Murphy & Me

[murph]

Hello! I have a 5 year old (October 29 2020!) Working/Show Line GSD from Riehlhause German Shepherds! Tara has created a wonderful breeding program.

My dog's sire's entire liter became either service or therapy dogs. Her dam comes from a long line of working dogs, and is a bomb detection dog herself. Murphy's AKC lineage goes back to the early 1900s.

My dog is very ball and praise motivated, not so much on treats, just like her mom.

Murphy herself is my psychiatric service dog, who I owner trained after 3 years of obedience and 1 year of public access training. She knows over 50 commands, including hand and touch signals.

Over the last 5 years, Murphy has been my best friend and protector. I love her so much.

Ok, done bragging. Nice to meet everyone!

 

[Andre]

Hey Murph, welcome! Congrats on your Founding Member badge! She’s such a sweet-looking pup.

That’s really impressive that you trained her as a psychiatric service dog. Did you do all the training yourself, or work with a trainer?

 

[murph]

Hey Murph, welcome! Congrats on your Founding Member badge! She’s such a sweet-looking pup.

That’s really impressive that you trained her as a psychiatric service dog. Did you do all the training yourself, or work with a trainer?

My dog training journey has been very long. Murphy is my first dog.

I got her when I was in my early 20s and just starring college. By the time she was 12 weeks old she was able to open and close doors on command.

I got a trainer when she was around 1 year because she was so big and I knew nothing about dog body language, so she scared me a lot. (she is 100 lbs. I am 110 lbs.)

My first trainer assured me she was very well trained, but I always had issues with reactivity in public.

For the longest time, people told me she had no issues when they took her out without me, and i just couldn't understand it.

I sent her to board and train with a different trainer when she was three, and the trainer was so impressed with her he gave me a job.

A year after that I was diagnosed with several mental health issues. I read about psychiatric service dogs, and because she was so well trained, it was very easy for me to train her in tasks to help me.

It turns out, all of the issues i had were because she was guarding me due to my mental health issues. Once i realized this, I spent a lot of time working on my confidence with her in public.

Honestly, she already knew some of the tasks she does for me. I originally didn't teach her these things with this job in mind, but now that she is public access trained, I can take her everywhere with me.

 

[EnraaGygas]

Hi Murph! Incredible work training your own service animal! That's not an easy endeavor but I bet she's just the best.

That lineage really is impressive!

 

[murph]

Hi Murph! Incredible work training your own service animal! That's not an easy endeavor but I bet she's just the best.

That lineage really is impressive!

Thanks! I'm really glad I have such an amazing breeder. I still talk to her to this day!

 

[EnraaGygas]

Thanks! I'm really glad I have such an amazing breeder. I still talk to her to this day!

Love that. I also love that in the age where a lot of places are phasing out GSDs as service dogs, you're out here proving why they shouldn't! Hats off to all your hard work!

 

[murph]

Love that. I also love that in the age where a lot of places are phasing out GSDs as service dogs, you're out here proving why they shouldn't! Hats off to all your hard work!

Actually, I agree most GSD should not be psychiatric service dogs due to them being so sensitive to handler anxiety and mood changes. It takes a dedicated trainer and handler to work on this.

HOWEVER, my dog's sire produces puppies with very calm temperaments (minus my working dog litter LOL) and those dogs make GREAT service dogs.

Many people with my psychiatric problems would not be able to handle my dog's activity level and drive.

 

[EnraaGygas]

Actually, I agree most GSD should not be psychiatric service dogs due to them being so sensitive to handler anxiety and mood changes. It takes a dedicated trainer and handler to work on this.

HOWEVER, my dog's sire produces puppies with very calm temperaments (minus my working dog litter LOL) and those dogs make GREAT service dogs.

Many people with my psychiatric problems would not be able to handle my dog's activity level and drive.

My close friend has a farming bred/working line Border Collie as her psychiatric service dog and he is VERY demanding as far as energy is concerned. A lot of people are surprised he still has that much energy after tasking/working all day with her but like...they're still dogs and they still have needs to be met. I think a lot of people forget that.

It's a shame about the reactivity because where they ARE so sensitive to their handler they should be stellar for those positions. They could probably sense your mood change before you even really feel it. Unfortunately most are going to be like an overprotective boyfriend; "is this guy bothering you?! What about this one?!"

 

[murph]

My close friend has a farming bred/working line Border Collie as her psychiatric service dog and he is VERY demanding as far as energy is concerned. A lot of people are surprised he still has that much energy after tasking/working all day with her but like...they're still dogs and they still have needs to be met. I think a lot of people forget that.

It's a shame about the reactivity because where they ARE so sensitive to their handler they should be stellar for those positions. They could probably sense your mood change before you even really feel it. Unfortunately most are going to be like an overprotective boyfriend; "is this guy bothering you?! What about this one?!"

They can literally smell your panic attacks. A dog can hear your heartbeat from 15 feet away. They are so amazing.

 

[Kaia Murphy]

Welcome, Murph! Wow, what an incredible bond you and Murphy share, and so impressive that you owner-trained her to that level. Fifty commands is no small feat! Can’t wait to see some photos of her in action she sounds like such a special girl.

 

[murph]

Welcome, Murph! Wow, what an incredible bond you and Murphy share, and so impressive that you owner-trained her to that level. Fifty commands is no small feat! Can’t wait to see some photos of her in action she sounds like such a special girl.

If I have time, I'll try to make a short video in a few days.

 

[Malakai The Great]

Welcome, Murph. What an accomplishment for both of you. Training a psychiatric service dog from start to finish is no small feat, especially with that level of obedience and communication. You can tell she’s got the perfect mix of drive and stability. Sounds like you’ve built an amazing partnership.

 

[murph]

Welcome, Murph. What an accomplishment for both of you. Training a psychiatric service dog from start to finish is no small feat, especially with that level of obedience and communication. You can tell she’s got the perfect mix of drive and stability. Sounds like you’ve built an amazing partnership.

The thing about training service dog tasks is they all build off of the obedience. In the list of commands, every task in the obedience list is necessary for the next level of tasks. That's why I wrote the post like that.

Oh! You gave me a great idea! I will write a post on how to teach complex tasks through basic obedience.

 

[Malakai The Great]

The thing about training service dog tasks is they all build off of the obedience. In the list of commands, every task in the obedience list is necessary for the next level of tasks. That's why I wrote the post like that.

Oh! You gave me a great idea! I will write a post on how to teach complex tasks through basic obedience.

Would love to see that write up!

 

[Kaia Murphy]

If I have time, I'll try to make a short video in a few days.

That would be so cool to see!!