Berner - Psychiatric Service Dog

[Kilter]

As with the other post, I'd find an organization and then go from there. They'd know what breeds work well for your type of needs, where to get the dogs and how to do the training. I would say Shepherd or other 'tough dog' in appearance just because not a lot of people are going to rush to pet them, unlike a golden or a berner.

[milos_mommy]

You can train ANY psychiatric service dog to body block people from approaching you. They can learn tasks such as lying down directly behind you in a line in a store to prevent people from standing up on top of you, or circling you to keep others away, or moving between you and someone else on command. This will go better with a larger dog, but even a medium sized lab or golden is perfectly capable of doing this work.

I don't see many berner service dogs for the reasons mentioned (health, size, and age), and while they're EXTREMELY trainable and could easily do service work for someone, say, in a wheel chair, most are incredibly emotionally attached to their owners, and having an owner in psychiatric distress is going to cause most berners a whole lot of anxiety, preventing them from working very well. The right breeder and the right dog might exist, but I would absolutely not narrow down your search to only berners because of their size and looks.

[Jynx]

I'm in CT, and while I can't offer any referrals to you, sorry I will say, be very very careful who you deal with. There have been a couple of stories in the local papers lately about 1. a guy selling 8 week old puppies as diabetic alert dogs, (and yes, some people BELIEVED him and bought dogs from him), and I have heard of another place in MA that is "suspect" when it comes to training service dogs.

Just be careful who you deal with
Diane

[Jynx]

I'm in CT, and while I can't offer any referrals to you, sorry I will say, be very very careful who you deal with. There have been a couple of stories in the local papers lately about 1. a guy selling 8 week old puppies as diabetic alert dogs, (and yes, some people BELIEVED him and bought dogs from him), and I have heard of another place in MA that is "suspect" when it comes to training service dogs.

Just be careful who you deal with
Diane

[frostfell]

Originally Posted by yv0nne

I think a cute, smaller dog would be the opposite. People would be crowding her to ask about or talk to the dog. I can see a lab or something small but mighty working to literally pull you away from the situation.

I know Penn can physically pull me away and she's only 44lbs ..and I'm 116lbs. I don't think you need a huge dog. You could also get a shepherd or something so people assume the dog is mean and are more willing to give you room to move. See, stereotypes for breeds can have benefits

But they will be crowding the DOG who is 6 feet away hamming it up. Nobody will be paying any attention to the owner, unless of course shes clutching the dog to her chest instead of letting it do its redirecting job

[Saeleofu]

Originally Posted by frostfell

But they will be crowding the DOG who is 6 feet away hamming it up. Nobody will be paying any attention to the owner, unless of course shes clutching the dog to her chest instead of letting it do its redirecting job

A small dog really is not suited to a handler that doesn't want attention drawn to themselves. A "generic" dog like a lab or golden is least likely to draw attention.

The dog shouldn't be 6 feet away from the handler most of the time, and definitely should not be soliciting attention from a crowd. That is not appropriate SD behavior. A larger dog forming a barrier, though, is definitely acceptable.