Working Dogs Need Active Retirement Community

Police Dog getting ready for an in air training mission photo courtesy of SSDK9

Brac a black and white border collie has worked at a private golf club for 9 years, chasing geese and sparing members goose poop on their shoes. Over the years Brac has developed arthritis in his legs, cataracts in his eye,s and now he has no interest in chasing birds, so the Roaring Fork Club in Basalt Colorado feel it is time to find him a home. They say he loves everyone, is a really sweet dog and would make a great pet for a family looking for an older dog. However having spent his time chasing birds on a giant golf course he may not be housebroken exactly and he may not be know what to do sitting at home inside all day. He will need some help learning to be a pet.

Racing greyhounds looking for their retirement home at the age of 2 or 3 only know racing on the track, living in a stall, and a sleeping in a crate. They’ve never been in a home before, never seen stairs, or heard the doorbell ring, or cuddled up on a couch. The fact that they are crate trained makes housebreaking much easier for the adopting family but they still need to be taught how to be a pet.

About 90 percent of the dogs in the Sacramento K-9 unit retire with their handlers. They are used to the family already and know how to live as a pet when not on duty but they have separation anxiety when their handler leaves for work in the morning with the new and younger dog and they have to stay home. They are older and retired for one reason or another but that doesn’t mean they want to stay home and hang out on the couch. They still want to go to work and perform tasks.

Just like when people retire dogs who are used to working or being used as service dogs their entire life need help learning to be pets who are happy with a few walks a day, some treats, a belly rub and some playtime. They need an active retirement community where they can still engage in the activities they know and love but do it on their own time at their own pace. Even if the border collie doesn’t want to chase the birds anymore he still wants to run in the field drink water from the pond and rest under the shade tree. The retired police dog still wants to feel useful and like a member of the team even if they can no longer smell the way they once did or are too arthritic to chase a robber. Search and rescue dogs are the same way along with service dogs they want to help and feel important performing tasks they were trained for. They might not be able to see very well or track a missing person or jump up to open the cabinet but they want to. Humans have active retirement communities where they have all sorts of programing to stay active and social and feel like a member of society even if it is playing golf and tennis during the day and helping coordinate fundraisers or book clubs at night. Retired working and service dogs would love a community like that where there were activities for them to do every day fields to run or walk around a pool to swim in and lots of good healthy foo to eat.

To read about other obstacles that working ad service dogs encounter when it is time to retire read this article

Amazon Native Ads – Pet Supplies

Copyright © 2024 · Two Little Cavaliers · All Rights Reserved · Design By RL Web Designs

%d bloggers like this: