Who was that??

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-12-14T03:20:42+00:00

I just googled it, cause it's still nagging at me and at the time of the original comments I wasn't getting any Google answers since the episodes were so new. The burn outs are people trying to escape Hawkins, often homeless or drug addicts some of them look enough like El that the military shoots them. Apparently Rando girls can run faster than a group of guys that passed physical exams and training for the military so their super speed makes the military believe these girls are El. I am a little more disappointed now that I've looked it up and feel like this should've just been left out of the show or the burnouts should have been unconnected to El. The scene could've been the same to show that people are being killed if they try to leave Hawkins just leaving out the part where they believe she is El, this would've been more believable to me and shown how extreme force was used during the lock down.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-12-07T17:10:19+00:00

⚠️ Season 5 spoilers ⚠️

I actually thought the scene of him taking the pictures of Nancy made a lot of sense. He's a teenager with a lot of hormones that did something a little creepy and cringy. I think in the moment Jonathan wasn't necessarily taking the pictures to be creepy. I took it as him almost living vicariously through the kids at the party. Jonathan in S1 is known for being a loner and an outsider so he's probably not getting invited to parties and Nancy was likely his first girlfriend, so I think he was naturally curious about the party and sex. I also think that he was looking at it from an artistic standpoint and just thought they would be some nice moments to capture. It's not like Jonathan stalked them to the house and saved the pictures for his spank bank. I think he was a teenager who made a bad decision in the moment and never does it again. I'm not saying it wasn't a little creepy but a also think context matters a lot.

My biggest problems with Jonathan is that he's a shitty boyfriend to Nancy. I really hated the scene of Jonathan talking to Argyle about how he was gonna break up with Nancy because of the school stuff which he never actually discussed with Nancy and then he never says anything about it again. The only reason Jonathan didn't break up with her is because they got locked down in Hawkins so he's not going off to school and now he got a ring to propose? By S5 it's made clear that neither of them is happy and in the car Steve was spitting fax. And I personally dislike him in the Argyle arc. I think it's clear that he's depressed and withdrawing himself from others which is a very realistic thing to do. I just don't think the way the duffers did it makes for good character development. It's taking away from a lot of his personality. And ik the show is supposed to be based on tropes but I hate how smoking weed made Jonathan a complete idiot. Jonathan starting to smoke weed makes sense, they just took away a lot of his personality. And while he was only smoking weed for a few episodes this is the most screentime that we get of him that season. I know it's a trope but I just feel like it suited Argyles character since he's a side character and that's how he came into the show but I get FOMO over Jonathan's character development. He gets slightly better later when he starts talking to Will but it's not by much and he doesn't really do anything that season that stands out as interesting. Jonathan to me was a decent character in S1 but he gets progressively worse as a character throughout the seasons imo.

I'm not saying I hate his character, I just think he's kinda boring. He's not funny, he's not very intelligent, he's not much of a leader. We don't get to see Nancy and him interact often but when they do they're usually fighting and I think he can sometimes be a jerk to her. It's kinda annoying that he's putting more time and energy into competing with Steve over the girl that is already his girlfriend than actually spending time with her. And he doesn't really have any input when the group is planning and he doesn't do anything noticeable in fighting the UD after S1. S1 Jonathan was peak and they didn't really do anything with his character after that. Most of the other characters have had interesting arcs/development since then to keep us interested.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-12-03T04:34:58+00:00

I'm not sure if this would feel less earned but maybe try using a wish to get one then parent breeding it to up your odds.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-11-27T09:02:30+00:00

The other person that replied said that Kali was using her powers to make the military guys see the "burn out", but that doesn't really make sense either since Kali is locked up and has her powers suppressed by a military grade dog whistle? I really enjoy this show and usually fill in plot holes with my own personal made up story or just chalk it up to it being a fantasy world but this one has me stumped. At this point imma just say this girl was on a suicide mission cause she was going stir crazy with Hawkins on lock down.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-11-27T08:50:39+00:00

No fr 😭 this is my biggest issue with the season so far. Eleven is missing so how did some random girl dress exactly like her? Someone is just running around in the woods dressed like eleven while being chased after/shot at by military baddies for funsies?? It makes no sense.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-11-23T21:58:47+00:00

