[nagdu] Re : To the owner on the list

Tue Sep 25 14:45:52 UTC 2012

Hello:

First, let me dispel any alarm you may have had. When I wrote "attack" and "bring cold beer from fridge", I was merely demonstrating humor--yes, I know, JAWS/other screen readers are notorious for their lack of such, so I apologize. I would never train a service dog any attack commands (and I think the beer thing would be somewhat difficult, seeing as my fridge has no handle, and I don't drink beer that often). So, with that out of the way...
My reasons for choosing a king are varied--from practicality to philosophy. First, I need a dog that stands taller at the withers than Bailey (who stands almost 26 inches at the withers). I find that, even with a longer-handled harness, I am having to lift it too far off his back, and it can be mildly uncomfortable, and somewhat impractical should he need to stop suddenly. I am somewhat tall, and would need to lean over slightly to the left to keep the harness close to Bailey's back.
Another reason is health. I don't know how much you know of the king shepherd, so forgive me if I am a bit of a broken record in your head. One of the reasons for the creation of the breed is the health of the German shepherd breed. I, like many others, am becoming disillusioned of the German shepherd--they are wonderful dogs, but finding a breeder who can breed them well (without sloping back, eventual blindness, inevitable joint problems, even deafness) is like searching for the proverbial needle in the proverbial safety pin stack. I don't have a large intestine that converts food waste into currency, so I don't want to go through 611 German shepherds to find the right one. Of course, TSE seems to have excellent shepherds, but I'm not likely to get one from them if I wish to owner train. A king shepherd is a larger, health-problem-free version of the German shepherd. Early in the life of the breed (German shepherds), there was much inbreeding that is responsible for many of the issues we see today. Also, people are not trying to breed for the traits that made the original shepherd so great--they are breeding for show, and at the sacrifice of many good characteristics. So, the King shepherd called out to me as a suitable candidate. I considered many other breeds (Akita, Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, Anatolian shepherd, Irish Wolfhound, Rottweiler), but the king shepherd is closest to the German shepherd that I love so much.
Oh, and regarding the issue of lifespan, they are supposed to have a lifespan of 10-11 years, whereas the German shepherd is 9.3 years. I hope this answers your questions--feel free to keep them coming.
Sincerely,
Robert Hooper
Hooper.90 at buckeyemail.osu.edu
The Ohio State University, Department of Psychology; Department of Neuroscience
572 Stinchcomb Drive #3
Columbus, Ohio 43202
(740) 856-8195

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mardi Hadfield
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 2:02 AM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] Re : To the owner on the list

Robert, Mardi here.When you say King Shepherd, you are talking VERY BIG DOG.Is there a reason you want such a large dog?Remember that the larger the dog,the shorter the life span.That said, it will be your dog so if you really want a King Shepherd, than go for it.My first 2 guides were Siberian Huskies.Not the breed that most folks think of for guide dogs,but they worked well for me.I use my dogs from a power wheelchair.I had a private trainer help me but I really did most of the training myself,especially with my current guide who is a Belgian Shepherd.You might research the Belgian Shepherds as they are really wonderful dogs and not as big as a King.There are 3 types of Belgians.In Europe they are all considered to be one breed but in the USA, they are considered 3 different breeds. The Belgian Sheep dog,which is all black with long hair,The Belgian Tervuren, Which is long haired but can be either a fawn color or Mahogany color. My Shaman is a fawn. The Belgian Malinois,which is the short hair version of the Tervuren. Confused yet? I have had a German Shepherd as a pet and he was a great dog, but I think I prefer the Belgian.The King Shepherd is very similar to the Shiloh Shepherd.They are indeed impressive dogs, but a little to large for me. The hardest part of owner training is first finding the right dog to train. It took me over a year and a half to find Shaman.I was really set on another Husky but could not find the right dog. That is why I currently own 6 dogs. I kept the ones that did not work out.Even the one I got from a breeder.Remember,there is no guarantee that the dog you pick to train will work out.I expanded my search to other breeds and found Shaman who had been rescued from a shelter.He has become a wonderful guide.
I used my retired Husky, Nala to help train Shaman. They really do learn from each other. I had friends to help with the traffic training.I recently purchased a Husky from a breeder and am training her to be a guide. I tried to find one through rescue but they did not work out. I was lucky enough to find a good home for Tipton, the last one I tried to train that did not work out. As far as training for attack, don't do it! You want to discourage any aggressive behaviour in a guide prospect. Attack dogs are not considered Service Dogs.I you have further questions, you may contact
me of list at    wolfsinger.lakota at gmail.com     Have a great day, Mardi
and Shaman,and Neechee,GDIT. My training blog link is listed below, if you are interested

--
http://wolfsinger-lakota.blogspot.com/
http://wolfsinger2-thegoldendragon.blogspot.com
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