Guest Servicedog Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Thank you for all the welcomes. I am not real savy about blogs, threads, etc, so please be patient with me. Someone said a staghound is about the last breed to think of as a service dog. I agree, but I did the best I could with who I had. My husband died 12/08/2008 shortly after I had left for work, and all three dogs stayed with him all day. There are not a lot of programs that place a program dog in a home with other dogs, and my dogs are so precious to me that I can not give them up for any reason. Few programs train for the kind of service dog I need. My knees and hips are shot, and my ears have rang since Ned died over 2 years ago. I get dizzy at times and need a bit of balance. I also have post traumatic stress disorder, clinical depression, anxiety and panic attacks. When I stumbled across the idea of service dogs for both stability and psychiatric needs, I felt like I had hit the jackpot! Then I tried to find one. No luck finding a dog, and the programs that would train a dog for me are very expensive. I found a program in Jud, ND that would allow me to train my own dog. Max is 11, Cedar is 9 and neither have the temperament for a service dog. Too much protecting and licking respectively. I visited the program in Jud, and they decided Gwynnie would work for me but probably not anyone else. Of course, the minute she walked into the building she pooped on the carpet. Nice! All they did was throw me some paper towels and pointed toward the trash can. No biggie there! Gwynnie is totally non aggressive and very shy, so she would have been killed wherever she came from. She is still shy, and did not get the socialization she should have gotten when she first came home. She is independent and I like that. She can think. She gets scared but she always trys it again, and she has heart. We passed public access test in 6 months, which is very fast. We worked together a lot. We are working on CGC now, and will test the end of February or the first Monday in March. Wish us luck! If you want to know more about public access, go to psychiatric service dogs and looki around. It is a very informative website. Gwynnie braces for me to help me get up. I tell her "brace" and put a hand on her shoulder and she stands still for me to balance. She also slows down or stops if I get dizzy and grab the handle loop on her harness. Lately she has been guiding me over icey patches when we are out walking, and taking me around the ice if she thinks it is too much. Really nice!!! She also sleeps with me, and makes sure she is pressed up against me all night. that really helps because I can have some ugly nightmares, and I really miss Ned, and cry sometimes. She isn't a licky dog but she will come to me and lean into me, providing deep pressure to calm me and ground me. These things don't sound like a lot, but to me they are. She is here at work with me every day and it helps very much. Yesterday we made a short visit to a visitation for a neighbor, the first one I have been able to do since Ned died. I didn't realize it until we got back to work that we had done something I could not do before. She helps me get out of the house, and go places. Before I was shut down, and stayed home unless I was at work. I can go to Mass now, with her, and my tears don't run like a faucet. She lays on my feet, and grounds me. And I can reach down and stroke her fur. We do good. I do have to have her on a leash or in a fenced in area all of the time. She is WAY faster that I am! Take care, and if anyone has any questions you can email me offline if that is ok. Mary and Gwynnie AND DID YOU SEE THAT SCOTTISH DEERHOUND THAT WON WESTMINSTER LAST NIGHT !!!!! W O W !!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FastDogsOwnMe Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Glad you found us! While sighthounds may not be traditional "task" SDs, they make wonderful PSDs... as you know and I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozgirl2 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 (edited) These things don't sound like a lot They DO actually sound like a lot! Good pup, Gwynnie!!! We'd LOVE to see pix of all your pups! And welcome to GT! Edited February 16, 2011 by ozgirl2 Quote Jeannine with Merlin, the crazed tabby cat and his sister, Jasmine, the brat-cat With Angel Cody(Roving Gemini), and Weenie the tortie waiting at the Bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepsi2004 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I am so glad for you and Gwynnie - I have a service mobility dog - a 90 lbs. grey - Charlie. The group let him come to me even though I had 2 other dogs then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jerrybird Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Good luck on your next test and I'm sure you both will do very well. Sounds like you have a good partner in Gwynnie and welcome to Greytalk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 7ct5 Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Nice post and welcome to GT... but I am so mad at myself for reading it through the end line- I was saving the Westminster BIS to watch tonight .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Servicedog Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) Glad you found us! While sighthounds may not be traditional "task" SDs, they make wonderful PSDs... as you know and I know. Do you have a PSD? What are your experiences, if I may ask? I would love to talk to you about the dogs and how they help us Mary and Gwynnie Edited February 17, 2011 by Servicedog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stripeyfan Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Welcome to GT! Gwynnie sounds like a total star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bellenzo Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 That really is interesting; I had no idea. Glad she is of help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest goofydog Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Welcome to GT and thanks for sharing your story. It sounds like you and Gwynnie are a match made in heaven. Good luck with your continued training and please keep us posted. Oh yea, pictures would be wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xan Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 What a wonderful relationship you obviously have with Gwynnie! I was so touched, reading your story. Please do stick around, and share with us. Welcome to GT! Quote My Inspirations: Grey Pogo, borzoi Katie, Meep the cat, AND MY BELOVED DH!!!Missing Rowdy, Coco, Brilly, Happy and Wabi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mom2Shiloh Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Welcome to GT. My daughter told me to come check your introduction because I have a Staghound, thanks to Manymanyhounds (GT name) Dione Garnand, who is a Staghound lover as well as a Greyhound person. I also think think that what Gwynnie does for you is HUGE. I actually wasn't aware of the category PSD, but that's actually what Callan has been for me since my husband died after a short battle with Babesia (a tick-borne disease) in August of 2007. Callan came to me in RI from Southern Georgia at age 4 months, one of 5 little Staghound boys saved by fate and a kind-hearted rescuer from ending up in a low-end pet shop. His name was then "Slick" because he was the smoothest coated of the litter, and I added "Callan Gwenion" -- meaning "smile from the heart" in Welsh, because that is what he told an animal communicator that he came to bring me. I won't hijack your thread with my whole story here, but I have also struggled with clinical depression and have Lyme and as a side-effect, Rheumatoid Arthritis. Callan has slept pressed up against my back every since my husband died, helps me with my balance when I have a bad day (my hips and knees are okay but my left ankle and foot is shot as is my left wrist). Bless Gwynnie! If you feel like chatting, my email is mom2harley@verizon.net (very not private So glad you stopped here and that you have her Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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