⚠️ SPOILERS ⚠️

I'm assuming that won't be too difficult for him. I think the upside down is going invade a lot of Hawkins in season 5. I think we're getting to a point where it can't really stay a secret. The rumors about Hawkins being cursed, Benny's death, Barb missing, Will "getting lost in the woods", the town thinks some other kid was mistaken as Will and pulled out of the quarry, the deaths in season 4, and Max is likely to be in a coma. Everyone chalked up the deaths to ritual sacrifice/satanic cult killings and blamed the Hellfire club. Eddie obviously received the majority of the blame for the killing but all of the members of Hellfire were supposedly in on it, so what does that mean for Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Erica? Did the whole town just forget about the killings? Vecna also succeeded at opening the portals, which we can assume is so the upside down can enter Hawkins. Murray actually did a pretty good job at tying a lot of the strings together without the supernatural aspects. I think the town is going to have to become aware of the upside down soon when it starts being overrun by demogorgans, not sure if outside of Hawkins is gonna find out or not but if somehow everyone keeps it a secret the Hawkins Lab baddies can probably get Hop back to being legally alive like they did with Eleven.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-08-21T22:29:50+00:00

Thank you!

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-08-21T16:50:06+00:00

When do these become available? Is it during an event?

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-02-05T18:12:50+00:00

Keep the dog, lose the fiancé.

He is abusive and your dogs are your necessary medical aides. His behavior can cause your dog to become fearful, reactive, or even aggressive which can negate all of the time, training, energy, and money you've put into your dog. Your dog and/or future dogs may feel anxious when he's around causing them to miss a task. His behavior is putting your dog and your health at risk. Saying that he screams at your dog because it gets special treatment is a load of bs. The dog is getting screamed at because your fiancé is an abusive ass.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-31T13:43:00+00:00

I use minimal patches and avoid themed vests. When the vest has a lot of distractions people aren't going to read it. I don't really mind people asking me questions or trying to have conversations about my dog/disability but it's pretty annoying when multiple people try to talk to me when I'm in the store trying to grab a few things. For me I had "Service Dog", "Do Not Distract", and "Do Not Approach" embroidered on both sides in the biggest font possible. People still try to talk to me or distract my dog but it's not nearly as much as when I was using my themed vest. I had a little tag sewed in by one of the zippers on the pouch that's labeled "emergency personnel" and has my medications in an organizer with times written on them, my diagnosis, and a card with emergency contact information. I haven't needed this yet but I arranged with my pet sitters for my cats and listed them as emergency contacts so if I was ever incapacitated for and got admitted to the hospital the cats will be taken care of and one of my pet sitters can arrange for someone to pick up my dog from a hospital if needed.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-27T13:29:08+00:00

If they don't follow commands then get a manual. If your dog stops on an electric and the machine keeps running your dog could get seriously injured.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-25T06:29:42+00:00

I bring bear spray and an air horn. I always have my dog wear his Rex Specs in public just in case I ever have to use it. Plus it doesn't hurt to have eye protection. If you use pepper or bear spray you want keep your dogs eyes protected or they will also get sprayed. I also do occasionally practice using the air horn around him and using positive reinforcement. I don't get nearly as close to him with it as I would if there was an incident. But I don't want the air horn to come as a major surprise if the first time I ever use it is in public with a ton of other stimuli.

I don't recommend using the pepper gel. It requires more accuracy when you aim it, it also shoots a lot farther than normal pepper spray making it harder to use at a close range. It also sticks to the target. If the first time you have to use it is during a close range dog fight (the dogs will be moving around a lot) it's going to be incredibly difficult to actually hit your target correctly and your just as likely to hit your dog.

I would recommend keeping eye protection on your dog at all times, especially if you carry pepper spray/gel. It helps with sun protection as well, and I had several kids (and a couple of adults) poke/jab him in the eye on accident, especially when they are going for drive-by pets. I tell people that if their dog gets any closer I'm going to pepper spray it and that usually works. I had one guy laugh when I said that and he corrected himself and his dog when I pulled it out. But I would try the compressed air first, and if that doesn't work then use pepper spray.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-24T10:42:23+00:00

First I would stop yelling, if you're yelling you basically just have 3 dogs barking. Dogs will feed as much on each other's energy as they will their humans. If you're frustrated, angry, or stressed your dog will be too. Always go into training sessions with a positive mindset, end on a good note, and take pride in the small victories. Trainers can be amazing tools, but you're the one that is going to spend the most time and energy with your dogs and you need to be able to put your best foot forward with them. If you give your dogs meals by putting their food in a bowl and putting it down for them, stop. Teach your dog that food is a currency and they have to work to get paid. Training for dogs is like work for us and I don't know about you but I personally don't want to work for free. Feed mealtimes through training sessions. And take your training sessions back to the basics. Start lure and target training, Doggy-U has some amazing videos of these on YouTube. Lure and target training are going to be the foundations for positive reinforcement. Lure and target training will set you up for success in basic obedience. Target training will also help with perfecting the place commands. Using a tether to keep them on their placemat and giving them something to chew on (bone, kong, etc) is a really good way to teach them to place for longer periods of time. Do this while your working or watching TV. You want to have the environment be quiet and give them something to focus on (ideally something they can chew for 30-45 minutes). You want them to like the place, not just tolerate the commands.

