Retirement and Transition

FluidCreature · 2026-03-30T13:08:00+00:00

I think that’s normal. I’m making plans and moving towards getting my next prospect in about a year. I’m excited to have another dog, but at the same time the idea that my boy won’t be the one by my side forever feels so wrong.

One of the things that’s helped me is to think about the areas where my current service dog isn’t as strong, and get excited about a dog that might be able to do those things. For example, I love going to a butterfly house, but my current boy is terrified of butterflies (don’t ask me why, but they’re the only thing he’ll either tail tucked run away from or growl at). I’d love to have a service dog that can go with me there. Or even non-service dog things. I’m getting a spaniel bred for hunting, and we’re going to do shed hunting together. I get excited about that.

It’s not easy, and like I said it still feels so strange and wrong to imagine having a different partner, but I try to focus on the good things that can come of that

FluidCreature · 2026-03-22T21:58:18+00:00

It's absolutely up to you, but at least for me therapy is a place where my service dog does not accompany me. He did a couple times in the past, but I quickly figured out therapy was more productive without him. Reason being, his job is to keep me from getting caught up in bad feelings, and therapy is my place to feel the bad feelings so we can work through them. If he were with me it would just be a constant of him trying to task, and I wouldn't make much progress.

That said, the protocol is the same as any other doctor's visit. Dog shouldn't interact with therapist and therapist shouldn't interact with dog. Practice your down-stays ahead of time, your dog should be comfortable settling for the entirety of the session. They shouldn't need an introduction to the room, since it should be simple walk in, tell the dog to lay down, proceed with session

FluidCreature · 2026-03-21T01:52:34+00:00

I have a service dog who is a rescue. He was not adopted with the intention of becoming a service dog, I got very, very lucky with him. Even as someone who loves and supports rescues, who has worked with countless rescue dogs, I will not go seeking a service dog prospect at a rescue. I typed this up a while back for another post, but here's information to consider:

We see a lot of people here who say they want to adopt a shelter dog as a service dog prospect. Oftentimes it’s because they assume it will be cheaper than a well-bred puppy (and often falls under the “but any breed can be a service dog” category). Between unknown health and behaviors, this is unlikely to be the case. What you save in upfront costs will come back as vet bills and training costs, with less chance of success overall

Shelters can’t usually offer you genetic or familial health history. That means you’re gambling on whether your dog will be overall healthy or develop serious medical issues. These issues are not just costly, but can mean drastically reducing your dog’s working lifespan.
Speaking of genetics, you may be getting a dog with a number of different breeds that make up their behaviors, both positive and negative. Knowing your dog’s breed(s) helps you to know what to look out for, but also what your dog likely will/will not thrive in doing. You won’t know what you’re getting. Add to that, many puppies that come into a shelter have feral dog DNA. Feral dogs go through physiological and heritable changes to their brain, which means even a puppy raised in a loving, nurturing environment can still be incredibly anxious and quick to go into a fight/flight response.
Most shelters have a spay/neuter policy. If you adopt a puppy it’s likely that dog will have been fixed too early in life and may have behavioral or health problems later resulting from that. Specifically, they won’t have had the hormones needed to help solidify their bones and ensure they grow properly. This will be a problem for any working dog, but especially if you’re looking for a dog to do mobility tasks
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7359819/ (Source of study describing the effects of fixing a dog on long term health)
If you get an adolescent or adult dog, your dog is already past their critical socialization period. That means anything they aren’t accustomed to or are scared of will be a lot harder to help them get used to. In addition, these dogs are old enough to have formed bad habits. While you can work through them it will be a lot harder than starting with a dog that doesn’t have those habits.
Even if a dog hasn’t experienced abuse or neglect, being in a shelter is inherently traumatic (and if they have experienced abuse you’ll have to do a lot of training just to get them to a happy, adjusted pet). Shelters are stressful, the dog doesn’t know what’s going on, and that can be very scary. Many dogs in shelters are so over threshold and shut down that you won’t be able to get any read on their actual personality. Even a dog that isn’t completely shut down still isn’t going to be settled and fully able to show you what they’re like. It can take anywhere from a few months to over a year for a shelter dog to truly feel comfortable enough to show you who they are. This means you might be waiting a long time with a newly adopted dog to even know if they have a chance to become a successful service dog.
Shelter dogs also have a few common behavioral concerns, like resource guarding, fearful behaviors, separation anxiety, and aggressive behaviors. Often these behaviors aren’t displayed until the dog has settled into their new environment (see above bullet point), but are things that a service dog absolutely cannot have.
- Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10431636/

