Service dog

[Gravekeeper]

Near any dog can be trained as an alert/response dog for epilepsy. But Dachshunds are particularly good with epilepsy, depression, anxiety, autism, etc. Chihuahuas are good with epilepsy as well. Both have been known to pick up seizure alert behaviour just by themselves after observing you.

Basically, any breed whose entire world revolves around you can pick up on such things through observation. Once they link the changes in scent with something bad happening to you.

[Aislin]

chihuahua/dachshund or dachshund/pug mixes are great for alert dogs. I have a shiba inu / heeler mix. He is a good lap warmer and sheds a bit but is too high energy for service dog status. We are still working on it but he is more of an agility kid. My bestie has 2 mixes chihuahua/dachshund and dachshund/pug mix, they are great and relaxed.

[Bardmaiden]

Purely anecdote, but I've never met an ill tempered cockapoo. The several I know are all sweethearts, with a poodle's intelligence, so you can train them to do more complex things. They're pretty active, but seem content to exercise themselves with toys/fetching. The ones I've known also seem light for their size, but I don't have that much experience with small dogs.

Poodles are smart dogs, our poodle who we had when I was young was clever when he worked out that my granddad couldn't hear the door or the phone easily any more started barking at him and then the door/phone so that he could answer them.

[Shpepper]

Contact your local shelter , the shelter where you used to work and any local rescues. Let them know that in the next few years, you will be looking for a specific dog. Try to make and create a relationship with the groups that you feel the most comfortable with. While the toy breeds do tend to get adopted faster, if you have a good relationship with the group doing the rescue, some will actually call and give you a first look if a dog comes in they they think will fit your needs. There is a group here in the states called Dogs for the Deaf. All they use are rescue animals. All their dogs come from shelters and rescues.

There may be a group in the beautiful land of Oz that trains animals for another purpose but they find that the animal is not a good fit for their training. You could adopt a dog that does not graduate a specified training program and have the benefit of the obedience and other training and only have to train a little more for your needs. Some hearing dogs do not pass the test for hearing support but would be great as a companion. Something else to look into.

[Seshat]

Thank you - those are all good ideas.

The cocker spaniel/poodle mixes are likely to be too big for my needs: I'd be after a miniature poodle if I went for a poodle, and afaik, there's no mini cocker spaniels.

Finding someone who failed out of a different service dog training program, but for a reason that's irrelevent for me, is a great idea.

Discussing the issue with a shelter is a good idea. Also, discussing the issue with my vet - his practice rehomes animals, and often the animals they rehome are ones they know well. I hadn't thought of that.

[Aethian]

The cocker spaniel/poodle mixes are likely to be too big for my needs: I'd be after a miniature poodle if I went for a poodle, and afaik, there's no mini cocker spaniels.

Depends on the cocker spaniel, the one I grew up with was about 75% the normal size. Her litter mates were all of small stature. She put out a lot of heat and was great at being a "baby sitter" to me. She knew how to put away her toys in the evening, knew which item to bring after she learned what each was called.

[jedimaster91]

Jedimaster, because Daschunds are working dogs, they're even more susceptible than the companion breeds to 'small dog syndrome'.
Small dog syndrome happens when the dog doesn't perceive its humans as pack leaders. Lacking a pack leader, the dog tries to be the leader: which means it does all sorts of things that the humans interpret as brattiness.
Small dog syndrome happens to larger dogs as well, but is less common: it's actually a failure of the humans. And humans fail to be pack leaders for small dogs much more often than for large dogs. Small dogs have the 'cute' factor going for them, and humans see the first signs of the dog being pack-leader as 'harmless' and 'awww, how cute, he's herding the children'.

Oh trust me, I know. I do volunteer dog training so I see plenty of small dog syndrome. Brattiness was just the nicest way I could describe my friend's dog. They have not trained her at all. She's good with kids at least (which is good since they have 3), but she resource guards and is reactive with other dogs. As hilarious as it sounds to hear her growl while trying to drink water and keep the other dogs away, it's not a good thing for her to do. That sort of tenacity is bred into dachshunds (they were bred to hunt badgers after all) and is something that needs to be channeled in a positive way. If you get one, be careful it doesn't start guarding you.