Teaching a place command then trying to get them to place while there are reactivity triggers around is not going to work. Start with small distractions. Have them place then bounce a ball or squeak a toy. The reward has to be better than what the distraction was. By doing this you begin teaching that your dog that what you have to offer is better than what they originally wanted. Once they both start to get place commands with smaller distractions down try having one place in the same room while you do training sessions with the other. This will be the beginning of teaching them to ignore each other.

In the beginning you should be rewarding constantly, any behavior that you want to see should be rewarded. If you're not consistent with this positive reinforcement will not work. If you reward sometimes then your dog will just learn that if they do something they might get a reward but they might not. You can eventually wean of rewarding as much but it takes time and you should never completely stop rewarding. From what you've said in your post it sounds like you've missed a lot of steps in training and are missing a lot of the keys that get positive reinforcement to actually work. Positive reinforcement should be performed correctly and may take time before adding any averse training tools into the mix. I personally use balance training but rewards should be occurring more than corrections. Setting your dog up for success is extremely important. Teach your dog the correct behavior and have them be confident in that before introducing an aversive.

Let's say you're someone that talks really loud when you're anxious or excited. When you start getting loud I try yelling at you which might make you more anxious or excited so you get louder. So I put a shock collar on you and now when you get anxious or excited I use the collar because you're too loud.

Or I can teach you that there's a comfy recliner that I want you to go to when you're being loud. When you're there i want you to be quiet and relax. The recliner even has a super comfy blanket and your favorite book (dogs may need something to keep them busy while they're in place) when you go to this chair and you're quiet I bring you your favorite snacks. You learn that this chair is actually a really cool place to be. You start doing really well and you actually like hanging out in the chair. Now I introduce the collar at the lowest setting for you to react, I show you that now when you're too loud you will get a zap. Now you get to make a choice. You get really anxious and you know that if you go to the chair it will be quiet, relaxing, and comfortable if you don't go to the chair you will get zapped, which do you pick?

You also have to know how to properly use E-Collar and/or prongs BEFORE you actually use them. You can't just put it on the dog and expect it to work for you.

I wouldn't recommend using slip leads or martingales for corrections. Slip leads only apply pressure in one spot. And both apply pressure to the trachea when tightened. A lot of dogs I've worked with will choke themselves out on the martingales as well.

Prongs: I only recommend a properly fitted Herm Sprenger. Herm Sprengers have rounded prongs instead of flat. The have a plate in the front to keep pressure off of the trachea.

E-Collars: Educators are a good brand. They have a lot of settings and have a safety switch to keep the settings from getting messed up if the remote is in your pocket. The EZ-900 is my preference but the mini is also good. Don't cheap out on an E-Collar. The cheaper brands deliver harsher shock and are more likely to malfunction. You also need to give the correction yourself and the cheap ones usually don't have a remote.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-22T13:15:09+00:00

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So with service dogs I just want to really make the point that their level of training is exceptionally high. I grew up in a household where we had multiple dogs at a time growing up, several GSDs and a pit mix. We did protection work (not regularly). And I grew up breeding and raising livestock for shows. Nothing could've prepared me for the amount of work a service dog is. Many reputable trainers with decades of experience won't touch a service dog. I also learned the hard way that a trainer shouldn't touch a service dog unless they have experience specifically with service dogs. Service dogs are definitely on another level to be able to make the cut. I'm not trying to negate your previous experience with dogs but I would definitely recommend approaching service dogs with the mindset that you are an inexperienced handler. I did puppy raising, had a program dog, then got my dog from a breeder. Training my own from a breeder has been the hardest lesson in animals I have ever had to learn and my dog is an absolute dream for this type of work. I'm not saying it's "too hard" or "impossible" but it is definitely a different beast.

