific training or certification in order for a dog to be a therapy dog. I used to take Kylee to the nursing home here, and then took each of my dogs at times (Trick and Tori - German shepherds - and Kylee, Dora and Khana - chows). The only one ever registered under a therapy dog service was Khana, but since the nursing home wasn't signed up through Delta Society, the registration didn't really mean anything in that case (the facilities you visit have to be registered with the organization that registers your dog).

Service Dogs, on the other hand, are specifically trained to assist one person with a disability. They must be impeccably socialized and obedient, and be trained in tasks that help the person to live a normal life. SDs and their handlers have rights under federal law and SDs must be allowed into stores, restaurants, planes, etc. But businesses CAN ask that the dog be removed if it acts in a manner that is detrimental to the clientelle (or is overall disruptive). SD trainers keep detailed logs of the dog's training, certifications for classes completed or titles earned, health records (SDs need to be very sound dogs so hip/elbow/patella etc. certifications are important), etc. A person with a disability cannot be (legally, by a business) asked about their disability when out with their dog, but they can be asked about the tasks their dog is trained to do to help mitigate that disability. And if it comes down to it, a person may have to prove to a judge that their dog is truly a Service Dog and not just a dog you want to be able to take into a store with you. You may also need to keep a record from your doctor to prove that you do, indeed, have a disability that can be somewhat alleviated through the use of a Service Dog.

I don't know what Zorro's Dynasty does to train their dogs to be therapy/service animals. Therapy dogs just need to know the basics so that they're obedient. Service dogs need to be trained for specific behaviors that suit a particular person. This is the first I've ever heard of someone who breeds chows and says that they train them for service dogs. It looks like they're not from the U.S. maybe so the laws could be different in their area.

I think it's fantastic for everyone with a sweet-tempered chow to pursue the therapy dog certifications/registrations. It's a great way to share our breed with the world! And people really love the look and feel of a chow. Be sure to teach your chow to accept people hanging onto handfuls of fur .. *L* .. when visiting the nursing home there were several times when a resident grabbed a handful of warm fur and then didn't want to let go. My girls were completely patient with them but I do specifically teach them to accept having their fur tugged on.

If you have a medically recognized disability and you want to train your chow for Service Dog work (as I have) then you'll need to put a lot more into the training. You'll need to recognize and train for specific things that your dog could do for you (Khana brings me things, picks up things I drop [she actually picked up a pair of scissors for me today - she is SO careful and gentle when she picks things up], carries things in a pack that I need when we go places, steadies me when I stand up [and even allows me to hold her fur and tail to help me stand - she doesn't mind at ALL] ) and then keep a training log as you go through the training for each of these tasks. These are the tasks that make your dog a SD and not just a pet.

Chows are not the easiest breed to train for some of these tasks because they are pretty independent. But once they choose to help you, they're wonderful! There's a reason why most SDs are golden retrievers or labs or shepherds - the time to consistently train them is less than it usually is to train a chow. With Khana, her training had been ongoing before I decided to do the actual SD training - she had earned her RN, RA, RE and CD along with her therapy dog designation before I chose to go on with the SD training. I had planned to use a GSD but the young one is going to take another couple of years to settle down enough for the brain to kick in, I think .. *L*

I just learned that Redcloud Kennels is putting together a website. The Redcloud chows are bred for temperament and soundness (Khana is a Redcloud chow). If anyone is interested in a well-bred chow for a potential therapy/service dog, I highly recommend them! http://www.redcloudchows.com (website is in the process of being completed).

Melanie and the gang in Alaska

[kiwani]

... It looks like they're not from the U.S. maybe so the laws could be different in their area.

Their web site locates them in Virginia



Excerpt:

Our Trainer is a member of Delta Society, the American Therapy and Service Dog association. She is certified as a permanent staff member of the Therapy/Service Dog Institute of Vienna Veterinarian University. She moved to the US in 1999, and is continuing her work here. Her daughter's 9-year-old Service Dog flew in the cabin of the airliners, with the daughter and her wheelchair, from Austria, through Paris, to Dulles International without any problems, even though this was the first flight for either dog or daughter.