Hello!
I am unsure if this is a good place to post this, but it seems like the most friendly forum I've been on so far :)
I have been looking into getting a psychiatric service dog to help with my autism + PTSD for a while now, yet finding a breeder to work with has been quite hard. I am looking mostly for a German Shepard, but other breeds I have been considering are Golden Retrievers and Labradors.
It is very important to me to meet the pups around 7-8 weeks and do evaluations to see how a dog would do as a sd, but if your pups are older/younger and you think they show potential, I am happy to talk it out too. :)

I hope  you have a good day. <3

One of our long time members has experience of what u are looking for and hopefully will beable to give u some advice

Hi there! I'm glad you're enjoying the forum it's a small but awesome community!

First I just want to point out before someone on a certain UK Facebook puts it across rudely, Service Dog is an American Term. Service Dogs here are Police Dogs, etc. For disability we use the term (and the legal term is) Assistance Dog! :)

I had an Assistance Dog for Epilepsy, EUPD and Autism for a few years before he washed and I, and many members of the psychiatric AD community would whole heartedly not recommend a German Shepherd. German Shepherds very commonly feed off the handlers emotions and depending on the lines they may feed off a meltdown and/or a panic attack for example and become reactive to members of the public trying to help and/or paramedics. ADUK have cut the number of GSD's because of the extremely high wash out rate of them.
Here the recommended breeds (called the fab 4) are Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Collies (Rough or Smooth, Smooths are the choice here but roughs are the choice in America) and Standard Poodles. I will say when it comes to poodles you'll have to choose the lines carefully because some can be sensitive and not a good fit for Assistance Dog work, they're not going to bite like a GSD but I've seen a St. poodle Assistance Dog that started whining and peed itself out of anxiety when the Handler had a panic attack and there's been a few St. Poodle wash outs due to feeding off emotions.

In general reputable breeders won't allow you to assess the puppies. The breeder of mine allowed an independent behaviourist to come in and help with the decision, but in general breeders are around their pups and the parents 24/7 and will know the temperaments and potential a lot better than you or an outside trainer/behaviourist. Most reputable breeders also breed for work or show and so the assessment will have to take place between 8-12 weeks because that's when those breeders make their own choices based on conformation, temperament and/or working ability.

I really hope all this helps your breed decisions a bit and I wish you the best of luck with getting and training your Assistance Dog prospect!! <3

Your second from last paragraph resonated.
The breeders of my current dog (GR) were brilliant in helping us select a puppy that was right for us. Also one of the assistance dog charities came to look at the litter as they were after a pup and the used a temperament test (Volhard) to assess. The breeders told us about the tests they did which was very interesting. Certainly the description of my 8 week old puppies character that the breeder gave has been absolutely spot on. If you can find breeders who are really invested in the puppies they will be the ones to guide you in your choice

A breeder friend of mine in Labs had a litter and donated the whole litter to an Autism charity. Would it be worth touching base with a charity and see if they are willing to help you find a breeder or if you find one yourself help assess for the right puppy?

if you're in the UK this link has useful advice about Assistance Dogs and the law. I understand that unless you liaise with the Assistance Dogs UK organisation the dog has no more rights of access to facilities than any pet dog.

they're not going to bite like a GSD

Really trained assistance GSDs bite?? That will be a shock to my German friends who breed GSDs for the German Blindenhund program.

GSDs are in the top 3 globally for Service/Assistance Dogs so what you write goes against the facts.

The original Service dog in the USA was of course the GSD, the first one being Buddy owned by Frank Moris, a grey sable from Switzerland, from the Swiss.

A late friend of mine also bred GSDs for the GSBA & I regularly see one of her last litter out with his young owner training for their next charity race. The dog is also his seizure alert dog & has saved him from accidents on more than one occasion

In the UK there's no requirement for any team to liaise with the ADUK, the ADUK is entirely voluntary.