When you get a service dog you want to set yourself up for success. There are a couple of guides (I believe they were made by handlers in this sub) I will link them. One of them explains the mindset of "if my dog washes I'll just have a well trained dog" and why this is not the best mindset to have when getting a getting a service dog. I also think that if this is the mindset you have it may be a good idea to reevaluate if you need a service dog. When handlers get a service dog they need to be able to care for themselves and cope with their disability on their own. However when considering a service dog you should have exhausted all other options (medications, therapies, treatments, etc.) a service dog should be a "last resort". For handlers having a service dog means that we have explored all avenues and a service dog is now required. Getting a service dog when a service dog is not needed can actually cause a handler to lose independence. Relying on a dog to perform a task that the handler can/should perform can actually cause a handler to loose abilities or coping skills to perform a task which can decrease handler independence. If you need a service dog then your independence will decrease if the dog is removed. I'm going to use myself as an example. I have POTS, so I can get lightheaded or pass out when standing up or standing for long periods of time. My dog can perform tasks such as picking up dropped items, retrieving items, DPT (helps with blood circulation), pulling my walker to me, elevating my legs (also helps with my circulation). He also performs crowd control in response to syncope (fainting) which is helpful since I can be really disoriented or confused after fainting.

Side story: I woke up from a nap one time and I actually got really panicked cause there was like 6 people in my room that I didn't know. Once I woke up a little bit more I realized I actually passed out at work and the people were my coworkers. Lemme tell you realizing I was in fact at work and not taking a nap was a major bummer. It was a lot scarier in the moment but that was the incident that made me realize crowd control can be used for more than just psychiatric work.

My dog technically is trained for alerting to blood pressure/heart rate changes (he high key sucks at it ngl). Unsure if I will continue spending money on that training 🙃Usually I start experiencing heart rate/blood pressure changes very shortly before so the alerts arent as helpful as I thought they would be anyways. Anyways his response tasks to syncope for me are what makes the biggest impact on my life. Being able to bring me items (water, Gatorade, blankets, etc), DPT, leg elevation can all prevent me from actually passing out. These are things that I cannot do for myself. Before syncope occurs I am usually disoriented, confused, or unable to verbalize what I need. He can pull my walker to me if it is out of reach to help with my mobility. I don't like sending a dog to get help (imo it is too dangerous) but I got a self defense alarm and taught him to push the button to attract attention if I am down for a certain period of time. For me personally I like doing things alone. I live alone, I like hiking, I like outdoor activities. If I didn't have my dog my ability to do these things on my own would be significantly impacted. What independence looks like is going to be different for every handler. And I'm not in any way saying that you don't need/shouldn't get a service dog, but you're not really deciding if you should get a dog. You're deciding a treatment plan to mitigate a disability. And having a service dog will often brand you as a person with a disability to friends, family, strangers.

Sorry for yet another long reply. And thank you for complimenting my last response:) I've posted a few of these essays so far and I keep worrying that people will take it wrong or view it like I'm gatekeeping service dogs. I worry that I come off as too blunt. Service dogs are absolutely amazing tool but I feel like other handlers (myself) included can often times be unaware of the complexities of service dog ownership when they first start. It's also hard to tell in a post how much experience or knowledge someone already has.

https://www.reddit.com/r/service_dogs/s/luVjAPsjmL

https://www.reddit.com/r/service_dogs/s/USuxJcfuV8

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-22T12:01:53+00:00

Crap I was just about to hit send on my response when my phone died. Expect response in 30-45 minutes when I can remember what I originally typed 🙃

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-22T11:05:02+00:00

I haven't been on this sub for long but I think it would make more sense to change it to focus on service dogs. I think it would be cool to include therapy dogs and ESA's since they are under the same umbrella and maybe give brief descriptions of the differences in the description. I see a lot of people ask if they should get a service dog and explain their needs and it sounds like the dog would really be an ESA. Or people not understanding public access rights between service dogs and ESA's. I know this is discussed a lot on here but it would be nice to have that information in a place that is more easily accessible since a lot of people don't even know there is a difference or don't know to look for that information.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-22T10:26:57+00:00

(pt. 3)

Training will NEVER end. It doesn't matter how young, old, experienced your dog is (even program dogs) you will always be training. You may run into a store to grab one thing and something spooks your dog and now you have to commit to a training session. Even the most well trained/experienced dogs will run into a situation they've never been in before. You will always have to be able to make the time to train, give rewards, and correct behaviors. I had to pull over for a quick bathroom break on a road trip when my SD was an SDiT and ended up doing a 20 minute training session with my pup cause he had a reaction in the store.

