Seeing eye guide dog and owner in training

Seeing eye guide dog and owner in training

Nanny dogs excel at service dog work. They are naturally intelligent, attentive, loyal, trainable, and they have a strong work ethic.

It is imperative that any dog used for service work cannot exhibit any aggression to humans or other animals. Dogs with a prey drive are not eligible for nanny dog designation.

The most popular breed choices for seeing eye guide dogs include:

  • golden retrievers
  • Labrador retrievers
  • collies
  • sometimes mixes of those two retriever breeds or Labrador retriever crossed with poodle (another ancient gun dog breed) called labradoodle
Labradoodle assistance dogs in training

Labradoodle assistance dogs in training

Service dogs perform other roles besides seeing eye guide dogs. There are assistance dogs for hearing disabled people to alert them when someone is at the door or when a strange sound merits concern. A person with mobility issues also benefits from an assistance dog that can fetch things for them, open doors, etc.

The presence of a therapy dog can help people recovering from major health issues or surgery, and they are also being used to assist people in overcoming emotional trauma. Some therapy dogs create a sympathetic bridge to children with severe autism and learning disabilities.

Search and rescue dogs find survivors after natural disasters, or people lost in the woods – like St. Bernards once rescued people caught in avalanches and Newfoundlands rescued shipwreck victims.