Why are Retrievers recommended for the disabled?

[maybeinanotherpie]

Aren't they a really active breed?

I am a bit confused. I just saw one on a walk. Spoke to the owner - It was a retriever pup who was incredibly placid but being trained up to be a therapy/guide dog

Don't these dogs need loads of exercise? You'd think they wouldn't be a suitable breed for a disabled person for obvious reasons

I am looking to get a dog for my autistic son and thought greyhound for their calm nature

Rejected guide dogs are snapped up because they are such good dogs and usually fail for something pretty minor that's not a big deal for a pet. E.g. one I knew failed because she was too dog distracted, couldn't walk past another dog and ignore it when she was supposed to be working. She'd always stop and get focused on the dog and forget what she was supposed to be doing.

But she was a very well behaved, well socialised dog with the perfect temperament and she made the most wonderful pet. She was a black lab.

Rejected guide dogs are also often given to other charities as they are better suited to assisting people with different disabilities or for other work.

I don't think greyhounds are as motivated to please their owners as gundogs in general and the retrievers in particular. They are a bit more independent and aloof and lack the drive that a guide dog needs. You'd also have a job training one to ignore prey animals and cats.

The black lab I mentioned was born in 2000 so she's long dead. I'm not fully up to date on practices within the charity but my mum is a long term puppy walker so I grew up with a lot of Guide Dog puppies! I think my mum's on her twenty somethingth puppy now. They have all been fab dogs.

I was just about to post something similar. I've know a few greyhounds over the years and one mixed greyhound/labrador. All were lovely dogs, very affectionate but everyone of them were know for killing cats and squirrels, put me right off them.

We have a dog, chosen primarily with our ASD DS in mind.

I spent ages researching breeds. DS was 4 yrs old when we got our dog, and he tends to be quite clumsy and heavy handed. So while contact was always going to be supervised, I wanted a breed that was robust enough but also laidback.

In the end we got a Zuchon - one of the designer dog breeds that have popped up, a Bichon Frise x Shih Tsu. They don’t moult and are known as “teddy bear dogs”. In the US, they’re often used as companion dogs for the disabled.

Our dog is now 10 yrs old and DS is 14. My DM actually got one of our dog’s littermates. Both dogs are bloody lovely and are just amazing with the DC.

When DS was little, the ONLY thing that would help in a meltdown was a cuddle with the dog. The dog adores the DC. My DM’s dog thinks my DS is his owner, he loves him like he loves no other!

I would completely recommend the breed for SEN kids. Oh, and as a bonus, they need very little exercise.

I have a nearly 9 month old black male lab of show type who makes Marley look well behaved. He needs two off lead walks a day - every day - totalling 90 min including social contact with people and dogs to be anything like well behaved. A 40 min on lead walk for my dog wouldn't be enough to keep either of us semi-sane.
I chose a show type lab because I wanted a dog with guide dog type nature. I still hope he'll calm down and become that with time and more training. More likely he'll become like Marley as an adult - a good but boisterous and michievous dog who's a magnet for trouble but who loves me. A lot depends on upbringing, environment and individual personality. Ive learnt that choosing a labrador puppy (or a puppy of any type) is no guarantee you'll get a guide dog type. Although some people seem to have much easier pups than mine. To be fair, my boisterous pup is friendly, sociable to people and dogs, quiet (very little barking), trainable and essentially good natured. I hope you find the right dog for your family.

A training walk for a guide dog pup (or a working outing for a qualified guide dog) involves more than just walking, though. If you add something that's mentally challenging for the dog, they do actually get surprisingly tired. They need to concentrate pretty hard when they're on the clock.

Guide dog puppies can be as mischievous and boisterous as any dog - they're only 'kids' after all. All 9 month old dogs are a bit crazy.

It's just as important to mentally stimulate a dog. Games and using their senses can often be as tiring for them as an hour around the local park off lead.

When off lead, like most dogs, my dog can regulate how far and fast he goes. So while I may do a 1 mile stroll (including stops to sit on bench or admire the wildflowers) my dog can choose to do anything upwards from that to a 10 mile gallop (running back and forth between me and anything he finds interesting).
It's a bit like 2 friends exercising side by side on treadmills at gym, each covering different distances and speeds during same session, both spending time and sharing experiences together, both going home happy, exercised and relaxed.

Greyhounds tend to be a bit lazy (tryingto be polite) and do not enjoy loads of training. If it is raining and you have a greyhound as an assistance dog are buggered

I know an elderly lady who has successfully trained one as an assistant dog!
He's a rescue, didn't like getting near humans, was scatty and scared.

In order to draw him out, she gave him little tasks to do ... nowadays he can do anything from picking up something from the floor to helping her get dressed.

Not that she needs it, but it was just something to get him comfortable around her! Granted, she's a very experienced dog trainer and has all the time in the world.

Definitely a case of the exception makes the rules!

There's a lady on TikTok who has (I think) a whippet as a guide dog - his name is Charlie. He's incredible at what he does but it's definitely a very unusual thing to see.

They are very good (the partnership) but a whippet really shouldn’t be doing any type of guide work. Their skeletons are just not suitable for any type of guiding or human weight bearing type stuff, the skeleton is too flexible.

picking up things, opening doors etc that sort of thing is fine but they should not be doing any kind of pull against a human.

ive heard of quite a few whippets being assistance dogs, obvs nowhere near as much as a lab or golden, but there are still some.

The complete opposite! Retrievers are notoriously slow to mature. It has taken until age 3 for our previous 2 to gain some sense and we are still in the thick of the puppy/adolescent stage with our 18 months old GR 🙈