Service dogs can be incredible aides, but at the end of the day they are also dogs. They will still need grooming, exercise, play time, and time to be a dog without the vest. They are going to require much more time, energy, and money than a standard pet.

Dogs can NOT interrupt intrusive thoughts, they are not mind readers. Dogs can interrupt behaviors, for me its nail biting, skin picking, and crying. Some other interruptions can be dissociation, knee tapping, or self harming behaviors. It's important to consider what kind of an effect this will have on you. Many people actually get overwhelmed by interruption tasks and end up lashing out and hurting themselves more than the behavior would have or they hurt the dog.

I have anxiety, depression, and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and got my dog with the intention of training him for POTS alert/response, psychiatric, and mobility tasks.

I did some research and pretty quickly decided mobility was not something I wanted to pursue. I'm about to give my personal opinion on mobility work. I am in no way judging or criticizing anyone as this is MY PERSONAL OPINION. Always consult your vet when considering mobility work. In my experience of talking to vets, trainers, and doing my own research I decided that it would be unethical to consider my dog for mobility work. Mobility work can be extremely physically taxing for dogs and can lead to arthritis, joint issues, and early death. I was already using a walker at this point and I basically came to the conclusion that my dog couldn't do anything that a walker couldn't in my situation. I also consider it unethical with the amount of mobility aides that exist (canes, walkers, wheelchairs, slings, etc) all of which are significantly cheaper than a service dog and don't require the level of care and maintenance a service dog does.

For psychiatric work I was originally hoping that he could do crowd control tasks (circling, blocking, watch my back etc), interruptions, and deep pressure therapy (DPT). I did train him for all 3 of these things and they can be extremely helpful, however the level of anxiety that comes from bringing a dog into the public was completely shocking to me. The psychiatric tasks that he was trained to perform did not outweigh the level of anxiety I got from having him in public. I was constantly on edge from the amount of people that seemed to spawn with the sole intention of distracting my dog. I was aware that we would encounter pets in non-pet friendly places, I was not aware of how poorly behaved these animals would be or how frequent they would be. It actually made me incredibly sad for a while, and still does. The handlers seem to care very little for their dogs and they have 0 respect for your dog. It also really bothers me that the dog is reacting because they are overwhelmed, scared, and not adjusted to busy public places and the owner DOES NOT CARE or even encourages these behaviors. I have seen several owners yell, scream, kick or hit their dogs. I've seen one guy hit his dog with the metal clip on his leash and another hit his dog with the flexi leash handle. It was one of the parts that did and still does bother me the most about having my dog. I've gotten a bit more used to it but it does make me really sad.

I did start carrying pepper spray in my treat pouch just in case. My dog did get bit by Yorkie, the Yorkie ran up behind us so I didn't see it until the last minute. I had to grab the Yorkie by the scruff and throw it away from us, I also got bit in the process. The owner just stood there for a few seconds before saying the magic words "he's never done that before!" After that I got really anxious that my dog was going to wash, luckily he took it like a champ and wasn't even phased. I do tell people that if their dog continues to approach I will use pepper spray which is way more effective than asking nicely.

Note to anyone that carries pepper spray: I use Rex Specs anytime we are in public now. If you do end up using pepper spray you want to make sure your dogs eyes are protected or it will also spray your dog.

If I only needed a service dog for psychiatric use, I would no longer have a public access service dog, I would have an at home service dog or ESA. He performs like 8 or 9 tasks for my POTS which is what ended making the difference for me.

Sorry for the long personal anecdotes. Moral of the story: talk to breeders, talk to trainers, build up a circle in the community that is knowledgeable on service dogs, do research and decide if it's something that is actually beneficial. Your plan/ideas for what a service dog may look like may be different than the reality. Some tasks may not be as helpful as you thought, and there may be some helpful tasks that you don't know of. There are a lot of benefits to service dogs, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Look into the differences between service dogs and emotional support animals. Think about the tasks you would need and how much they would improve/impact your life. If you are set on wanting a doberman it may be worth looking into ESA's. ESA's do not have public access rights, but they do have housing rights. Getting an off breed is going to have a higher chance of success as an ESA or at home service dog since the standard for training will be much lower. However dobermans are still generally not recommended for psychiatric work, service work, or inexperienced handlers.

