# Zeus is a service dog now :):)



## Hercules (Aug 1, 2010)

Zeus finished his training and became my service dog able to come out everywhere with me. He finished his training two months ago when he was 15 months old. We have three things to perfect but as of right now, he is within service dog standards and he was trained by me.  Not going to lie, I'm pretty proud of myself for that one. My Golden Retriever is not far behind, she was my wife's responsibility but the task got neglected so I have to pick up training with her. I'll get her there too.


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## Redrider469 (Jul 19, 2013)

Congratulations!!


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## Suka (Apr 9, 2004)

Congratulations! What sort of service dog? What services does Zeus perform?

Can you point me to the service dog standards?


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## Hercules (Aug 1, 2010)

Suka said:


> What sort of service dog?


he lets me know when I'm about to have an anxiety attack/PTSD episode




Suka said:


> What services does Zeus perform?


he starts by demanding to be pet, from there he progresses to pawing my chest and if those don't prevent the episodes then he will start licking my face and acting super obnoxious and that snaps me out of it.



Suka said:


> Can you point me to the service dog standards?


Here is the Public Access Test from the Assistance Dogs International that I use to judge his readiness. Assistance Dogs International : Public Access Test

And here is the website for the tasks for psychiatric service dog tasks that I use http://www.iaadp.org/psd_tasks.html


Also, as always, all of my dogs are trained exclusively with the positive reinforcement method.


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## Suka (Apr 9, 2004)

Thank you sooooo much! Again, well deserved congrats in order!


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## Hercules (Aug 1, 2010)

Thanks


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## GSDlover143 (Nov 8, 2013)

Hercules said:


> Zeus finished his training and became my service dog able to come out everywhere with me. He finished his training two months ago when he was 15 months old. We have three things to perfect but as of right now, he is within service dog standards and he was trained by me.  Not going to lie, I'm pretty proud of myself for that one. My Golden Retriever is not far behind, she was my wife's responsibility but the task got neglected so I have to pick up training with her. I'll get her there too.


How long did it take? Also how much was it? 

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## Msmaria (Mar 2, 2013)

Congratulations to you both


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## Hercules (Aug 1, 2010)

GSDlover143 said:


> How long did it take? Also how much was it?
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I got him when he was 12 weeks old and he was ready for work by the age of 15 months... If he hasn't had exercise, his puppy side shows itself in him being distracted but he is still workable. when he is exercised, he works almost perfectly.


The biggest cost for me would probably be time spent training. I personally LOVE spending time with my dogs and training so that was never a problem. The only financial costs for me, since I am a self trainer, are the regular dog costs (food, toys, treats, vet, etc.) plus service supplies. For example: currently, he has a temp vest and prong collar, but when I can afford it, I want to get him this Patriotic Tri Pack Vest for Service Dogs & Therapy Dogs
vest and a plastic pinch training collar such as this 
Amazon.com: StarMark Training Collar, Large, Blue: Pet Supplies


With the costs for service dogs through programs being what they are, I wouldn't be able to afford one for quite a few years. After rescuing dogs and rehabilitating them, I said why not, let's try using the rehabilitation methods for training and apply it to service work. With a little effort, patience, and a LOT of a praise and treats, I was able train a service dog for myself faster and cheaper than it would cost to get a service dog from an organization. I have already seen him behave better in stores than the "professionally trained" service dogs that kept lunging and barking at him while he laid there looking at me.


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## Roman'sGirl1975 (Mar 11, 2016)

If you are looking for the laws regarding Service Dogs you need to look at the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) website and the DOJ (Department of Justice) website. I've done owner training for my husband for several years and it can take anywhere from 18-24 months to fully train a dog. My husband for example requires a cross trained Service Dog, for both mobility and for PTSD where I require a cross trained Service Dog for medical (I have migraines and they can get really nasty) and for PTSD (I've been married to my husband for 8 years now and we were together for 10 years before that, he is a disabled veteran, and as his care giver I have developed secondary PTSD on top of having PTSD from having a fellow student in high school come up and choke me out in the hall way during school because I wouldnt be his girlfriend). Program trained dogs are VERY expensive, from $20,000 - over $70,000. Not the kind of money any of us has laying around.


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## Niexist (Feb 19, 2016)

Hey this is a great topic, do you guys have any resources for training a PTSD dog? My fiancee was looking into one, but being she is not a vet we would have to come out of pocket with the 20-70k, and we're not able to do that, thank you!!!


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