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Service dog task
I am looking for some alternative suggestions on a service dog task that a client wanted to know if i could train. Here’s the request. Client has a 10 year old autistic son who can’t speak and can have violent outbursts. They purchased a golden retriever puppy who now is 8 months old. The son also sometimes rushes out door of residence and takes off running. They want me to teach the dog to go after son and get in front of him to distract or slow him down so the mom can catch her son. This was an interesting request but i have decided this was a bad idea for safety reasons for the dog plus I think it would be very difficult to teach this. My college intern suggested to put a gps on dog and teach the dog to find son should he get out of sight. I thought this was a good idea but i am not sure about the dogs tracking abilities The mom could then track the dog on phone and find son. I have been specializing in training service dogs for about 8 years. I’m alittle bit unsure how to approach this request. Any ideas would be welcome
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8 Replies
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As I read this, I thought of a family I know who has a 9 year old son who sleep walks. During a few of his episodes, he made it outside during the night and would waken completely scared and screaming. The parents ultimately had to put locks on the doors across the top of the door frame. Is it possible the parents could simple add locks to where the son can not reach them as a management plan?
The only other idea that jumped out was, is there a way you can teach the dog to interrupt the son’s motion as has he moves towards the doors in the house vs. outside?
All joking aside, a herding type breed may have been an idea to go with here. How many families have herding type breeds and are frustrated the dog is barking at the kids movements and “rounding” them up. This sounds like the potentially perfect home for one of these dogs now.
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Wow. My heart goes out to this family – what a lot to manage. I’m sure you’re working with them to set realistic expectations. With careful training, it will be about 2 years before this puppy will be mature and reliable enought to perform tasks, let alone self-initiated tasks.
I’ve heard of some service dog trainers using a tether system with a trained, adult dog. The dog simply does a VERY resistant Down-Stay if the child bolts. I struggle with this as I see there may be several safety issues – not to mention the kid and dog have to remain tethered for it to work. The instances where I’ve heard of it being useful are out in public, not at home. That makes a bit more sense to me, but still very difficult.
@jenz management idea of child proof door locks is a good one, for sure. Fencing, too, is another idea for the front and back yards. Keeping this child safe is a priority, obviously. Are they working with any autism specialists in your area that you could pull into a consultation to brainstorm about what’s possible and practical?
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Since the child is violent when he is escaping, keeping the dog safe is a priority no matter what the tasks are… That said, using the dog’s natural retrieve drive may come in handy if the child can wear a harness with a “bringsel” type bumper the dog could grab and hold? If it was long enough and dangled behind the child, the dog could be taught to grab, hold and back up to stay out of swing range, keeping a line taut until mom gets to them.
I’ve never heard of anyone purposely training that… but the golden I adopted years ago was doing this naturally – only it was an 8-year old boy’s shirt, which is why the dog was being rehomed. haha. So… possible?
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Thank you everyone for responding. I am thinking that this task is probably unrealistic the more I think of it. They have locks and door alarms but sometimes the bolts out the door when the door is being opened. I think this is not safe and I have visions of boy running out the door and injuring the dog . I am don’t tether the dog to a person Way to dangerous in my opinion for dog and person. The service dog industry is exploding right now and I am finding that many people now have the thought that Dogs can solve all of their problems. I am also finding that there are many breeders and companies selling puppies to families under the sales pitch of “these puppies are bred for specific temperament”. It’s driving me crazy. Families are getting ripped off. I wish there was something I could do. I had a family that had one child with Autism and one child with Post traumatic stress. The family has three dogs in house already. A breeder sold them to more puppies bred specifically for service dog work. I am sure this is going on all over the country
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I’m sure you are right on all counts, Bruce. I can only hope that ethical trainers will win the day. Hang in there with all the hard work you do. Sometimes, compassionate education is the best we can offer.
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Just a thought. Can the Service dog be conditioned so when the child is getting violent or begins to act up the Service dog learns to close the front door & then Alert an Adult? Or ring a bell when door is closed? Good luck keep us updated.
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Great out of the box thinking, @denise
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That is a good idea, thank you
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