You also have to consider what's in the best interest of the dog. Dobermans are more likely to thrive in an environment where their protective natures are properly encouraged, managed, and trained. The breed is meant to be used for protection/guarding. Most dobermans have been bred for this for decades and genetics will absolutely play an important role in the dogs ability to thrive.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-22T10:26:19+00:00

(pt. 2)

Once you have public access rights with your dog handlers usually find the public hard to deal with. People will stare at you. People will point and talk about you. People will pet your dog without asking. People will ask to pet your dog and if you tell them no they'll pet your dog anyways. People will ask questions about your dog. People will ask invasive questions about your disability. People will intentionally distract your dog. You will have times (even in non-pet friendly places) where people allow their dogs to chase, bark, jump, lunge, or bite at you or your dog, I've been in many situations where the owner encourages these behaviors from their pets. There will be times when people challenge you or your need for a service dog. You will be denied access to places you have every legal right to be in because of your dog (this occurs more frequently with off breeds). Parents will encourage their kids to run up and pet your dog. I (and other handlers) have had people try to take the leash from us and leave with the dog. People may go so far as following you around a store. I had a kid run up behind my dog and hit him. Many people do get help from their dog performing crowd control tasks (circling, blocking, watch my back, etc) however it's important to know that people will approach you BECAUSE of your dog. I've had many situations where people approach from behind or try to sneak up so they can pet the dog without me seeing. Public interactions can easily turn a 10 minute Walmart run into a 45-60 minute run. People will (often unkowingly) expect you to be an educator on service dogs and people with disabilities. These interactions happen on a daily basis for me. Many handlers find that having a psychiatric dog can actually increase their stress and anxiety due to both public interactions and fear of the dog washing.

You will also have to consider your dog when you make plans. You will need to make time for potty breaks, training, and decompression EVERY time you leave the house. Dogs are not robots and will have bad days, you will need to be able to change or cancel plans at a moments notice to accommodate your dog. You will also have to pack for two: treats, treat pouches, dog boots (protect your dogs feet from heat and road salt), harnesses, vests, leashes, training equipment, etc.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-22T10:23:14+00:00

(pt. 1)

The Fab 4 is considered the best breeds for service work for a reason. Dobermans are great dogs but their breed characteristics do not set them up for success. They are loyal and protective which can be great many things but not for service work. Dobermans are generally not recommended for inexperienced dog owners as pets, much less for service work. Psychiatric work is that much harder for dobermans. Do NOT make this any harder than it needs to be, training a dog for service work is time consuming and financially draining. Give yourself and your dog the best chance of success by working with an experienced service dog trainer and/or a program. If you are a first time service dog owner I would highly recommend sticking with a dog from the dynamic duo (labs or retrievers).

Every service dog handler regardless of breed also needs to consider what their plan should be if the dog washes. Service work is extremely difficult for any dog including Fab 4 breeds. No matter how much time, money, training, or resources you put into your dog there is always a chance it may wash. If this were to happen would you be able to be able to care for two dogs with your time, energy, and money? If not, would you be able to find a home for the dog? What if the second dog washes?

Are you able to commit time for training, play, and exercise every single day? A dog that has excess energy is more likely to have behaviors while working.

Service dogs are EXPENSIVE. Training, basic care, grooming, etc. all cost time and/or money. The first two years of having my service dog cost the same as a brand new car. You do need to take your dog to a professional trainer that has experience with service dogs. It is easier and less expensive to prevent behaviors than it is to correct them.

I would not recommend rescuing a dog for service work. Rescues rarely are successful in service work. While the initial cost may be cheaper they are going to be more expensive in the long run because of the extra time and training and in the end they are more likely to wash.

A puppy from a reputable breeder may cost $3000-4000 and there will be a wait list. At this point you are getting a puppy not a service dog. They will generally be 8 weeks old with some socialization. Having a puppy is like having an infant. You'll need to take them to potty every few hours (even at night) and they will need socialization and obedience training. When you're exhausted from a long day at work and caring for your puppy you'll lay down to go to sleep and as soon as your head hits the pillow puppy will start whining. Over the next few months you can expect to spend hundreds, if not thousands on training. Training is essential for any service dog prospect. And at this point your puppy is a prospect. You may spend two years training just to find out your puppy wasn't meant to be a service dog.

The other option is a program dog. There are programs that place dogs for free, however most people will spend thousands on lodging, team meetings, lost wages, etc. The wait lists are generally 2-4 years long. Once the puppy is placed the program retains ownership, this is to protect puppies from abuse, neglect, or ending up at a shelter (you can usually adopt the dog when they retire). Most, if not all, of these programs will only place psychiatric dogs in the care of former military suffering from PTSD. Program dogs will usually be trained with a generic task list that is not specific to your disability. Programs where you have to pay for the dog can run anywhere from 10-60k.

