Service dogs for autism

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Well his mother was a Husky German Shepherd mix and his father was ALLEDGEDLY a pure german shepherd however he came out looking like this:



And i saw another male unnuterded dog walking around the area a little before Echo was born (hes a locally bred dog) that looked to be a border collie ( black and white and floppy ears) so sometimes i wonder if thats his real dad or he just never developed perked ears.

For a couple of examples:
• My well meaning but inexperienced parents repeating his name (or any command he knows) over and over until it loses all meaning for the dog. So then I have to teach him another name (or another command word / signal) that only my sister and I know and only I use.
• Again, well meaning but ignorant people offering him treats and distracting him from paying attention to me and his work. So then I have to retrain him to always only focus on me when working and not be excited when seeing friendly people in public.
• People taking aggressive dogs that are not trained and are not managed out in public which then attack my dog. So then I have to resocialize him to not be reactive, afraid, or distracted when seeing strange dogs in public.

Thank you for sharing those points!

I have a parrot currently whom i have trained very well and strictly. I always forbid other people from repeating his commands, as i fear that he might become confused by them. (And at home everyone has respected my rules on not repeating his commands, so that wont be a problem for me).

I have written down what you've told me (even though most of i already know from before) as it has been informative.

I very much appreciate your time and answer(s)!

I will probably train my dog to only pay attention to me when in his vest/harness, that way he can be friendly to others when without the vest - is this something you do/have done, if yes did it work?

Sometimes, when he is working, I want him to act as an ambassador for me. I want him to greet people and be friendly then. So I prefer to give him the command, "say hi," instead of taking the time to take off his harness.

Other Service Dog handlers do use the cue of taking off the vest to signal to the dog that they can greet, be friendly, play, and "just be a dog."

Either one, or both, can work if you are consistent.

If it isnt too much trouble, could you explain how you taught him to "say hi" (i am good with being consistent when training animals, but am not sure how this specific task would be trained best).

First, I taught the commands "sit" and "look at me". Then, I taught him to "sit and look at me" before getting/doing anything exciting:
• In front of his bowl before each and every meal;
• In front of the door before going out for walks;
• In front of people before going up and saying hi.

At first, the dog may sit and glance at you quickly before looking back at the bowl, door, or stranger. So you need to build up patience by slowly lowering the bowl, opening the door, or going up to people. When they look away from you, you raise the bowl, close the door, or walk away from the other person. When they finally wait patiently to the very end, then you give a release word, like "okay" or "say hi".

Release words are also taught with the "leave it" game. This starts with a treat in your hand which is closed tightly around the treat. When the dog tries to get the treat from your hand, you say "leave it". When the dog stops trying to get the treat for a second, you say "take it" and open your hand.

Thank you! Your tips/advice have been very helpful!

I am sure that they will come in much handy later on.

You are very welcome, teksla.

Feel free to post more questions or comments about Service Dogs here in this thread (I cannot figure out PM). I love discussing Service Dogs.

Or, if you can handle Facebook, there are a few groups about Service Dogs which contain lots of information and advice. I can recommend a few.

Thank you.

I dont have facebook, but in case you want/prefer it, i can give you my email address.