# Service dog Nashoba



## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

My incredible GS Mobility Assistance Service Dog Nashoba! His task are Forward Momentum pull and Counter Balance. With him I don't have to use a cane when walking.
He is 6 years old. Got him at 8 weeks old. 
It takes 18 months to 2 years and hundreds of hours of training to become a Service Dog. Nashoba was a dream dog to train. Focused, hard working and very confident in public. He was ready at 18 months. He's one of the most confident dogs I've ever seen. From the time he was a young puppy nothing phrases him or scares him. He does tend to be on the serious side. Always ready to go to work. It amazes me how he maneuvers his way through large crowds. He works slightly in front of me like a guide dog in forward momentum pull to help keep me balanced.
He Loves his job!!! 
In restaurants he lays under the table (I always ask for a booth) and people are surprised when he comes out when we leave. Had no idea he was there if they didn't see him come in. That's the way a SD is supposed to be. 
He loves this blue bucket!! His favorite toy.
I have a thread on here with my younger Panda SD so I wanted to Bragg on Nashoba too. 
Nashoba and I have been a team for 6 years and have learned a lot on our journey together.
Him being a SD and me being a SD handler. 🐾❤❤🐕‍🦺

Intact male. Weighs 117 lbs., stands 30 inches at the shoulder. Mainly raw fed.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Handsome boy.
Could stand to lose some weight, however.
How much is he eating?


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

Great job Nashoba


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

Sunflowers said:


> Handsome boy.
> Could stand to lose some weight, however.
> How much is he eating?


I think he's one that pictures make him look bigger than he is...lol. Also some of the pictures are enlarged for a closer shot. When you run your hands down his sides he does still have a dip behind his ribcage. His vets OK with his weight but said not to let him go over 120 lbs. 
He is large Shepherd and built like a tank. His girth is 38". He gets 2 lbs of a pre-made all life stages raw food, a chicken leg quarter and 2 chicken feet a day. A raw egg 3 times a week and a little raw goats milk a couple times a week. He also gets 3 scoops of Springtime's Longevity daily. 🐾🐾🐕‍🦺


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

Did you have a trainer that guided your process or are both of your dogs just owner trained?


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## 3ymum (Oct 12, 2021)

Well done Nashoba! Both of your dogs are doing an excellent job!


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

Hopps said:


> Did you have a trainer that guided your process or are both of your dogs just owner trained?


Owner trained both. Before my needs changed I owned personal protection dogs for 25 years and did bite work with them. 
The base for both a PPD and SD is a solid Obidence foundation. Then I added task training for what I needed him to do. A strong "Leave It" is a must and learning to ignore people around them. 
A SD must have tons of early Socialization. It has nothing to do with letting people pet them. I never allowed people to pet them while in training. 
It should be called exposure. Different surfaces, animals, noises, objects like umbrellas, strollers, shopping carts, seeing hundreds of different people every week. It's a lot of work and time. 
I did hours of people watching with him starting at 3 months old. Parks, children's playgrounds, outdoor events like carnivals, car shows. Outdoor concerts, craft shows, sitting outside grocery stores. 
I did a lot of his Public Access training in malls when he became a Service Dog In Training at 5 months old. Resort towns are great for crowd work. Fortunately my state allows SDIT access rights like a Service Dog. 
Task training was the easy part...😉🐾🐕‍🦺


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

kigers24 said:


> Owner trained both. Before my needs changed I owned personal protection dogs for 25 years and did bite work with them.
> The base for both a PPD and SD is a solid Obidence foundation. Then I added task training for what I needed him to do. A strong "Leave It" is a must and learning to ignore people around them.
> A SD must have tons of early Socialization. It has nothing to do with letting people pet them. I never allowed people to pet them while in training.
> It should be called exposure. Different surfaces, animals, noises, objects like umbrellas, strollers, shopping carts, seeing hundreds of different people every week. It's a lot of work and time.
> ...


