Oh the shedding, didn't think about that. That's a shame since Princess is so beautiful and so smart. That is such a sweet story about how everyone in your apartment complex looks forward to seeing Princess and having treats ready for her, so yep, she is definitely a therapy dog, if not officially. I bet the people in your bldg. love having her visit if they are not able to have a dog themselves. I know after my MIL's dog passed away at age 16, she missed him so much (he was a lot of comfort and love since she was widowed) but she was almost 90 years at the time and felt getting a pet wouldn't be a good idea in case something were to happen to her, but I know she would have loved a situation like the seniors in your bldg. have with Princess, where she could still have contact with a sweet dog like Princess and I love how she gives her cute little woof bark when she visits with them. You described it so well, Peggy. Gigi huh? Great idea! Well, I know if anyone would be able to figure out how to work through the little idiosyncrasies, it will be with your intuitive dog training abilities. I think that would be so enjoyable, to wake up and know you are going to give someone joy that day from contact with your dog. At my Dad's nursing home, we all got so excited if someone walked in with a baby or a dog and face it, babies can only do so much, coo and smile, coo and smile, lol. But the dogs made people laugh all the time with their cute antics and their looks, all so different and almost all of them were very friendly, except for one poor doggie who had been abused by its former owner and he would not get more than a foot away from his really sweet owner that had rescued him and worked there. One little Jack Russell mix was so cute (all white with one black eye marking) because he would continually peek around the corners at us and want to come over to play, and when we would call him, he would then run really fast back to his owner. Just that action alone tickled everyone. Dogs: so comical, so sweet, so loving. Lynn Actually I was thinking of training her for therapy work when I first got her, but Eskies shed all the time, no matter how great a diet and supplements, brushing, etc. you give them. Not many people like that, least of all hospitals etc. She is in a way a therapy dog for a lot of the seniors in my apartment complex. They all know what times I walk her and when they see me, they always call for Princess and have a treat ready at their door. It was because of the seniors here that I trained her to sit in front of them and not jump up. Princess was under 2 yrs old when I got her and acted very much like a puppy in a lot of ways. Now she sits and puts out her paw for a shake and gives a little "woof" bark as a hello to them, wagging her tail a mile a minute because she knows they have that treat for her.
I'll tell you a secret, I have been trying to train Gigi for it. She has the drawback that when she sits on your lap, she demands that you pet her. She does this by putting her front leg straight out and paws at you. Once, as gentle as she is, that paw scratched my face, and another time, it knocked my eyeglasses off. So I have been trying to get her over that and learn just to be content sitting a persons lap and not demanding to be constantly petted at the same time. She is getting better at it, but it seems to be deeply rooted in her.
