An awesome team is created every time

I am frequently asked why I like to train people and dogs together. It is a much more difficult job than just selling a trained dog and matching them up with a person.

I do it because an awesome team is created every time. It’s more like a marriage. People can’t imagine having a service dog taken away from them just because the dog is aging. It is cruel to drag away a mature dog, lock it up somewhere until it gets too old and dies because someone else has decided it is time to retire and be replaced.

It seems cruel to throw it in a cage when it has devoted its life to the work it loves. A working dog should not be treated like an old tractor that isn’t quite dead yet, but stuffed away in the barn just in case it may serve a purpose later on.

There are some organizations that retire a dog forcibly from a person, and give them no choice in the matter. If you want another service dog, you must give up your dog before the new one is chosen. You are only allowed one service dog.

Apparently it is felt the dog will not focus on work if there is any other animal under the roof, and it is commonly a rule that a retired service dog and a new working service dog may not live in the same house.

I am not in agreement with this practice. Some service dogs do well being rehomed to family members or friends and some do quite well stepping back and letting a younger dog assume the bulk of the work while the retired dog rests when everyone else is out working.

These rules are what encourage me to follow my own ideas and continue to work with people directly and individually to train their dog. The key words being “Their Dog.” And what happens to that dog is up to the owner, not me and not an organization that trained it to be a working dog.

I have had dogs retire and stay home happily when the new dog has to go out to work. There are still fun outings, family walks and play time. Nobody suffers. I have seen old dogs lovingly passed on to family members they have known forever and love being with them all of the time, but still get to go visit their past owner. There are ways to make things work that are not abusive to a dog or worrisome to an owner.

But there is one thing I can’t fix, and that is the dread that one day that constant companion will not be there, or may be too ill or crippled to be kept alive. The end times so to speak is a dreaded and feared phase in all service dog owners’ lives. There are a few people who I have worked with who are dreading these coming times and don't know what to do. Especially those with high anxiety or ptsd.

With each passing year it may be the time to begin thinking about choosing a new dog that needs to be trained and be ready for work. It is amazing how willingly the retired dog enjoys passing on medical information and alerts to the new young ones. The old dog looks forward to sitting around most of the day watching tv. It is comfortable with the idea that someone is there to help and get up quickly to alert, rather than them doing it alone. It is good to bring in the young blood and show the old dog that there are no worries and everything can be taken care of.

They are indeed a friend forever and they are more than willing to share. The fear of loss is always there, but looking forward to the years ahead, and fond memories of the years past help lighten the load.