Service Dogs are not all fun (pics too)

[Sevaede]

Indeedy! Absolutely beautiful!

[cloverfdx]

Sheena looks stunning. Elvis and Tinny's (BCs) Uncle is an assistance dog to his human Mum and does a wonderful job, so i know how much work is put into these amazing animals .

Astro (Assistance dog) far right, with Tinny in the middle and Elvis on the left...

[finn's mom]

She's gorgeous! I think I'd have to call the mobile groomer if it took three hours to groom my dog! Yikes! I would be frustrated and tired, too! I think I've only given Finn three complete baths in his entire three years! I love my low maintenance doggie.

[borzoimom]

Nicole- I know washing a big dog is hard work, but this is what I use and it makes the washing alot easier. The sprayer does a good job and makes rinsing a piece of cake. Here is the link for the sprayer.
Also- someone told me they use a shop vac- in the reverse side of the hose, to blow the water off. It WORKS! One day I hope to have a real metro dryer, but its on one of those wish lists that never seems to go anywhere.. lol. http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...N=2026059&Ne=2

[Zippy]

Nicole,Sheena is beautiful. Hope you Feel better soon.

[cyber-sibes]

Shenna is stunning! I hope you get to feeling better soon. I appreciate everything you've posted about service dogs, I've learned quite a bit reading your various posts. But I've got to say, I don't think I'd much care to wash & dry my huskies every time I went out in public!

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Forgive me for being a bit thick here but why does the dog have to be spotless??? does that detract from them doing their excellent work???

Please don't take this post as a criticism in any way - I just don't really understand I guess which is why your post is so valuable

I do hope you are feeling better now

[NicoleLJ]

Thanks all. I am feeling a little better today.

cloverfdx: Thanks so much for posting the pic. I love to hear about other service dogs.

borzoimom: Thanks for the suggestion but we already have a special nozzle that we use on our shower head for her. She is trained to turn on command and everything. Bathing Sheena is actually very easy when I am well. But with me being so sick and weak it is much harder.

cyber-sibes: Thanks. Knowledge is power I always say and the more knowlegable someone is about Service dogs the better it is for all Service dog handlers.

Brody's Mum: That is a very good question. Thanks for asking it. There are many reasons why a service dog should be kept immaculate. When you are in public you can be dealing with allergies so the grooming is very important to try and keep down the amount of fur and dander she leaves where ever she goes. Another is cleanliness. Say you went into a restraunt and sat down to eat and someone with a service dog walked by that was not washed or groomed. The dog is shedding(as many service dogs are not poodles and such) and some of the fur heads towards your table. How inclined would you be to continue eating? Also it is a respect thing as well. I appreciate and respect all the businesses I enter with Sheena and as such I want to show my respect by making sure my dog is always clean and smelling fresh when I enter. Plus respect for other people in the public. Not all people appreciate dog fur on their clothes so I want to do what I can to make sure that does not happen. Also I am a representitive of other Service Dog handlers every time I leave the house with Sheena. And as such I want to put across the best image possible for the public to see. These are just a few of the examples but I hope they help to answer your question.

Agian thanks everyone for the compliments. Sheena's head is swelling with vanity as we speak. lol
Nicole

[NicoleLJ]

Thanks agian everyone. Sheena's head barely fits through the doors now with how proud she has become. lol

ramanth: I think everyone is guilty of that at some point. LOL Not a sin to wish it.

Muddy4paws: Thanks for the suggestion. And I might consider it next time I am too sick or weak. Never really thought about it before. I will have to check to see if there is a groomer here in town. We live in a small town so we might not have one.

sandragonfly: Great points. I have heard about many facilities that provide Service Dogs that do not allow other dogs in a family that they will be providing a service dog too. I guess that is one of the many reasons I went with Owner training my own Service dog with of course the help of a trainer. Gave me more freedom and options. I couldn't imagine not having Luca or thinking I couldn't have another dog because of Sheena. I have never noticed her losing focus for her work with him or the other pets around. She works just as hard with him there as without. Each dog may be different though.
Nicole

[Muddy4paws]

I know grooming big dogs can be hard, Would you consider taking her to the groomers for a bath? My groomers does a discount for service dogs. They are always so well behaved!

[sandragonfly]

yeah, me either - I'm GOING to get me another dog, guide or not, once we all settle down. I've been to hospitals at numerous of time, moved around a lot last and this year so, crayola trainings had been a bit off track. I see he's so good around here with other pets too, my ten cats, chinchilla, and past rats.

you see, your sheena probably don't play as much as she would now because she's so well-trained, right? sometimes I could see in crayola's eyes, "I wanna play with kitties!" but knew and used to stay calm then pouts and went asleep. his job is to sleep, right??

[Kalei]

Wow Job Well done! Sheena looks gorgeous And thanks for sharing that about Service Dogs. You're right, alot of people don't see the other side. I never really thought about how it might be hard to have to bring a dog with you everywhere and your post let me know that it is a lot of work and tiring. Thanks so much for posting, next time I see a service dog I will remember what you said.

And I give you so much credit to be able to do that all the time even when you are sick. You are a wonderful person.

[Aspen and Misty]

I know what you mean as far as how hard it is to get a service dog ready to go out, everytime you go out. While I do not have a disability I did raise a service dog for Paws With a Cause. I helped her through her first year and taught her a lot of stuff, her name was Breeze and she was a black Lab. I was constantly washing her or clipping her nails or washing her vest. Even if she was all pretty and clean I still wiped her down with baby wipes before leaving the house. When she was little I had to carry a back pack with me every time we went out because a little puppy sometiems has accidents and trust me, a service dog in training pooping in the middle of the grocery store is no fun, expessially when you are not prepared!! LOL.

Here are two pics of my silly girl, god I miss her:





Sheena looks gorgeous and you deserve a hug for taking such wonderful care of her! I hope you are feeling better soon, sorry to ramble.

Ashley