My own dogs are small/medium-ish and the only attitude problem they have is they seem to think we starve them. But that's beagles for you.

[Seshat]

Vi came from a shelter, she's a 'some sort of mostly terrier mix'.

She's afraid of any sort of stick, including my walking stick. She's become more trusting as the years have gone by and we've not hurt her with it, but the fear is obviously a 'you'll hit me' fear.

She's afraid of being seen eating, as if she's had food stolen from her by larger animals too often. She doesn't resource guard, she flees.
She's become more willing to be seen eating food we specifically hand her - but it has to be literally giving it to her, not putting it in a bowl and telling her the bowl of food is for her. Even using the same word and hand signal for a treat given by hand and a bowl of food doesn't make it 'okay' in her mind.
She does, however, 'sneak' to the food and 'steal' her dinner. <sigh>. Poor thing.

Mind you, those are almost her only 'bad behaviours' now.
She barks too much, mostly excitement barking. And we've never put in enough effort to have her stop pulling on her leash.
If she realises we're specifically doing 'heel' exercises, she heels beautifully, with a slack leash. But if it's 'going on a walk' in her head, she has to SNIFF ALL THE THINGS!

[Shpepper]

Does she take her food to a different place in the room to eat? My dog does the same thing sometimes. When he was a pup, he started getting food aggressive and nipped a friend's child. He was corrected from that and for 6 or 8 weeks, all his food came from my hands or with my hands in the bowl. He is not food aggressive anymore and he will drop food on command now. but he does sometimes take mouthfulls of food, go to a different place in the room, drop the food and eat from the floor. Silly Sebastian.

[Fire_on_High]

Doxies have a lot of issues. I'd think long and hard before considering one.

Rat terriers are fairly smart little guys that might be more suitable...they're less physically fragile, and generally more even tempered.

[Seshat]

Sometimes. She has one spot that seems to be a 'safe place' to eat.

Which is ridiculous because it's one of the most high traffic places in the ENTIRE HOUSE. But maybe that's part of what makes it 'safe'. I don't know.

That's one bit of her thought process I haven't been able to work out.

[Gravekeeper]

After I got my cat from the shelter she would eat every meal like it was the last time you were ever going to feed her. Now she only does it with treats. But you still have to be careful because she will eat whatever sum of them hits the floor regardless of stomach capacity.

So they'll come back up in short order. ( Then she'll eat them again ). The only upside is that if she woofs her cookies when I'm asleep or not home she has it cleaned up by the time I notice. -.-

[ArcticChicken]

Poodles are smart dogs.

Oh year. My labradoodle cut his foot a few days ago, and we've been putting anti-biotic ointment on it. After a couple of applications, he's started giving me his foot when he sees me with the bottle of ointment, then following me back to the kitchen for his antibiotics.

[Gravekeeper]

Oh year. My labradoodle cut his foot a few days ago, and we've been putting anti-biotic ointment on it. After a couple of applications, he's started giving me his foot when he sees me with the bottle of ointment, then following me back to the kitchen for his antibiotics.

My cat does the opposite. I still have the physical and emotional scars from when she needed ear drops after I got her from the shelter. Its like trying to pin a sweater full of knives and live rats to the ground while giving yourself eye drops.

She didn't forgive me for months.

[AccountingDrone]

My cat does the opposite. I still have the physical and emotional scars from when she needed ear drops after I got her from the shelter. Its like trying to pin a sweater full of knives and live rats to the ground while giving yourself eye drops.

She didn't forgive me for months.

Oh the look Jez gives me after we have to give her her 'yucky drops' for her hip arthritis. You would think that we never feed her, beat her all the time and don't give her kitty nummies.