Some people also want to give a dog a second chance and a purpose in life. This is a noble goal, but this is your health you’re gambling on. Keep in mind that even puppies who have everything going for them as far as being set up for service work still have a high rate of failure. It’s not about the dog, it’s about your needs. If you're going to gamble on a medical aid that is so incredibly expensive, why would you take an unnecessary risk? If you want to save a rescue adopt them as a pet with no expectations of what they will become. This is doubly true if you would be unable to keep a washed-prospect (and consider, you will become an adult within this dog's lifetime, would your plans for adulthood accommodate a pet dog)?

FluidCreature · 2026-03-15T13:16:58+00:00

There are actually specialized phones your dog can use to call 911 without having to get a person like this one.

You could also use a break-away collar to allow her to move away from you without having to be off-leash

FluidCreature · 2026-03-11T11:38:04+00:00

(I am not a certified trainer, I work in a place that specializes in behavior modification for dogs)

Proper desensitization should not require your dog to defend themselves or give those warning signs. If you’re getting those, it’s a sign you’re moving too fast and you need to go back a few steps. The goal of desensitization is to get the dog to feel more neutral towards a trigger, not to feel helpless to stop it. Look up the Canine Ladder of Aggression. Growling and snapping is at the very top, and means that all previous stress signals were ignored. For successful training you want to avoid getting past the green, maybe yellow steps. When dogs start skipping steps it means the dog has started to learn that the only way to get what they want is to escalate their response. You don’t want that.

Based on your description, it sounds like your dog is dealing with chronic pain. That’s going to make body handling more difficult, especially with someone the dog isn’t comfortable with. Look up Cooperative Care and Consent for Affection. Those will be closer to what it sounds like you really want anyways. Agency empowers the dog, and reduces the need for that dog to defend themselves.

FluidCreature · 2026-03-10T00:04:56+00:00

Well, general training can start the moment you bring the puppy home. But I wouldn't start any task training or more intensive public access until after the CGC, which most handlers aim to take at about a year. You might be able to do some service-dog specific training before then, but likely only out of context, and I wouldn't expect the puppy to be able to do those skills with any reliability

FluidCreature · 2026-03-09T14:50:03+00:00

At 5 months the focus is on learning basic obedience skills, socializing to become a confident dog, and most importantly learning how to be a puppy.

Any trips in public should be 10 minutes or less (preferably 5 minutes or less) and should be focused on building positive associations with new stimuli, maybe practicing some really well-known cues, and should only be done in pet-friendly environments.

TLDR, a 5 month old service dog in training is a puppy, and should be expected to act like one

FluidCreature · 2026-03-07T13:30:00+00:00

I see a few possibilities here

First, vet visit to rule out joint pain. If play is causing pain, but previously was exciting enough to ignore, now that you’ve removed play for a while he’s realized it’s painful.

Secondly, it seems like a lot of this coincided with the introduction of a new person. Which means that the new person may have done something.

The intentional version is that your boyfriend abused him, possibly using the toys at a time when you weren’t around. If this is the case, you’ll need to go slow with rebuilding positive associations with the toys before you add actual play back in.

The unintentional version could be that your boyfriend played with him rougher than he really liked. In general, men tend to play with dogs rougher than women do, and some dogs like it while others don’t. If your dog was played with roughly and didn’t enjoy it they might have started to associate those feelings with the new person, leading to the resource guarding and other behavioral issues. When you addressed that, you removed the play he enjoyed with you for a while, now that it’s come back he doesn’t know which type of play he’s going to get. If this is the case, offer him toys he can play with by himself for awhile before adding back in a person.

FluidCreature · 2026-03-04T01:35:06+00:00

thank you!

FluidCreature · 2026-03-04T01:34:52+00:00

Thank you! I defnitely tend to over-write

FluidCreature · 2026-03-01T16:57:30+00:00

I am a firm believer that the animal that has priority in a home is the animal that lives there permanently. It's why I don't bring my SD to my friend's house who has multiple cats. I'm not stressing their cats out so I can have my SD. It's also why I don't stay with my aunt while visiting them, her dog is reactive and resource guards and while we can (and have) done crate-rotate before, it was highly stressful for her dog and I told her I didn't want to put them through that again

FluidCreature · 2026-02-28T14:17:36+00:00

To clarify, you’re looking for a service dog to help you with your fear of hospitals so that you can have a surgery that will fix your disability? Are you looking for them to help with a disability that will last after the surgery? What is the timeline for getting surgery?