In UK law an assistant dogs is:

1. A dog trained to guide a deaf person or
2. A dog trained to assist a deaf person or
3. A dog trained by a prescribed charity to assist a disabled person or
4. Any dog trained to mitigate a disabled person otherwise not mentioned

Owner trained dogs come under 4. There's a good charity on the awareness of owner trained assistance dogs, Owner trained assistant dog campaign for change.

No dog has access rights, it's the disabled person that had a right to bring their AD with them under reasonable adjustments.

* Blind person

>In the UK there's no requirement for any team to liaise with the ADUK, the ADUK is entirely voluntary.

The point to remember is that in the UK it's not legal for anyone to just put a coloured jacket or lead or harness on their own pet dog, however well trained, and claim it to be an Assistance Dog and expect to be allowed to take the dog with them wherever they want. There are official hurdles to be cleared, and there is useful information on this link, such as "There is no official registration for assistance dogs granted by the UK government. However, most UK companies or premises recognise the service dog that has been trained and certified by one of the following organisations: Assistance Dogs International (ADI)  and The International Guide Dog Foundation (IGDF)."

That's incorrect. The law only requires 2 things to be allowed to take the dog into a business, 1. That the handler is disabled and 2. That the dog is trained to mitigate that disability. There's no registration, lead slip, vest or test required by law. ADUK might be instantly recognised by companies however dogs outside ADUK, ADI or IGDF including onwer trained have the same legal rights.

You can read the guide from the Equality and human rights commission: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/assistance-dogs-guide-all-businesses

Even the ADUK link you provided mentions that assistance dogs can be trained outside of the ADUK. In fact both links mention that there's no legally recognised register for assistance dogs in the UK.

The only thing stopping someone from putting a vest on an untrained pet would be legislation against fraud.

Sharon Lawrence that started owner trained assistance dogs campaign for change has successfully sued companies on behalf of owner trained assistance dogs for access refusals. Currently access refusals are treated more as a civil matter with the exception of taxis.

> That's incorrect. The law only requires 2 things to be allowed to take the dog into a business, 1. That the handler is disabled and 2. That the dog is trained to mitigate that disability. There's no registration, lead slip, vest or test required by law.

Im afraid I think this is where the system is flawed. In my opinion they should all be registered. Too many people are deciding their dogs are now "assisstance dogs".

> The only thing stopping someone from putting a vest on an untrained pet would be legislation against fraud

And i would imagine they'll find a loophole somewhere.

This is a concern. If you look at what has been happening in the US where anyone can claim their dog is a ‘service’ dog and enter shops with a badly behaved untrained dog and can’t be asked to leave very easily. I would hate that to happen in the U.K.
I fully support having assistance dogs, they are vitally important to many, but with the length and cost of training involved not everyone can have a legally trained dog. Yet it can be easy to train a pet dog to help a disabled person or as a support dog for someone say with autism.

The USA law is a little different, access refusals are criminal and business owners face large fines over there so I guess they're more afraid of challenging them. But just as in the UK, out of control animals can be kicked out assistance dog or not, so I guess it boils down to education of when it is and isn't acceptable to refuse access.

A lot of laws and written but there's no education about them so businesses get it wrong too often, either rejecting a legitimate team or allowing out of control animals out of fear of getting it wrong.

The Equality and human rights commission has made a guide for business and states the dog should be well behaved, under close control and not wondering freely. Could be better but it's a start.

In the UK access refusals are more a Civil matter  with the expection of taxis. That means it's on the assistance dog handler to bring a case against the business and prove their dog is an assistance dog in such proceedings. If you fail the business is entitled to court costs, So I wouldn't make any sense to attempt this with an obviously out of control dog.

Hello is there anyway you might be able to pass on the name of your breeder, I am looking for a dog for my son and having waited for years for an assistance dog I am looking to buy one for ourselves and have him trained up as more of a companion than formal assistance dog, obviously picking a breeder is everything. If you can see a way to help me find one I would literally be SO grateful it’s so hard to find the right path. Many thanks Laura