I’m trying to get a service dog but got denied due to the specificity and prioritization. How did you pick your dogs? Did you have multiple candidates before seeing which ones would wash out? The breeders I reached out to said it would be a bad idea since many dogs wash out. They also felt I wouldn’t have a guaranteed service dog etc


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

Hopps said:


> I’m trying to get a service dog but got denied due to the specificity and prioritization. How did you pick your dogs? Did you have multiple candidates before seeing which ones would wash out? The breeders I reached out to said it would be a bad idea since many dogs wash out. They also felt I wouldn’t have a guaranteed service dog etc


The wait list for program dogs is high, 3-5 years. To buy one already trained runs $20,000-50,000 depending on what it's trained for. Guide dogs being the highest at 50k. They're a lot of scams out there for Service Dogs going on. One a few years ago in my state. The guy was selling them for $17,000 and they weren't even housetrained. No basic obedience. Many were dog and human aggressive. Several buyers were on the news with videos.
That's why a lot owner train instead. The wash out rate is high, 8 out of 10 service dog prospects wash the first year in training. Very few dogs are capable of being a Service Dog. The demands are high to work in public. Many just can't handle it. Unless your very confident in your training skills most hire a professional trainer which gets expensive.

No breeder can ever guarantee a puppy will become a Service Dog. You research as best you can, has the breeder had other puppies become Service Dogs, Therapy Dogs or Search and Rescue dogs? Even if they have there's no guarantee another one will.

Honestly I got very lucky with Nashoba. I still call him my Unicorn. He was born to be a Service Dog. So I went with the same breeder and bloodline for Tokala. Tokalas' mom is Nashobas sister, also a black GS. It worked out but even from the same bloodline there was no guarantee Tokala wouldn't wash out. The breeder does do the Volhard-Puppy- Aptitude Test which helps but still can't guarantee it will make it as a Service Dog .
I know another person who just bought her 4th puppy from the same breeder. They are all Therapy dogs. The puppy just went on first outing as a Therapy dog
. 
But in the end it all depends on the dog. How well it is Socialized and its going to take hundreds of hours of training and dedication which is why they cost so much. Socializing has nothing to do with being petted by strangers. It should be called exposure. I never allow my dogs to interact with the public once they start wearing a vest at 3 month old, one that says No Pet. At 3 months old they're still a SD prospect. Then they go into a SDIT (Service Dog In Training) vest at 5 months old. I never take them to a dog parks. I have trained outside of dog parks but never take them in one. I teach them to ignore other dogs.. They don't need to interact with them. You can google *SDiT Socialization Checklist *and you'll see list to give you an idea of what they need to be exposed to as puppies. It's great for any puppy, not just Service Dogs. They need to see hundreds of different people every week. A SD can have Absolutely NO aggression towards people, dogs or animals. 
So training isn't easy. The big question is always what to do if the dog washes out? Keep it, rehome it? Then have to start over with another puppy which could also wash out. I would have kept Tokala if he had of washed. Some owners trainers end up with several dogs due to ones washing out.

I'm not trying to discourage you but please do some research into owner training a Service Dog. It's expensive, time consuming and can be heartbreaking if the dog washes after spending months in training. Look into joining some Service Dog groups. Lots of good information devoted to just Service Dogs, all breeds. 

When it works out it's well worth all the time spent training. My dogs add so much to my life by allowing me to get out more and be more mobile. They are not pets, they are working dogs. Everything from the time they came home at 8 weeks old has been different than pet dogs. The requirements are high to work in public. The stress on them is high. Obedience requirements are incredible. My breed of choice is the German Shepherd. They thrive on work. A highly trained German Shepherd with a job is an incredible dog to be around.

A complement I get on mine often when in public is "He walks with so much pride". My response is he is working and doing what he loves to do. .
Well except for the time a PETA worker actually chased me down at an indoor car show and told me my dog was tired and I shouldn't make him a slave.. Nashoba was 2 then and I told her I would hand her his leash and walk off then take great delight on watching my tired dog drag her butt after me....Why do people think I dog behaving in public is tired? I've heard this a few times. So if the dog isn't jumping up and down, barking, pulling on its leash it's tired or something is wrong with it? Or the poor baby has to work, heard that a few times also. People just don't have a clue sometimes.....