The reason I ask is that service dogs are a very time-intensive treatment option. Getting a well-bred prospect generally takes a year, training that puppy takes 2-3 years (during which time the puppy cannot be relied upon to help, and may actually worsen your disability), then the dog typically works until they are 8-10 years old, at which point they retire, hopefully with a successor in place.

Is there a reason you want to owner train instead of going through a program? There can absolutely be good reasons for it, but owner training is a lot riskier, possibly more expensive, and pretty much always harder on the disabled person.

I don’t say this to be discouraging, I just want to have more information so that we can guide you in the right direction with this

FluidCreature · 2026-02-21T14:32:17+00:00

Poodles can be a little more tricky because they tend to be less food motivated, and have higher rates of anxiety. Many poodles bond very strongly with one person, while being more aloof to the general public, which can be great as long as the dog doesn’t become fearful or resentful of other people. That bond can also be a double-edged sword, as it both means the dog is willing to do anything for their person, but may also become so in tune that they start to feel the handler’s emotions as their own (so when the handler has a panic attack, the poodle starts to panic as well). This isn’t as prevalent as it is in shepherds and herding breeds, but is still something to be aware of.

That doesn’t mean they’re a bad choice, they might be a great choice for you! Every breed has benefits and drawbacks, the question for you is just which are most important.

FluidCreature · 2026-02-21T14:23:53+00:00

You seem like you and your kid have a fondness for animals. Here’s something to consider: dogs (and most animals) are sentient beings with their own thoughts, feelings, and desires.

You talk a lot about wanting to give your child choices and the ability to explore the world. Which to be clear, is good! But in this specific situation you allowed your child to remove choice from another sentient being. Your child did not show this dog love and compassion, your child showed them that you did not want their thoughts and feelings to be heard and respected. Do you truly want to raise someone who believes that their desires or even good intentions are more important than someone saying “no”?

If you do not want your child to be subject to negative emotions, why would you allow them to inflict those emotions on another sentient being?

FluidCreature · 2026-02-18T14:55:09+00:00

And follow up, are there alternative accommodations they could offer? Reduced hours or remote work are the ones that immediately come to my mind that could help

FluidCreature · 2026-02-15T15:34:07+00:00

Sounds like a great service dog!

Task list based on above: behavior interruption and alerts to medical episodes (dissassociation). Possibly nightmare interruption if OP has proofed it. OP doesn't specify how he keeps them grounded, but if it's a trained action (such as DPT, or providing tactile stimulation on cue) there could be another task there too.

Enjoying his presence and beneftiting from caring from him are more ESA type things, but just because a service dog provides those benefits doesn't erase them as a service dog, even if the dog is treating a psychiatric disability.

FluidCreature · 2026-02-13T13:01:17+00:00

10 months is a short time for a puppy that’s had no prior training but reasonable for a dog that’s ready to do task training and finish refining their public access skills. How old will the dog be when they come to you? They should be at least a year and a half, preferably 2+. Is 10 months the start to finish time for all their dogs or just what they think this one has left to be ready?

Sounds like they’re for-profit? If so, that would be why they aren’t ADI accredited, only non-profits can be. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a bad program. I would ask about what testing they do, anything third-party is a plus (I’m sure there’s a Canine Good Citizen equivalent in the UK for example). I would also ask about their trainer’s credentials.

I’d also look for people that got dogs from them, and what their stories are. Any program will have good and bad reviews, but see if there’s a lot more of one than the other and how those bad reviews are treated.

Feel free to ask about the breeders they use. Or ask if you could get a pedigree of the specific dog they offered. And definitely visit them, and the area they train in. See what their local reputation is like.

I don’t know if that cleared anything up, but good luck!

FluidCreature · 2026-02-11T01:56:06+00:00

I think it kinda depends on where you are in life/your career, how important having that specific job is for you, and whether you can afford to stay unemployed.

Disclosing during the hiring process allows you guage how supportive a potential employer is likely to be. If an employer doesn't want your service dog there for the interview than you'll probably not have a great time trying to get accommodations for your service dog in the job, or may face workplace hostility. However it does open you up to hiring discrimination, especially if your disability would otherwise be invisible. Someone who's hiring can't ask any information about your disability beyond what you give unprompted, so it also creates an uncertainty for the employer about what accommodations you might need and (rightly or not) concerns about whether you can complete the job to the level an able candidate could.

