assistance dog to be (hopefully) & anxious with strangers

[chickchickchicken]

i have a 3yr old jrt who has been my pet dog since 8 weeks old. i started to train him to do tasks for me around the house 2yrs ago, partly to help me and partly because he loves learning.

i took him to be assessed last year to be a registered assistance dog. he passed all the obedience and temperament tests with flying colours but the assessor said that when she took him away from me he was anxious and sudden noises spooked him.

i was very surprised by this as he is usually very confident. he does spend a lot of time with me but he also goes on long walks with friends and he is very confident with them.

following their advice he goes for a walk every day with a friend while i stay at home. when i am out and about he is fine with strangers suddenly touching him. he is very cute looking so he tends to get lots of attention when we are out and he loves this.

i have asked complete strangers to walk him away from me and he is fine with this. as i dont know them he is only walked where i can see him.

we are going to be re-assessed in a few weeks. its our last chance as he will be too old in august to join their training programme.

can anyone advise what i can do to improve his confidence when i am not around?

(btw whatever happens he is my dog and we already have lots of places we visit that dont usually allow pet dogs but have got to know us over the years so he is able to accompany to most places)

sorry - just re-reading title and not sure if i was clear ...

he is fine with strangers when i am around. he was nervous when assessor took him out without me.

Just bumping for you. I have a jrt (prt really, but much the same type of dog) and I can imagine just how brilliant the breed can be as assistance dogs -- so clever and so highly motivated. I bet your dog adores the training involved in picking up these skills and I really hope it works out for you.

I haven't any advice but I know there are some very good dog-training people on MN who will hopefully come along and help.

eleison - glad to find another jrt fan

i took him to homebase earlier and he got excited when we pulled into the car park. sad i know! but he knows he will get lots of fuss from the staff who know him now

That's lovely. Unfortunatley my dog is rather mistrustful of people he doesn't know (he hates being approached by them) so would never make an assistance dog just for that reason. But I think he would be brilliant at actually learning the tasks, and would enjoy the stimulation so much, so I can imagine your dog's talent.

I really hope you can get over your dog's anxiety problem as it would be so lovely for both of you if he could be registered.

There is often such good dog advice here that I'm sure someone will give help.

No good dog advice i'm afraid but just wanted to say lovely of you to train your dog to be an assistance dog - hope you find a solution and he will be a great help to someone who needs him!

eleison & wolfhound - thank you for your best wishes

fingers x

have to get ready for theatre. will check again later. any advice appreciated

I guess the only way is to find a group of "strangers" who can regularly take your lad away for a few minutes and give him his favourite treats or play a game with him.

If this can be done regularly then no problem.

Could you contact a local dog club - I am sure they would be delighted to help you. All the owners could take your dog for a few minutes and build his confidence.

I train assistance dogs and we regularly give them to other foster owners so they get used to loads of people but I am assuming that he will be your assistance dog so only needs to get used to others to pass the test?

minimu - yes he only needs to be used to others taking him to pass the test. when i have collapsed before he stays near me and this is what i want to happen but in order to pass the test he has to be comfortable leaving me even if i am i ill

good idea about the dog club. when we go to agility he is very happy for others there to run him but maybe this is because he knows i am nearby? as well as him being obsessed with agility

as he now knows everyone at agility do you think i should contact say an obedience club and ask them to take him for a few minutes each? how do you suggest i explain it to them? training centre said have to be very careful that he isnt rewarded for being anxious.

dog club is a good idea. we do go to agility and a few other people

sorry - just got back in and tired. ignore last sentence!

minimu - do you mind telling me which assistance dogs you train?

Bump, in case any more mners have ideas on this.

I wish I could be more help, but my dog flunked out of dog school before he could get his Silver Canine Good Citizen Award because he mistruusts strangers so much he wouldn't submit to the all-over body check without growling.