Small dogs breed trait

Question
Hello.

I am in my 20's, and recently diagnosed with severe arthritis in my hands and wrists. My doctor said medication will help, but it's likely to continue to get worse. On my bad days already, I have trouble picking up things I've dropped, and was mentioning it to my therapist when she suggested looking into a service dog. I'd ideally like to find a smallish breed (no bigger than a Cocker Spaniel) that has a breed trait of being relatively easy to train. Every small breed I've looked into have a point of being very stubborn and hard to train.

I'm aware that each dog is different, some stubborn breeds may have a dog that's easy to train, I'm just looking for a good starting point, if that makes sense. Doing my research ahead of time. Thank you very much for your time.

Answer
Hi Tammy,

While it's entirely possible to get a dog, and train it yourself to be your service dog, it's a difficult thing to do. If you have no experience in training a dog, this could be a time consuming project (it takes at least 6 months) and in the end, there's no guarantee your dog will reliably do the job you need it to do. After training is complete, your dog would need to get certified as being a service dog, and it's possible that the dog would be disqualified from service dog work.  

If you'd like to get your own dog and train it to be a service dog, you would be well advised to hire a professional trainer with experience in the kind of service training you need. There are several lists of service dog trainers on the internet. That's a good place to start, but remember that just because they appear on one of these lists doesn't mean they are qualified or even legitimate. It is still up to you, as the consumer, to do your research and make sure they are what they appear to be. With that said, you may be able to find a trainer here:

http://www.petpartners.org/servicedogtrainerdirectory

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/service.html


As far as the dog's size, in the future will you need a larger dog? As a rule, a service dog stands a minimum of 22" and weigh a minimum of 55 lbs if it's going to be doing any wheelchair assistance work.  For adults weighing over 130 lbs., the dog should be 60 lbs or larger in size.  
If wheelchair or supporting your weight isn't a factor for you, then a smaller dog should be okay. Don't go by breed descriptions alone, since there are plenty of "non-breed standard" dogs out there, meaning there can be a lot of different temperaments in any given breed. If the dog's size is what's important to you, then it's temperament and intelligence are what matter most, not it's breed. A mixed breed could be just as good a choice as any pure bred dog, just keep in mind that ALL dogs need socialization, exercise and training. But since you asked about dog breeds, there are a couple you might want to consider:

Bichon Frise
Boston Terrier
Toy Poodle
Clumber Spaniel
English Springer Spaniel
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
English Toy Spaniel
Papillon
Silky Terrier (aka: Australian Silky Terrier)
Tibetan Spaniel


I was under the impression that trained service dogs came from organizations which served specific handicapped communities. The service dogs can be either free or recipients are charged a minimal fee, or it can cost several thousand dollars to get a trained dog. You might try contacting the links I'm providing below, to see how you could get a trained service dog. Each organization has an individual application process.

http://www.petpartners.org/serviceanimalinfo

http://k94life.org/getadog/servicedog

http://www.medicalservicedogs.com/what-are-service-dogs/service-dog

http://www.servicedogsforamerica.org

http://www.cci.org/site/c.cdKGIRNqEmG/b.4010981/k.87A7/Apply_For_A_Dog.htm

http://www.champdogs.org/faqs-applications



These organizations offer financial assistance in getting a trained service dog:

http://www.assistancedogunitedcampaign.org/index.html

http://www.doggiedoesgood.org/content/financial-assistance-application

http://www.servicedogworld.com/Assistance.aspx?name=Scholarships


Once you get your service dog, you should be aware that there may be organizations that provide financial assistance for veterinary care.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti