Realistic expectations

http://www.mmilani.com/3281/commentary-201007/

I saw this the other day, and needed to see it. It made me of two minds. With Duncan as my partner, I would disagree that it's too much to ask a dog to be a service dog and more. With Keeper, I'm finding that in fairness, asking her to be a service dog pretty much is the limit of what she's up for doing.

Keeper's a very good service dog for me in many ways. She's very easy to live with, tries very hard to be right, and is generally undemanding. However, she doesn't push me to do more, or motivate me to get out and train just to train. She's smart, but she's not wicked smart and mischievous if left 'alone' to think up things. She's a homebody and an introvert, but she wants to go with me, and likes helping, so she enjoys her job.

Duncan was almost too much dog for me as a youngster. Four hours at the lake throwing his bumper so he'd have his needs met was right at the limit of what I could do. He needed me to be better- at training, at managing him, at giving him a job. He was a great service dog for college, especially once I had a core group of friends and when we'd go hang out I'd relax and he'd wrestle them. He was a gregarious, socially motivated dog. He got a charge out of making people laugh, and he liked meeting new people so much that I used "go say hi" as a reward for him.

If I'd been up for it, I think he would have loved being a therapy dog on top of being a service dog. He schmoozed with guests when they came over, worked the crowd for petting and treats, played with dogs at the dog park (when I still trusted people to only bring mentally and socially stable dogs to the dog park), played with our neighbor's Brittany for hours when I cut it back to doggy play dates, and was just a lot of attitude and joy (and work) to live with. If he didn't have a job, he made up jobs for himself- usually digging holes and barking and eating food on the counter. I couldn't slack off with him, and he kept me motivated.

Keeper's not challenging in the same way. She's not as social. She'd rather hang out in the same room than wrestle, rather go on parallel walks with new dogs than play with them, and if she doesn't have a job at that moment, she snoozes like a 100 pound bear rug.

I've had a hell of a case of Second Dog Syndrome. Keeper is not Duncan. She's doing the same job in an almost entirely different way. She is a very good dog, and I think my parents prefer living with Miss Easy-Going over Mister Entertain Me! Maybe it's working with him first, maybe it's just my preferences, but I'm going back to Strider's breeder and hoping to get another gregarious, adventurous, active dog. I love Keeper, and I try not to ask too much of her... but I really miss having a dog who had the energy reserves to do it all, and wanted to be that busy.