Choosing a breed to raise and train as service dogs

definatly keep me unpdated on the printed stuffs...

unfortunatly the area im currently in is VERY none service dog frinedly, even obvious seeing eye dogs are often given a hard time...

i generally keep a copy of the ADA service dog laws on me with certain things highlighted...along with extra copies not highlighted for them to post in their staff room...but even then they give me issues...and im border line agoraphobic with a sever social phobia and panic attacks (on top of everything else lol) so for me confrontation of any kind make sme want to curl up into a ball and cry...

ive even had people tell me i MADE UP the ADA rules and regs...i highlight the contact number and tell them if the think that just call and they insist that the number must be fake (or that ive got a friend on the other end) its ridiculous around here.

Give them the DOJ number. If you have a cell phone, you might even offer to let them call right then and there. I have not called myself ever, but from what I hear they have a very obviously official recording.

I'm not trying to insult you at all. I'm making the point that breed is not the only factor in whether or not a dog will work well as a service dog, and that boxers are a legitimate option. I specifically avoided language that would place blame on you, but apparently that didn't work.

Wait wait wait...so here months later I realize...nobody ever suggested dobermans?

We were discussing service dog breeds over on the SD board I belong to, and someone mentioned dobes. Honestly I never considered them before. I love them. They have just the hair coat I like. My only qualm would be BSL.

Even if not raising them for others (dobe people can tell me if they're suitable for beignners to handle...as in people who never had a dog before, but assuming the dogs are already trained)....what about one for myself? They're tall, but small enough I think they wouldn't be too big to be practical. They're gorgeous. They're smart (from what I hear and from my limited experience with them). Input?

I knew of one in Tucson who was a mobility assist dog, he did a very good job.

My only worries aside from BSL would be dog aggression, same sex dog aggression, and being too protective. Some of the one person guardian breeds (or just one person dogs, like standard poodles) can have a tendency to be standoffish when people get in their master's space. While aloof is actually desired in a service dog, some of those dogs will get defensive to the point where they will lip lift when people get in their handler's space, and those dogs have to be taken out of service work.

Not every doberman is going to be like that. They're another breed with a huge variety in temperament and health. I'd be concerned with joint problems and cancers, it seems like a lot of dobes die young from inherited diseases but maybe that's not the case.

If you could find a breeder who had a super fantastically healthy line of dogs with balanced temperaments, you could probably get individuals who would work. I guess the problem is, DA doesn't show up until they hit maturity, same as orthopedic problems, and it would be heartbreaking to put two years of training on a dog only to have it wash out.

You make some interesting points. I have not had a ton of experience with dobies, so I don't know them inside and out. That being said, every one that i have met has been extremely sweet.

I actually have contacted an organization that uses only st poodles, and they said if they have a pup or a dog that they don't want they will let me know (some washouts from one program will work great for someone else...and they have a litter coming up they are only keeping a couple pups from). But I keep going back to the size...Gavorche is 22 to 23 inches, and I'd really like a little more height. It's tough to find a poodle much bigger than that.

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True. That's true of any dog, regardless of breed. Washing out is always a possibility, and it's the one reason I'm still considering a program dog in the back of my mind...because I won't have to deal with washing out my dog. Training my own first SD is different from training others. If I have a dog for someone else wash out, yeah, it still sucks, but I can get another dog and try again. At this point, if my own SD would wash out, I'd be screwed. I couldn't part with the dog, and yet I'll be full to capacity for the time being with a second dog.

I wonder if you could put an ad out on some dobe lists. Like Lizzybeth's organization will screen grown and half grown dogs for prospects. It seems that a breed like dobes you would almost want to look at young adults who are old enough to OFA and evaluate their adult temperaments.

There might be a breeder hold back somewhere out there with the right health and temperament who was well socialized, that isn't the right dog for their breeding program from whatever reason (monorchid, oversized , I don't know).