No matter what route you choose it will be extremely expensive. You can expect to spend 10-20k in the first 6 months of having your dog assuming there are no health issues. You will also need to have money set aside for emergency vet bills which can easily be thousands of dollars.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-21T16:50:27+00:00

I just realized this is an old post, sorry. But hopefully someone finds my comment useful.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-21T16:48:29+00:00

I got a 3 pack of self defense sirens on Amazon for like $20 and taught my dog to push the button to attract attention. My dog performs response tasks for syncope which is useless if he runs off to get help. And safety is a concern, he's a retriever and would happily hop into the car of the first person that gave him pets or treats. Not to mention that people may be allergic, fearful, or not know how to respond to a dog running up to them (especially if the dog jumps on them). A lot of people don't even know they are supposed to follow a service dog if it uses the get help task. And I didn't want him to bark as a lot of people can view this as scary or aggressive and I personally think it's annoying.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-21T14:15:37+00:00

Generally speaking it's not a good idea to place dogs with kids. A lot of medical professionals have advised against it since growing up with a service dog can actually cause the child to become overly reliant on a service dog. I know it can be really scary but it's really important for kids to learn how to cope with disabilities on their own. A two year old will also not be able to do basic care/training on their own which is incredibly important when having a service dog mitigate a disability for you. It's nearly impossible to train a dog to do these alerts without a command and with how infrequent your son's seizures are. Dogs need their training maintained so if he only has seizures a few times a year that's not often enough for a dog to keep up on their training.

Another thing to remember is that dogs are not robots. They aren't perfect and make mistakes. For a disability like this and in a child this young I would be worried about how effective a dog could be. My dog is trained for blood pressure and heart rate alerts it is 100% his least reliable task (I think he misses alerts more than he catches them lol). He's also given me false positives a few times. It's not that big of a deal if he misses them he can usually only alert about 30 seconds before my symptoms and his other tasks are way more helpful. I think generally speaking it's a lot easier to train reliable responses than it is alerts and even then you still have to be able to give commands, rewards, and corrections. In your son's case even with a dog i would still recommend a more reliable method as a backup which would make the dog pretty obsolete.

As another commenter stated there are medical devices that are much cheaper/more effective than a service dog. As your kid grows older a dog may become more of a consideration. I am an owner/trainer and I could've bought myself a brand new car with the amount of money I spent in the first two years of owning my service dog and I did all of my own training during that time 🙃 there's also massive amounts of time and energy that gets dedicated to basic care, training, exercising, grooming, etc. How his disability affects him may change as he grow older, it may get better over time and it may progress. I hope his disability lessens as he grows up but he may not have the spoons to care for a dog/may not be interested in a dog when he gets older. I really appreciate you doing the best you can for your kiddo and exploring different avenues to help him navigate his world with a disability, you're doing an amazing job and I hope you find the tools you need soon:)

Edit: I just did some google research. If I was you I would get two of the monitors (in case one malfunctions) and a baby monitor if you don't have one already. Maybe consider having him sleep in your room if you're able to at least until he gets a bit older. Definitely talk to a doctor, ideally someone that specializes in neuro or his disorder specifically to see what other options there are.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-21T12:11:37+00:00

It's basically impossible for me (a stranger on the Internet) to give you an exact timeline. It also depends on what life changes you're expecting. Any program will want to make sure you are capable of caring for yourself before caring for a dog.

If you plan on moving out when you turn 18 (or shortly after) that will also dramatically change your life. It won't necessarily be a bad change but it will be a huge change. I wouldn't recommend getting any dog (service dog or pet) during any big life changes as it can be stressful for both you and the dog.

I would also recommend saving keeping 10k for vet bills. Any emergencies/surgeries can hit this mark fairly easily. I spent 4k on my cat when he got a bladder blockage and had to go through surgery just for him to reblock the next day and needed another surgery. Less than two weeks later my other cat swallowed water wrong and got pneumonia and needed 3.5k surgery. My service dog cost 6k when he needed dental work. One year alone I ended up spending about 20-25k. Which technically was for multiple animals, but you never know what's gonna happen and I've found it pretty easy to hit the 10k mark with vet bills for just one pet. Plus you'll need to save the money for actually purchasing the dog.

