Discovering a Service Dog’s Personality

Life happens quickly, and since service dogs accompany their partners almost everywhere, they need to be able to adjust to whatever comes their way. Because of that, service dogs need to have a certain personality to successfully assist their partners.

SSD Fred, SSD Lewey and SSD Rummy are at the kennel for their 12-month evaluation. We evaluate all of our dogs when they’re 8 weeks old, 6 months old and 12 months old. We want to make sure that the dogs are well-suited to become service dogs. A dog that gets very stressed being in public would not be able to provide its partner with assistance, nor would it be fair to the dog to continually take it into very stressful situations. We like to make sure that the dogs will be happy and successful working as service dogs.

Lewey, Fred and Rummy are taking a temperament test, which lets us see their personality. For this evaluation, we’re not as concerned with the specific skills they’ve learned, so there’s no need for puppy raisers to try to cram in multiple training sessions to make sure their dog does a perfect “heel.” Instead, we’re looking at how the dogs handle different situations, especially situations that may be stressful.

The 12-month evaluation helps us determine what direction a dog’s career may take. Some dogs may be spayed or neutered so they can continue in their training to become working service dogs. If we think a dog might be a good fit for our breeding program, we will keep the dog intact until they come into advanced training, where we will evaluate them as a potential breeding dog. Dogs may also be moved into the companion dog program, where they will become a pet that is trained in specific tasks to assist a child or other family member. If we find that a dog is not going to be happy and successful doing service dog work, we may discharge them from the SSD program. Discharged dogs sometimes find new careers. SSD Hawk left our program to join the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and he now works as an explosive detection dog in Jordan. SSD Sunshine also joined the ATF, and we have had several dogs become explosive detection dogs with the UN.

After the 12-month evaluation, we give our puppy raisers a copy of the information we collected in the evaluation, as well as some ideas for how they can continue to work with their dog to help them succeed. We love to see our dogs succeed, whether they continue in our program to become service dogs, join another organization to find a new career that suits their skills, or become beloved pets.

Rummy, Atari and Yahtzee Visit the Mall

The Game puppies went to the mall, but not to shop. They were there for their first public outing!

Rummy, Atari and Yahtzee are seven weeks old and they got their shots on Tuesday, which means that they can now go out in public. They visited the Colonial Park Mall this morning and were quite a hit! As soon as they walked into the mall, people came over to see them.

Normally, when you see a dog wearing a service dog harness, you should not go up and pet them. You should always ask first, and if the dog's owner says no, you should respect their wishes. The dog is working and should not be distracted. For the Game puppies' first outing, however, we encouraged people to pet them if they asked. When the puppies are this young, they need to learn that people are friendly and not something to be afraid of.

Rummy, Atari and Yahtzee had a great time running around in the mall! At first, all of the puppies were running and prancing all over the place, exploring their new environment. Look at Rummy go!



Did you notice the leash? Watch Rummy run again, and pay careful attention to the leash. Even though Rummy is moving as fast as she can, her handler is careful to keep the leash loose so Rummy doesn't learn to pull. Loose leash walking is one of the most important skills a service dog can have, and we start training it right from the start because it's also one of the most difficult skills a dog learns.

Already the puppies are learning that if they come when called, they'll get some tasty treats! Look at how eagerly they follow one of their handlers!



Atari picked up on this concept right away. She scampered to her handler when called, even though she's looking at something interesting. Listen to how her handler gives her lots of verbal praise in addition to treats. This is a great way to let Atari know that she did good job!



After getting a few treats, Yahtzee started giving his handler nice attention. He focused on her instead of all the interesting things in his environment. He's still a little puppy, and his focus didn't last a long time, but he's already off to a great start!



Soon, though, Rummy and Yahtzee started to slow down, and by the end of the outing, they were stretched out on the floor. Atari, on the other hand, still had lots of energy, even after 30-45 minutes of romping around the mall!

These puppies will be going to the kennel on March 28, along with the Civil War puppies. They'll spend a week at the kennel, and then they'll go to their puppy raisers.