Well, I have to admit I have absolutely fallen in love with Mastiffs of all types as Service Dogs. I have worked with so many recently, I am completely amazed at their perfect combination of sweetness and intelligence. I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with three new clients with Mastiffs – two English Mastiffs, and one Cane Corso. Despite their size of about a zillion pounds, they are gentle, loving, and bond SO closely to their handler. In addition, one of the things I have noticed the most is their eye contact. They become totally focused when engaged in training and tasks. “Watch me” is like asking a child if they want a new toy. There’s no second asking. They also seem to have an amazing capability to learn a new skill SO quickly – and they don’t forget it once it is reinforced a few times. Because of their size, of course they are great mobility dogs – but they also make perfect Service Dogs for people with PTSD, psychiatric issues, anxiety, depression, and are so gentle with and protective of small children.
That being said, I want to talk about my first English Mastiff SDIT, Beatrice! Beatrice’s handler, Elizabeth, went into the training obviously very unsure if Beatrice would do well. Beatrice far surpassed all my and Elizabeth’s expectations. We had our first session at Elizabeth’s home, where we discussed Elizabeth’s need for a Service Dog and her expectations. On our first public outing, we went to Petsmart. Beatrice left me in awe! She can “sit’ and “down” no matter how many people or dogs are around her with the proper tone of voice and hand signals. She “loads” and “unloads” perfectly with a wait signal. Beatrice will sit and wait at doors until told “go through”. She knows “watch me”, and “heels” perfectly on just a regular flat collar! Beatrice performed several meet and greets with children, adult males and females, sitting first, then being petted or having the stranger offer a treat. She LOVES all other dogs – small, tiny and large dogs, and is submissive to dogs she meets who seem afraid of her large size. She will even go into a “down” if she feels the child or dog she meets is a bit nervous! We practiced 20 ft off-leash sit/stays and down/stays and she was marvelous. She also stays in a heel position when the leash is dropped for a few steps. I would say Beatrice’s only fault is her occasional massive drool when thirsty or excited!!! It was completely a dream to train Beatrice – who even ignored created distractions. Poor Beatrice recently suffered from a prolapsed uterus, and had to have major surgery. But she has healed just fine!
Unfortunately, I didn’t get pictures at Petsmart because I was so amazed, but here are some from our first meeting at Elizabeth’s house.
I AM SO, SO PROUD OF BEATRICE AND MOM ELIZABETH, WHO OBVIOUSLY HAS DONE AMAZING WORK WITH BEATRICE AND SHE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW HOW WELL SHE HAS DONE!!
We began at the park with very little shade compared to our last meeting, and moved to a local pet store a few miles away. Both girls (my TD Abby and Sadie) seemed to listen more with the cooler temperatures of the store. We continued to work on down/stay with sit/stay and “leave it” (with many new smells of rabbits, birds, ferrets, and fish). Both girls were complimented on their behaviors and really didn’t mind the other animals since they were the only 2 dogs in the store. The only time they had the slightest interest in the other animals was when the birds where moving or out of the cages.”
Another TREMENDOUS training session with dear 24 year-old Alissa, and her SD, Greta!!! Despite all the physical problems Alissa has been going through, Greta is right by her side, comforting her, and conducting herself PERFECTLY in public.
leave it, load and unload – it’s like they are tied together by an invisible “love” bond. Greta is not phased by any distractions I tried to create, and the ONLY thing we need to work on is that at home, when Alissa is feeling ill, it comforts her when big Greta gently wraps her front arms and paws around Alissa. The hugs make her feel wonderful. When we are doing meet and greets, Greta, who loves everyone (but Alissa the most), will do a gentle meet and greet and take treats gently, but as people (mostly children) want to keep petting her, she does a little “bunny hop” because she wants to wrap her arms around them, too. So that is what we will be working on. It’s a tricky one – because we want Greta to continue doing it with Alissa – but not to anyone else. So, teaching her where and when it’s appropriate without dampening her enthusiasm at home is a thinker.
On a side note, you’ll notice a woman in a wheelchair in the picture to the right. When this woman first saw Greta, Greta instantly went up to her and laid her head on this woman’s chest. The woman started crying, and petting gentle Greta. We asked her if she was OK – and it turns out, this woman had literally been diagnosed with lung cancer at the very spot where Greta laid her head. She just cradled Greta’s head and neck in her arms and cried. It was literally something out of a storybook. Greta instinctively knew where this woman was hurting, and brought so much happiness so this woman who said that just meeting Greta brought her out of her despair for several wonderful moments.
CONGRATULATIONS to Wounded Warrior Christopher and his wife Megan, who just had a baby girl – Piper Tensley Willis!!! Christopher and his wonderful SD Maggie were apart for the first two days while in the hospital – humble Christopher didn
Christopher then talked to the nurses on the floor and they stated that they had already talked to their head nurse and she was aware of Maggie and was okay with her! Yay! The nurses on the floor said that they would talk to the officer if he comes to the floor. I reassured him that if he had any other problems, he could call me asap on my personal cell phone.
Viva and Kimberly took to each other immediately. Kimberly suffers with seizures and anxiety, and needs a dog to help her cope with every day life as well have Viva trained to detect and alert if Kimberly will have or has a seizure.
Viva looked at Kimberly directly in her eyes and smiled and was happy to lay down by her side while we chatted about the entire process and our journey together. Kimberly has the wonderful support of her family, who were there at the meeting and were equally thrilled at the instant connection that Viva and Kimberly had.
Kimberly’s mom, Tonya, said that she could see that Viva was going to change Kimberly’s life. I agree, and I am so pleased that they have invited me along on their journey.
