Surf the Service Dog

From puppyhood, GSD Surf had fun learning to become a service dog.

Our story is slightly different than others as I began positive training with my puppy from day one. Surf was 11 weeks old when we got him and my intention was to train him over time to be my service dog.

I have always heard people say large breed dogs like him (German Shepherd) need a heavy hand or they'll dominate or whatever. Having been a fan of Victoria prior to getting Surf, I refused to use any methods that were not positive training. No, it wasn't easy to train an 11 week old puppy for basic obedience and then move on to service dog skills, but I refused to give up.

We used clicker training and toys as he's more play than food motivated. Once we found what motivates him, training was easy. Surf learned to open doors by playing tug and how to pick things up by giving me a ball. He is now 2 and I can't imagine my life without this little goofball.