George, my service dog, (shown in the picture below) was an unbelievable animal and my best friend who accompanied me everywhere from zoos and theme parks around the country (including riding rides at places like Disney), traveled around the world with me, and was by my side 24/7. He alerted to my vibrations that cause an almost narcoleptic state afterwards, alerted me before my leg was about to give out, kept me awake, pulled shopping carts for me, helped me with doors and picking up things off the floor, and much more. On top of all of that he had been a Champion AKC show dog before he started alerting naturally to me. He then went into training to be a service dog as I actually operated a Doberman Rescue training service dogs for children with autism for many years before my health got to the horrible level.

A service dog for Fibromyalgia also services as a psychiatric animal because of the emotional and stress relief needs that we all must have. As some are aware, when we are stressed our bodies burn through Magnesium, thus a service dog there to help calm the situation faster helps us recover from the event quicker

There are tons of scammers out there claiming that they have service dogs for sale, service dog training services, and more. Depending on what state you are in, the requirements for service dogs differ. For example, in California the dogs must have a state license (and wear the tag) as a service dog. Many people are starting to go with miniature horses to serve as service animals. It is often a better option depending on the skills needed as they typically have an average 25 to 30 working years versus 10 to 12 working years for most service dogs.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Some of the established, reputable organizations have grant/scholarship programs to give you a basically free service dog but the wait can be quite a while for some of them.

Yes. I had a medical alert and medical assistance service dog for over 12 years. He unfortunately came down with a condition that was unable to be diagnosed and had to be unexpectedly euthanized in May 2017. Even after a necropsy on him, they are unsure of what he actually had that caused him to basically crash.

I have finally started the search again, but it will take a very long time to find the correct fit for me. A service dog is not a run of the mill just pick a dog experience. The right dog literally finds you. This is very important because the service dog has to be the right fit. The service dog will be closer to you than your spouse/partner, child, parent, etc.

You have to look out for the scammers out there who supposedly train or sell service dogs. Most service dogs will run from $5,000 to $25,000 depending on what skills the dog needs to be able to do and if the dog needs to alert to anything. You cannot just go to the rescue, pick a dog you like, and then have it trained. You do not know if the dog will be able to do any of the skills you need it to do until it is into its training. You do not have to have a large dog, even a small dog works. Ball drive (the dogs need to chase a ball and want to keep chasing it every time you throw it) needs to be high as those are the dogs that want to work and make great service dogs, but you do not want it super high as those do not make great service dogs as they tend to always be "on" (unable to rest as always looking for something that they need to do).

The problem with larger sized dogs as service dogs unless you are able to have someone assist you with them is that on your worst days they are a lot to deal with (food weighs more, if for some reason they're having a bad day then they may pull on you, when they get to the end of their usable working years someone may have to pick them up and carry them, more waste to clean up, etc). They are also harder to deal with in public speaking from first hand experience as I trained the dobermans but also had a giant mastiff/great dane cross who I handled in public quite a bit. A medium to smaller sized dog (14" and up and 18 pounds and up are much easier to deal with overall even on bad days.

Unless you need a dog to balance you (where you will need a seeing eye dog harness that is like a brace for you), it is best to go with a smaller dog.

A search on google will bring up a ton of options for finding a dog, however any group or trainer do a thorough search on several sites like ripoffreport.com. You want to speak to people who have dogs from them, who have gone through the process with them, etc. If they will not provide you with that then do not go with them.

Just as important is the health issue. Any dog you want to have a completely clean bill of health. If it is a breed that is prone to genetic issues such as with hips and elbows, you want to know that dog's xrays were excellent/clear. If there are other issues such as heart issues with the breed, want to make sure that is clear. Basically an extremely thorough vet report should be done for the dog.

If you are concerned with the hypoallergenic aspects of the dog, due to the breeds you have listed, there are lots other hypoallergenic breeds out there and those that are considered less allergy causing than others. Poodles overall are great dogs, however there are few genetic lines that make excellent working dogs. They were bred to be hunting dogs, but they were to retrieve the game. Most poodles and poodle mixes nowadays do not have the ball drive that is needed to be a great service dog, and many have too high of an energy level to be a great service dog (kind of the "I am going to run around and do what I want to do until I do not want to do it" attitude).

A great service dog should be able to be "on" for as long as you need them to be, but as soon as you say rest, they should be able to lay down and be "off" for as long as you want them to be. Out of all the dogs out there I am willing to guess that less than 5% of them have the potential to make great service dogs from my experience as a dog trainer for decades dealing with almost every breed. Many of us with Fibromyalgia are used to putting others before ourselves before our diagnosis especially when it comes to the healthcare and general caring of others. A great service dog and great potential service dog is like that. They are always putting you above all other things.

They both sound like great dogs.I dont think you could go wrong either way

I adopted a rescue dog and she is mainly for support.I know she is smart enough to be trained to be a service animal but she is very in tune to my good and bad days.She lays especially close when I have my bad flare ups and follows me around like she knows something is wrong.I would really like to know if its possible to train her for that.She definitely has the temperment.I'm not at that point yet.Thank God