# Panda GS Service Dog



## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

Wanted to give an update to my previous
thread in 2020 Panda puppy.
Now after 2 years and hundreds of hours of training he is my Mobility assistance Service Dog!! He has trained and worked hard to earn this title. 🐕‍🦺. I'm so proud of him! He has great work ethics and is always willing to work.
I have a black 6 year old GS that is also my SD but I will be retiring him at 8 years old and Tokala will become my full time Service Dog.
The one with him laying on the floor is him in a busy restaurant with a group of friends. He excels at this. It's his "Under the table command". He will lay quietly as long as I need him to. 
I use him for forward momentum pull and Counter Balance. If one of my dogs isn't with me I have to walk with a cane. With them I don't. They give me lots more mobility freedom. In Forward momentum pull he works slightly ahead of me like a guide dog keeping slight pressure in the harness that helps me keep my balance. He works off voice commands and has 9 different directional commands along with his other commands. He also helps me when stepping up or down a curb by remaining perfectly still and I use the shorter counter balance handle for support to step up or down. I lift up on it. He does the same with stairs. I never use downward pressure on their backs. 
He has to be able to handle walking in large crowds with strangers bumping into him, kids running past him and still stay focused on his job. He has to work in restaurants without sniffing. He has to deal with other peoples pet dogs growling and sometimes lunging at him. He totally ignores them. Absolutely no dog are other critters aggression. If people had any idea what these working dogs have to deal with from the public they would be shocked. That is why very few make it as Service Dogs. Where I go he goes. All in a days work for a Service Dog. 
They're has always been controversy over the Panda German Shepherd. I wanted to show they can be excellent working dogs. He has the heart and work ability like other German Shepherds. He came from a litter of 9 puppies. Three were Pandas that inherited the KIT gene from their sire and the other 6 were traditional colored German Shepherds and gorgeous. They will always be accepted as German Shepherds and never be questioned. Yet Tokala will never be accepted by some as a German Shepherd from the same litter. 
No, he will never win any ribbons or compete. But to me he is my Champion and no trophies or ribbons can top that title.
Mobility Assistance Service Dog Tokala. My Hero. 🐾🐕‍🦺❤

He is an intact male. Weighs 110 pounds and stands 29" at the shoulder. Mainly raw fed.


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## 3ymum (Oct 12, 2021)

Well done Tokala, very good boy! He has all my respect!


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

Congratulations! He is a handsome dog for sure!


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Great to hear a success story like this! Congratulations!


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Fantastic update!


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## TayStrike (12 mo ago)

He’s great 🙂


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

Here's a few more pictures of him. I'm trying to figure out how to do the thumbnail size so the pictures aren't so big. Well, I got 4 thumbnails and still large ones. I'll post it and see what happens. That didn't work. I have thumbnails and the large ones?


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

Fantastic! Looks to be in good shape for that weight too


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

WNGD said:


> Fantastic! Looks to be in good shape for that weight too


Thank You! I was surprised he weighs that much also. I use the scales at work, I manage an Animal Hospital so I know it's right. He has a really solid build.


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

With Tokala being a Mobility assistance Service Dog he did get full x-rays done including hips, back and elbows. He was cleared for mobility work. All good with an excellent on elbows. 😀. 
Their growth plates have to be closed before doing Mobility work. 
So lots of building a solid Obidence foundation and doing Public Access training before then. I also taught him directional commands during that time. 
Tokala in church while still in training. Churches don't have to allow Service Dogs like businesses do.
The one I attend gave me permission to bring him. He does great! He’s watching the pastor walking back and forth but still holds his down with head down for the entire service. 
The state I live in gives access rights to Service Dogs in Training like full Service Dogs. It made Public Access training a lot easier.


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## Rabidwolfie (Apr 9, 2021)

What a good baby! And he's so striking with that unusual coloring! I bet he gets lots of compliments while out working.

It's so good that you can both enrich each other's lives. ♥


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## SMcN (Feb 12, 2021)

Tokala is the dog many people dream of having. Kudos to him and Kudos to you for your dedication and devotion to him. What a marvelous update. Thank you for sharing.


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