Finding work for Ace
It's been a while since my last update but Ace has really come into his own as a well-mannered gentlecorgi. His recall from other dogs in the middle of play has received a LOT of work and repetition. I'd dare to say it's solid. We stayed at my brother-in-law's flat over the weekend, where there lives a sprightly Beagle girl just a month older than Ace. The two got along famously, but more importantly (to me), Ace got in a LOT of training. Raw food guarding, recalls in all sorts of environments and levels of distraction, calm behaviour in the presence of other dog(s) and while travelling... EVERYTHING. He was conked out at the end of every day because of how much work I put him through. And it paid off.
His raw food guarding was eliminated around humans and cats, but it had never been tested around other dogs, simply because I had no access to one for repetitions. Ace growled, and on some occasions shoved the Beagle away with a flash of his teeth. I was very disappointed in him, but realised that it's silly to ask him to generalize his behaviour to a situation he's never been in, before. So we worked on it. And then some more, and then some more. Now Ace relinquishes his food to the other dog - which is a little more than I had hoped for, but I'd rather have that than guarding. He will do well even when we have a giddy eight week old puppy around; I'm sure of it.
Anyway. Now it's getting to the point where I can rely on Ace to set an example for other dogs in any environment. He has great recall, very good social behaviours, and practices calm and quiet when in a situation with lots of people and smells around. I'd like to transform this into something "more". While I do look forward to the day I can put him on sheep, and compete in dog sports, what I'd like to do most is see if there's anything for him in the service dog domain.
I'm actually not familiar with what service dogs can do, bar guiding the blind. They are a rarity in France, and are almost entirely Labradors serving the blind and/or otherwise disabled. Ace is of a smaller stature and will never really get over his shyness when confronted head-on by strangers. He can be calm around them when he's left to his own devices, but because of his odd looks he sadly is often on the receiving end of strangers looming over him and thrusting their hands into his face.
Would it still be possible for him to find a job within society? He has so much more to him now than just being a shy, independent dog. He's quiet, loyal, smart and a good example. He'll stay on task when he knows he must. He'll try his hardest. There must be something a dog like him could do for the rest of us!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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Perhaps you can get him into search and rescue or something similar? Unfortuntely as far as I know most service dog duties fall into therapy work (i.e. letting strange people fondle you day in and day out) so Ace may not be suited for that type of work. I have always wanted to work with Franklin to be a service dog, and he LOOOOOOOOVES people, but he just doesn't understand wheelchairs, they freak him out, and I don't have access to them a lot so I can't teach him they are actually an ok thing.
I had a German Shepherd who was a Search and Rescue dog, its an excellent way to burn off energy, use their brains, and serve the community. She could be a timid dog, shy around strangers, but when that vest went on and she was working she would do ANYTHING (even board a helecopter while the blades were going). Anybody could pet and play with her when she was "working", her midset was all work, work, work and she could not be distracted from her job. In my community anybody could join Search and Rescue, it was a branch of the Sheriff's Department, we just had to be present at meetings and training sessions and participate. Do they have anything like that where you are?
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Permalink Reply by Ludi on
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Search and Rescue, eh? Hmm, i never thought about it. :) Would a corgi do well in that field? Unfortunately it seems there isn't a trace of SAR training available in my area, let alone my entire department out here. :(
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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Maybe being a therapy dog for older people? They aren't as rambunctious as younger people, and are slower in their actions. Plus they would LOVE the attention.
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I would love to, but Ace takes forever to warm up to people. Once they're on his "list" then he will do anything he can to lie at their feet and accept rubs and cuddles, but until that point he is very wary. It's such a shame that he was under-socialized upon coming to France. He could have been a stellar therapy dog for the sick and elderly, with his quiet presence.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I think it's great you want to find a job for Ace! I do want to clarify that at least here in the States, a "service dog" is one who does tasks or performs work on behalf of someone with some sort of disability. A hearing assistance dog, epilepsy detection dog, balance dog, etc would all be considered service dogs. Service dogs are trained and then placed with an owner who lives with them 24/7 and the dog performs its tasks. Think guide dogs for the blind. So unless you have a condition or you are looking to place Ace in another home, I'm not sure "service dog" is quite what you mean according to US lingo.
A therapy dog would be one who visits people in nursing homes, schools, etc to provide comfort.
A search and rescue dog, bomb-sniffing dog, bedbug dog, etc can work for its owner or for a professional handler performing those sorts of tasks. They are considered working dogs but not service dogs. :-)
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Ah, okay. That makes sense! Sorry for the name mix-up. A "working dog" is definitely what I had in mind. Ace has a fairly poor nose as far as dogs go, at least, according to my observations. He is unable to find a piece of raw meat on the floor in front of him unless I directly point it out. That can't bode well for a SAR or bomb-sniffing dog... can it? :D
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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Like I mentioned above, Ace has way too poor a nose (or well, he can't use his well) to do a job like this, but it's exactly what I wish he could do! Watching dogs work is magical!
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Permalink Reply by Roger/Laurie on
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We have a program here that is called Paws to Read. Children sit down on the floor with the dog and read to them. These are usually children with reading problems. Some dogs watch the child some half fall asleep. After a few month it is amazing how the children's reading improves. The kids say, the dogs always will listen and don't make fun of my reading. This is not an "active" therapy program, but the children love to sit with the dogs reading and petting.
It also teaches children respect for animals.
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That is an amazing program from the sound of it. I have always thought that children can learn so much, about so many things, just by being in the regular presence of animals. Dogs in particular seem to be marvelous for kids. I regret so much that Ace is very children-shy, as he would be wonderful in a program like Paws to Read. He is patient, and settles quickly, and loves to listen to people talk to him. Arrrgh!
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Permalink Reply by Vicki/Kurt Pegel on
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Can you tell me how you fixed the good guarding. Our Sophie I believe is going to guard everthing that she thinks is hers, which seems to be everything. Water was the first thing I noticed, she wont let an other dog near the water to drink. I am sure food would be the same thing. She also snapped at a dog for sniffing the same spot she was sniffing. I dont want her to get aggressive so I want to catch it before it gets seriousl. She is 9 months old, and gets along well with dogs other than the issues I mentioned. Your advise would be greatly appreciated.
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Since Ace guarded only his raw food, I started by cutting it up (easier said than done when feeding raw meaty bones) into chunks and hand-feeding him. I suppose for water, it could be done in a similar fashion - pouring a little out at a time when you know Sophie is thirsty. We then introduced Ace's "opponent" (our male cat, who is terrified of Ace's wrath) from a generous distance of 3 meters away. My husband would hold our cat in his arms, and scootch closer. Ace saw it, saw that I had raw food in a bowl at hand, and for every scootch that he let happen without growling, he was rewarded with a morsel of his dinner.
This proceeded until we were able to get to the "hot zone" of roughly half a meter distance from Ace's face. It took a LONG time to chip away at it until finally Ace would no longer growl when seeing a cat approach. I'd say it was about 2 weeks from the point when we entered the hot zone to when Ace was regularly ignoring the cat. What's very important is your own body language and speech when this happens. I found that I was tensing up in anticipation of his growling/averse reactions. This just made him more high strung about dinner.
For the sniffing, that's a little harder to control. You could try keeping her on a lead while in an area of new smells, with the other dog around from the start. If she snaps, pick her up and remove her from the area in a quiet manner. Ace would often need to 'cool down' once he got riled up about guarding his raw dinner. Reprimanding him or yanking the food out of his mouth would just have made him even fiercer and more suspicious of what was going on.
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