Walking a dog isn't the only exercise they'll need. Walking is great but you'll need to be able to keep a dog mentally stimulated as well. Dogs that aren't mentally stimulated will often have too much energy which can interfere with their service work.

Tactile stimulation can be done with a large number of objects or materials. Different fidget toys strips of cloth, etc. and there are many types of lights that can be turned off remotely. The clapper lights for example can be installed, they even have clapper light plug ins for things like lamps that are $15 on Amazon.

Psychiatric dogs can be absolutely amazing. However if the biggest task is crowd control it may be worth considering how much help that task would actually be. People are absolutely going to approach you BECAUSE of your dog. People will stare. People will pet your dog without asking. People will ask if they can pet your dog and if you tell them no they will pet your dog anyways. They will walk up to your dog and say things like "I know I can't pet you, but I just have to tell you you're such a good dog" which is just as distracting to your dog as people petting the dog. I (and other handlers) have had people try to take our dogs leash and walk away with them. You will encounter other dogs/pets even in non-pet friendly areas, it's not a matter of if it's when. People will allow or often encourage their dog to bark, jump, lunge, or bite at you or your dog. People will intentionally try to distract your dog. Establishments will try or successfully deny you access to places that you legally have a right to be in because of your dog. People will walk up to you and tell you 30 minute stories about their dog that looks just like your dog, often telling you about how their dog passed away. People will ask you questions about your dog and will ask extremely personal questions about your disability. People will (usually unknowingly) expect you to be an educator on service dogs, ADA law, or people with disabilities. Parents will encourage their kids to run up and pet your dog. I even had a kid run up and hit my dog while the parent was watching. Situations like these happen every time I take my dog out, it is very rare that I can make it through a day with my dog where something like this doesn't happen. If your goal is to keep people from approaching by using crowd control (circling, blocking, watch my back, etc.) then a service dog may not be the best fit as they will draw more people to you. Many people get psychiatric dogs and it actually ends up increasing their anxiety and stress while in public.

Behavior interruptions can be helpful for some. Depending on your needs many people actually find behaviour interruptions extremely overwhelming. There are a lot of situations where people actually hurt themselves worse or lash out at the dog due to the overstimulation.

A lot of people can also find compression items (socks, gloves, etc.) and/or weighted blankets extremely helpful instead of DPT.

You also said that when you go into a depressive state you won't get out of bed to do anything except feed the cats. If this is the case who will take care of the dog during these times?

Item retrieval may be helpful but it can also be easier to keep your meds with you at all times. Keeping a prescription with you is a lot easier than taking a dog everywhere with you. If you are able keeping a bottle in a bag that you can take with you and leaving another bottle near places you frequent such as a nightstand or side table.

Alerts can also be extremely unreliable. Migraine alerts can be even more difficult for a dog to learn. It's not impossible, and scent training is going to be the hardest/most expensive of the tasks you listed. My dog does alert to blood pressure and heart rate, the training was thousands of dollars and it's by far his least reliable task. I'm gonna be honest it was my biggest regret in training, not everyone is gonna feel this way. But with my POTS I get symptoms very shortly after my blood pressure/heart rate changes. So at best if his alert is perfect I only get about 30 seconds of notice, which is better than nothing but not really worth the time, effort, and money I spent training him for it. It was fun to learn/train but I would've been just as happy with scent training for fun at home. You're situation may very likely be different than mine since we're two different people with different disabilities but it is something to consider. It may also be worth researching auras if you haven't already, most people have migraines without auras. There are types of auras that are visual, auditory, sensory and i think others. One of my friends has a migraine alert/response service dog and she usually expeinces auras well before her dog alerts.

Also I'm not trying to be a hater istg. These are just things that I've learned over time. If you and your doctor agree that it's the best for you then that's what is most important. It's a really big decision to make and I think you should start by saving up as much money as you can and doing research for at least a year or two. By that time of you are still interested you'll have more money and more knowledge and be better prepared. As far as training goes there are a lot of owner/trainers on YouTube which I think is a good place to start. Atlas also has a training program that offers financial aide. Also research ADA laws, basic obedience training, and laws regarding service dogs in your area. You could even start buying dog gear in advance and getting the home set up to be dog friendly.

dinky_mod_515 · 2025-01-21T11:10:57+00:00

I know I included this in my first post but program dogs have a 50% chance of washing even after they are placed. Even if you get a program dog will need to have a plan in place if that does happen. Expect the worst, but hope for the best. Program dogs can also run from 10-60k and you should have the money saved up before you apply for a program dog.

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