SuperDogs Service & Scent Work Training

SuperDogs Service & Scent Work Training Training and working service dogs and scent dogs.

07/12/2025

Perks of having security cameras: I caught Sherlock and Edison SHARING the window. They've been in a standoff over who g...
07/01/2025

Perks of having security cameras: I caught Sherlock and Edison SHARING the window. They've been in a standoff over who gets to sit in the window since I don't know when. Love my boys 💜💚

That break command is so important. I personally use "ok", in the high inflection like he mentions. The inflection is im...
06/27/2025

That break command is so important. I personally use "ok", in the high inflection like he mentions. The inflection is important so I can have my service dog with me, in work mode, and I can use "ok" in normal conversation, but she'll know it's not for her.

I call this one: how dare you get the camera out when I'm being cute
06/27/2025

I call this one: how dare you get the camera out when I'm being cute

When we're cuddling and Ganon decides it's time to protect 💜💚 He drapes his head over me and it's so sweet. We're also w...
06/20/2025

When we're cuddling and Ganon decides it's time to protect 💜💚 He drapes his head over me and it's so sweet. We're also working on "don't bark your head off when you're concerned about something, bark a little bit to alert me, then come sit between me and whatever you're concerned about"

One of Pepper's nicknames is Destructor. So I make sure to give her things she can tear up without being in trouble, and...
06/19/2025

One of Pepper's nicknames is Destructor. So I make sure to give her things she can tear up without being in trouble, and thin cardboard is one of her favorites. She gets a lot of paper towel tubes and empty Kleenex boxes (with the plastic bit removed). Here's the YES PLEASE face she makes when I offer her one 💜💚 Then she GOES TO TOWN. And Ganon knows it's a pretty surefire way to get her to play with him.

Bonus: easy to clean up!

Livin' that retired life
05/25/2025

Livin' that retired life

So Sherlock started his antianxiety meds yesterday and, uh, I think they're working? Sherlock has always had some anxiet...
04/23/2025

So Sherlock started his antianxiety meds yesterday and, uh, I think they're working?

Sherlock has always had some anxiety issues that sometimes manifest themselves with reactivity. I've been working hard with him, but I've reached the limits of my knowledge and progress is plateauing, so we're trying him on some antianxiety meds, and I'll be working with a local trainer who's VERY experienced with behavioral issues. Hopefully we'll be able to get him to the point where he rarely, if ever, needs the meds. But in the meantime, hopefully this will help.

I see it like me both taking meds and seeing a therapist. So I guess under that metaphor, this is couple's therapy for Sherlock and I?

what are the odds not only of 2 service dogs in the same theater, but their humans chose seats right next to each other?...
04/21/2025

what are the odds not only of 2 service dogs in the same theater, but their humans chose seats right next to each other? But both were SO good the whole time 💜💚

Ganon's first train ride! So far, he couldn't care less.
04/20/2025

Ganon's first train ride! So far, he couldn't care less.

💜💚
04/17/2025

💜💚

🎼🎵I wanna eat all the people foodI wanna see, wanna see them drop it🎶I maybe (definitely) sang that in the middle of the...
04/07/2025

🎼🎵I wanna eat all the people food
I wanna see, wanna see them drop it🎶

I maybe (definitely) sang that in the middle of the restaurant

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Springfield, IL
62702

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Some Superheroes Have Four Paws

I have PTSD from a series of armed robberies at a store I used to work at. I also have severe anxiety that I’ve carried with me all my life, and the PTSD compounds that. In 2013, my PTSD got to the point where it was no longer manageable. I was no longer able to leave the house without my husband, except to go to work. Even at work, I was barely functional some days. Always on high alert, in fight-or-flight mode, terrified of every loud noise, it was exhausting. When I fled a gas station because of somebody yelling “hey, how ya doin?” across the store, I knew I needed help.

I went to a therapist who helped me learn coping mechanisms and a psychiatrist who prescribed me medications to help control the anxiety symptoms. While both helped, my medication dosages were going up and up and up without ever getting me to the point where I could live normally.

And then someone suggested I get a service dog. Hey, I love dogs, I already have one (although he turned out to not have the right personality for service work and not be healthy enough for it) and I’ve recently discovered a love of dog training! So I did what I always do, and threw myself into research. What tasks are common for PTSD dogs? How do you teach these tasks? What breeds are best? What personality traits does the dog need?

After several discussions with our trainer and vet, I decided to give it a go. So I did more research - this time to find just the right breeder. I interviewed breeders like you’d interview an employee. I was going to make sure I did this right. I ended up meeting Kristi at VonBussler Labrador Retrievers, and she happily answered all my questions and helped me choose a dog with just the right personality. After playing the waiting game for a litter of puppies with a silver lab with the right personality, I came home with Pepper.