© Tammie Rogers 2022
Page Title
Why Have We Decided to Request Clients Provide Their Own Dog?
After working with Service Dogs and their people for over a decade, we became disheartened by a few, recurring issues.
They
all
seemed
to
stem
out
of
a
basic
condition.
Folks
who
acquired
a
fully
trained
dog
that
we
sourced
for
them,
are
more
likely
to
suffer
from “unrealized expectations.”
When
someone
brings
us
their
own
dog
for
our
custom
Service
Dog
training,
they
have
typically
lived
with
that
pup,
perhaps
even
raised
it
from
just
eight
weeks
old.
They
experienced
it
chew
their
good
pair
of
shoes
because
they
were
not
paying
attention.
They
dealt
with
vomit
on
a
new
sofa,
or
a
potty
mess
on
the
white
carpet.
They
recognized
that
they
were
unsuccessful
at
teaching
their
wayward
pup
to
refrain
from
jumping
up
or
barking
at
the
neighbor’s
cat.
They
knew
that
their
dog
was
not
perfect,
but
they
also
realized
neither
were
they.
Perfection
is
not
necessary
for
love,
loyalty,
devotion
or
just
basic
tolerance
between
a
human
and
her
beloved
canine
companion.
So,
when
that
client
comes
to
the
Handler
Training
after
the
dog
had
learned
how
to
display
calm,
relaxed
self-restraint,
even
around
dozens
of
distractions,
she
is
not only impressed, but excited to take on the challenges of learning how to maintain her dog’s new standards of behavior.
On
the
contrary,
individuals
who
arrive
to
“take
ownership”
of
their
new
Service
Dog
(as
if
it
is
a
shiny,
new
automobile),
are
often
ill
equipped
to
handle
some
very
simple
requirements
of
Service
Dog
ownership
(even
if
they
have
owned
dogs
in
the
past).
They
expect
their
new
Service
Dog
to
be
perfect.
Regardless
of
how
often
we
explain
it,
they
don’t
realize
they
must
work
hard
to
become
the
benevolent
leader
that
their
dog
expects
and
needs
to
continue
on
the
path
of
exceptional
behavior,
happiness
and
service.
I
refer
to
the
concept
as
“the
Lassie
syndrome.”
Lassie
was
a
fictitious
character.
In
one,
thirty-minute
episode,
I
watched
the
beautiful
Collie
dog
save
three
kittens
from
a
wild
fire,
usher
them
through
the
desert
(including
locating
a
source
of
water
when
they
became
parched),
defended
them
from
the
claws
of
a
Mountain
Lion,
then
negotiated
through
a
mountain
path
on
a
moonless
night
to
the
safety
of
a
barn,
where
they
curled
up
next
to
Lassie
in
the
soft
straw
until
morning.
If
you
think
that
your
service
dog
is
going
to
perform
such
death
defying
feats,
autonomously
without
your
constant
intervention
and
management,
you
are
going
to
be
terribly
disappointed.
But,
most
people
who
suffer
from
a
disability
seek
a
Service
Dog
to
enhance
their
life…immediately.
They
are
looking
for
that
moment
when
they
realize
the
dog
just
saved
them
from
their
pain
or
suffering.
Like
any
employee,
it
takes
time
for
a
Service
Dog
to
learn
the
ropes
of
the
new
work
environment,
and
that
includes
developing
trust
and
respect
for
the
new
“boss.”
Regardless
of
how
well
a
dog
is
trained,
its
behavior
will
most
often
be
a
direct
reflection
of
its
relationship
with
the
humans
in
its
life.
That
is
true
whether
the
dog
comes
from
the
owner
or
we
acquire
it.
However,
the
folks
who
bring
us
their
dog
already
have
figured
out
that
important
message,
at
least
somewhat.
They
know
that
a
failure
in
management
or
training
will
result
in
an
unexpected
or
undesirable
outcome.
But,
more
importantly,
they
already
love
the
dog,
so
they
are
more
apt
to
assume
the
responsibility
for
the
dog’s
failures
and
not
over
think
the
fact
that
they
need
to
continue
to
develop
their
relationship.
One
error
isn’t
the
end
of
the
world
-
either
in
their
handling
of
the
dog,
or the dog’s behavior.
Folks
who
acquire
a
fully
trained
dog,
of
course,
fall
in
love
with
it.
However,
they
do
not
enter
an
established
a
relationship.
So,
it
is
far
more
challenging
for
them
to
evaluate
their
new
dog’s
behavior,
once
they
go
home.
Mostly,
any
unacceptable
behavior
is
due
to
fatigue
and
the
anxiety
that
the
dog
suffers
from
leaving
a
home
where
they
thought
they
had
it
all
figured
out,
and
learning
how
to
cope
in
a
strange
place
with
new
people
who
don’t
necessarily
know
how
to
interact
with
it.
We
inform
our
clients
(in
writing
they
receive
before
coming
to
Handler
Instruction
and
during
the
class
presentation)
to
let
the
dog
have
a
good,
long
week
to
simply
become
acquainted
with
its
new
world.
Don’t
have
guests;
don’t
take
it
out
in
public;
don’t
feel
the
need
to
work
on
all
the
training
exercises
in
the
first
two
hours
you
are
home.
Let
the
dog
sleep
and
recuperate
and
trust
that
you
will
feed
it
every
day
and
take
it
outside
to
go
potty.
But,
then
we
hear
stories
about
how
the
new
Service
Dog
handler
invited
twenty
people
over
to
meet
her
new
dog
on
the
second
day
after
she
got
home
and
now
she
is
worried
because
the
dog
seemed
shy
or
reserved.
Our
experience
tells
us
that
those
unrealized
expectations
are
far
more
common
with
folks
who
acquire
a
dog
that
they
didn’t
know,
than
folks
who
brought
us
a
dog
that
they
had
sourced
as
their
potential
Service
Dog
and
developed
an
understanding
about its personality, faults and admirable qualities.
In
order
to
address
our
own
unrealized
expectations
of
our
clients,
we
have
chosen
to
eliminate
the
issues
by
asking
folks
to
locate
their
own
dog.
It
is
our
strategy.
We
believe
it
will
provide
the
best
opportunity
for
our
clients
to
have
the best experience and for their dog to be successful, happy and cherished in Service Dog work.