Good evening my name is Denise Aabye and I raise NKC Registered American Bulldog's here in Tennessee. I am a small breeder and have been training two of my four to be service and therapy dogs. They have proven to be wonderful with my Alzheimer's, Dementia and hospice patients for the last four years. I am overjoyed with the possibilities it brings to the future of my American Bulldog's..
Welcome to our community Denise! What has your experience been in training American Bulldogs as service and therapy dogs? How do they compare to other breeds that are more commonly used for service/therapy work in this regard?
They are attentive and loving. I was a live-in caregiver for over two years and my first one spent 24 hours a day with me and my patient. They can tell if a person is happy or sad and mine has been able to alert me when my patient was getting very ill. ie such drop in blood pressure or when a patient was terminally ill they would stay by their bedside for hours and of course these patients were in transition or close to death. They interacted with members of the patients family well and it is something to see. Alot of breeds I have seen must go through alot of training but my dog Gunner was a natural at it.. Gunner weighs 117 lbs and he is also my service dog. I have MS and use a walker alot of the time. He is very patient, can detect when I am off balance and at bedtime he gets on my bed and I grab onto his harness and he will pull me onto my bed.
I have been a hospice Caregiver for years and got my first American Bulldog when I was a live in with a Hospice patient. He was a natural at it and throughout the first year of his life learned to pull a patient up onto a bed, detect medical condition declining , even assist a patient up and down stairs cases. When that patient become terminal he spent hours by her side and interacted with her family members. I raised German Rottweiler's and Golden Labs years ago and personally I feel that the American Bulldog is just as capable if not more depending on the patient of becoming a service and therapy dog. I Have also volunteered with military patients with PTSD and they can connect with them easily..
I was so impressed with his love and devotion not only to me but my patients I now have 4 and live alone with all of them . I have 2 intact males and two females. I love the American Bulldog breed.