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

To clarify… when dollar amounts are placed on Guide dogs, this is not an amount that can simply be paid outright to receive a trained dog. It’s basically the operating budget of the organization divided by the number of guides produced. Individuals typically receive the dogs free of charge (1 or 2 schools in the US charges a very small amount) and are also supported for the life of the team (equipment, medical, follow up visits, phone support, refresher training). These individuals must first qualify for a GD - demonstrating a need, safe and effective orientation and mobility skills, independent living skills, a minimum workload, etc, then complete 2-6 weeks of training under supervision of a licensed or qualified instructor. GD trainers should also be skilled in those areas mentioned - teaching, assessing, practicing. I’d be incredibly leery of anyone selling a Guide without all these other things in place (the exception being self trained guides, which work in unique circumstances and make up less than 1%).

Ha, i’d have the most wonderful side hustle if it were as simple as training the dog and collecting $50k…. acreage, early retirement, all that 😝


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## 3ymum (Oct 12, 2021)

I can't praise enough for your dedication for your dogs and the wonderfulness of Nashoba and Tokala! You really have helped them to fully open up all of their potentials.

Please share more about them, during work or off work if you don't mind. I love hearing about them.


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

kigers24 said:


> The wait list for program dogs is high, 3-5 years. To buy one already trained runs $20,000-50,000 depending on what it's trained for. Guide dogs being the highest at 50k. They're a lot of scams out there for Service Dogs going on. One a few years ago in my state. The guy was selling them for $17,000 and they weren't even housetrained. No basic obedience. Many were dog and human aggressive. Several buyers were on the news with videos.
> That's why a lot owner train instead. The wash out rate is high, 8 out of 10 service dog prospects wash the first year in training. Very few dogs are capable of being a Service Dog. The demands are high to work in public. Many just can't handle it. Unless your very confident in your training skills most hire a professional trainer which gets expensive.
> 
> No breeder can ever guarantee a puppy will become a Service Dog. You research as best you can, has the breeder had other puppies become Service Dogs, Therapy Dogs or Search and Rescue dogs? Even if they have there's no guarantee another one will.
> ...


thanks for all the information, it’s very useful. The breeder I talked to donates puppies for psychiatric dogs concerning ptsd. Out of all the puppies she picked and donated, 100% of them have become fully working service dogs.

They didn’t even put me on a waitlist, all dogs are reserved for first responders or veterans. I was recommended to look through Assistance Dogs International by two service dog providers.
I had a trainer available to help me through a reputable source but they restricted their owner train program to veterans only.

I did do a good chunk of research but unfortunately many people that are involved said they highly advise against a GSD for the help that I would need. I was just curious as to what your process was. I was pushing for a GSD but I think from reading your experience and talking to breeders, a GSD would not do well for my issues.


Fodder said:


> To clarify… when dollar amounts are placed on Guide dogs, this is not an amount that can simply be paid outright to receive a trained dog. It’s basically the operating budget of the organization divided by the number of guides produced. Individuals typically receive the dogs free of charge (1 or 2 schools in the US charges a very small amount) and are also supported for the life of the team (equipment, medical, follow up visits, phone support, refresher training). These individuals must first qualify for a GD - demonstrating a need, safe and effective orientation and mobility skills, independent living skills, a minimum workload, etc, then complete 2-6 weeks of training under supervision of a licensed or qualified instructor. GD trainers should also be skilled in those areas mentioned - teaching, assessing, practicing. I’d be incredibly leery of anyone selling a Guide without all these other things in place (the exception being self trained guides, which work in unique circumstances and make up less than 1%).
> 
> Ha, i’d have the most wonderful side hustle if it were as simple as training the dog and collecting $50k…. acreage, early retirement, all that 😝


That’s a lot of insight, thank you so much! It’s sad that no one is able to provide a dog for me through reputable channels. I will continue to reach out and see how it goes!