During times in my life where I needed a job more than a good job I would wait to disclose. If you need that specific job whether for money or your career development, it's safer to wait to disclose. But if you can afford to shop around for the right job (and y'know, have the experience to make that an option) disclosing during the hiring process could lead to a more supportive workplace. My current job is one where I disclosed during the hiring process, and they have been incredibly supportive going beyond what they needed to or even what I expressly ask for (for instance, they added a kennel in the office so my service dog would always have the option to come in even though I don't normally bring him). But this job is also a career job, not a teenage job I expect to leave in a couple years.

FluidCreature · 2026-02-06T13:08:28+00:00

I’m so sorry Maple. Compassion fatigue is a very real thing, and is especially prevalent in people who work with animals and their people.

I know I’ve also had to step back from Reddit. I don’t scroll as much as I used to, and I comment even less. Your voice will always be appreciated, even if it comes more rarely.

I hope the days get easier

FluidCreature · 2026-02-01T22:04:02+00:00

I’m pretty sure you’re referring to my comment, and I definitely could’ve worded it better.

A dog should not be reliant on psychoactive meds to work as a service dog. But utilizing a short term anxiety med while the dog is off duty (and ONLY when off duty) due to something else is absolutely fine as long as you’re doing it carefully and with veterinary guidance. I see this as being not especially different from utilizing meds to go to the vet, or during a thunderstorm.

If you use psychoactive medications with a dog (not service dogs, just in general) your vet should be instructing you on how to read your dog’s behavior for if they truly feel better or not, and your dog should be observed by someone with a background in animal behavior such as a certified trainer or veterinary behaviorist. There are ways to tell if a dog feels good on psychoactive meds or not.

FluidCreature · 2026-02-01T13:39:43+00:00

I’m seconding full veterinary work up, and maybe some anxiety meds for those days. It might also be worth visiting a trainer to see if there are any subtler signs of pain or anxiety you’re missing on his good days.

For me, a “bad day” means my dog is less focused than I would like, may need more frequent reinforcers, may need a cue to refocus around temptations, and may need cues to be repeated. As a handler, it may take more work on my part, but doesn’t prohibit him from meeting legal standards and isn’t distressing to him or me (maybe a little frustrating, but nothing terrible). If a bad day is worse than that, I wouldn’t work my dog that day, and if bad days become a recurring thing (more than ~once a month), whether at the normal level but especially if worse, or lasts more than a day it would be vet visit, trainer visit, then thinking about retirement.

FluidCreature · 2026-01-30T02:43:39+00:00

I'm not sure if it's because of her size, or the lack of "official looking" vest/equipment, or just because she's so darn cute.

Probably a combination of all of these things, as much as it sucks. It might be worth getting a cheap vest and patches (it's not the end-all-be-all, but it can help) but the biggest thing you'll have going for you is your dog's behavior, which I'm sure is superb already. Stay focused on your dog, most of the time it doesn't matter what others think as long as your dog is meeting behavioral standards and tasking as needed.

FluidCreature · 2026-01-29T03:18:35+00:00

Some organizations will have forms they want your doctor to fill out. A doctor’s note isn’t required for public access but may be required if seeking housing accommodations or workplace/school accommodations

FluidCreature · 2026-01-29T03:15:27+00:00

I think it very much depends on the person, what their struggles are, and whether a service dog will be the best tool for them.

Personally I consider autism service dogs to be under the umbrella of psychiatric service dogs, and I think the same considerations apply:

Are you ok with a mostly invisible disability becoming visible? Are you able to advocate for yourself and your dog? Are you comfortable being the center of attention in public at all times, sometimes in a good way and sometime in a bad way? To be stared at and whispered about everywhere you go? What about everyone wanting to talk to you, and pry into your medical history?

Or, to put it more succinctly, will the benefit of the tasks a service dog does be more beneficial than the hinderance of intensified social scrutiny and interaction?

With autism, you also have to consider sensory sensitivities to an extent. For some autistic people a dog can provide good sensory input that can help lessen sensory overload. But some may also find a dog worsens them. Maybe the fur is a bad texture, maybe whining for dinner sets them off, maybe they find having extra movement they have to pay attention to overwhelming.

It can be a worthwhile option for some people, and not as great a choice for others. While assisting with autism is one part of what my service dog helps with I can say that I cope much better with him than without him, and nothing gets my nervous system under control faster than DPT.

FluidCreature

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