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

Fodder said:


> To clarify… when dollar amounts are placed on Guide dogs, this is not an amount that can simply be paid outright to receive a trained dog. It’s basically the operating budget of the organization divided by the number of guides produced. Individuals typically receive the dogs free of charge (1 or 2 schools in the US charges a very small amount) and are also supported for the life of the team (equipment, medical, follow up visits, phone support, refresher training). These individuals must first qualify for a GD - demonstrating a need, safe and effective orientation and mobility skills, independent living skills, a minimum workload, etc, then complete 2-6 weeks of training under supervision of a licensed or qualified instructor. GD trainers should also be skilled in those areas mentioned - teaching, assessing, practicing. I’d be incredibly leery of anyone selling a Guide without all these other things in place (the exception being self trained guides, which work in unique circumstances and make up less than 1%).
> 
> Ha, i’d have the most wonderful side hustle if it were as simple as training the dog and collecting $50k…. acreage, early retirement, all that 😝


Yes I know you do have to qualify to get a Guide if you get it from a school or organization and meet their requirements. They usually work off donations. I donate to the MIRA school in Canada. I live in the US but like this school. They also do Mobility Assistance dogs now. You have to meet their requirements to get them also. 
Like some organizations also donate Service Dogs for Veterans in need at no charge. I'm sure the cost break down is less than a Guide dog but still pretty expensive. 
I know several owners who have trained their own Guide Dogs. Some for the second or third time. 
Nashoba will guide in public when I need him to. If I have a sudden Vertigo attack and the room is spinning he will guide me to a chair or bench for me to sit down and also through crowds. He automatically stops at any curbs, steps or crosswalks and naturally walks in a straight line but I don't consider him a guide dog. 
Tokala hasn't gotten this advanced yet but he will in time...🐾🐕‍🦺


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

3ymum said:


> I can't praise enough for your dedication for your dogs and the wonderfulness of Nashoba and Tokala! You really have helped them to fully open up all of their potentials.
> 
> Please share more about them, during work or off work if you don't mind. I love hearing about them.


Thank you so much!! They are both wonderful dogs and I'm so blessed to have them in my life. I have learned a lot from them also. Nashoba the serious one and Tokala a little more on the playful side. Each one unique but in harness they both give me 100%. Being an older disabled female having a German Shepherd by side everywhere I go makes me feel more confident. 
Also not having to depend on another person or a cane to go out gives me my independence back and is priceless.
I'll never run again and can't walk very fast on my own. But with my dogs I can walk fast! I found that out with Nashoba by accident. It was pouring rain and I asked him to walk faster, he did slightly pulling me with him, I felt like I was flying! It was amazing!! It had been a long time since I was able to walk fast, something most people take for granted everyday. Now when we're out I ask them to walk fast for a short distance when it's not crowded at the mall or across the parking lot. I can only do it with them. It's like walking on a moving walkway.. Their momentum helps me walk faster. It's very controlled and they hold the speed I want. They immediately slow down when I ask. I don't know if anyone can understand the pure joy of simply being able to walk fast with my dogs.
The bond between a handler and Service Dog is incredible. These dogs are with us wherever we go. We are a team, partners. I always make sure my dogs are clean with clean equipment when out in public. They deserve to be presented to the public as the professional working dogs they are. They both own a piece of my heart...🐾 🧡


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## 3ymum (Oct 12, 2021)

It is incredible what they have helped you with the mobility issue. Service dogs deserve medals for their dedication to the handlers. I can't possibly imagine how strong the bond is between you and Nashoba and Tokala. As you said, we take it for granted with what we have got/can do, but glad to hear about your story that you enrich each other!

Please share more photos of them and anything about them!


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

Sunflowers said:


> Handsome boy.
> Could stand to lose some weight, however.
> How much is he eating?


Here's a top view of Nashoba I just took. It gives a better idea of his weight. He does llook heavy in the side photos. There is a tuck behind his ribcage. His vet is also my boss and has no problem telling clients or staff when their pet is overweight. 🙃
She knows Nashoba is a working dog and that's why she said 120 is the max for him. She sees him at work everyday and she'll let me know in no uncertain terms if I let him get to heavy. 🐾🐕‍🦺


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