Live Cam shot of The Service Dog Project as seen on Explore.org. A Great Dane Mama has given birth to 11 offsprings. 9 have survived so far. Two were stillborn.

Good friend, Meilin Cheng, sent us this link to a live cam of the Service Dog Project. (Maybe she was inspired by our very own Beau!) You will get to meet some really gorgeous Great Danes and their puppies.

The Project is located somewhere in Ipswich, Massachusetts, on a 12 acre property where dogs are raised and then placed eventually with people who have disabilities such as Multiple Sclerosis, Friedreich’s ataxia, and veterans with various disabilities. The kennels are heated and they have good size fields to play and roam. Once the puppies are old enough, they undergo extensive training for balance.  It’s like dog heaven!

Here are some related organizations:

• Dog Bless You, a community created and led by filmmaker, Annenberg Foundation Director and Founder of explore.org, Charles Annenberg Weingarten, is spearheading a campaign to raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder.  Dubbed Dog Bless U.S.A., the initiative provides people with an easy way to show support. You can also go to their Facebook page here and show support by “liking” them on their page.
• The Doggie Daily, a blog dedicated to posting day-to-day events, stories, anecdotes of the volunteers and parties interested in Service Dogs as they go about raising, nurturing, and training the service dogs.

I learned a few things while exploring the sites:

1. The Great Dane is a great choice for people with mobility issues. For example, for a person who’s 6 feet tall, a good balance dog should at least be 45% of the recipient’s height. So this person would ideally need a 32 inch dog.  At the Service Dog Project, Great Danes range from 30-36 inches in height.
2. Great Danes can work about 10 years.
3. Most Danes by nature do not like to approach strangers by themselves. They often refrain from greeting someone until “properly introduced.”
4. Great Danes require less exercise than other breeds, so they are a good fit for people with disabilities.
5. Great Danes are perfect home and office dogs because they are calm, need only a few walks, and are content retreating to their corner until they are needed.
6. They are great when taken out to public places. They are reserved and protective of their recipients.
7. Their short coat is a blessing for homes and offices.
8. They are churning out lots of puppies at the Project!  A Great Dane Mommy can have about 7 puppies. The most was 13 puppies.
9. White puppies can sometimes be born deaf. They will receive training to be super “companion dogs” instead of service dogs.
10. Great Dane puppies like to sleep in elevated beds/rooms.

Do go over to their site and meet Chaos, Perry, Lola, Ebony, Mia, Willow, Roxanne, and Walter. The team is completed by a donkey and a horse too!

Bristol, Jade’s Great Dane, marched with her at her graduation in 2012. In spite of the crowd of 3000 applauding and cheering them on, Bristol remained calm and focused on her task. Jade has Friedreich’s ataxia. photo credit the servicedogproject.org

Related articles

• Time Sink: Service Dog Project (aerykpierson.me)
• Veterans Speak about PTSD and Service Dogs! (cireland2blog.wordpress.com)
• Service Dogs Help With Balance Issues (boston.com)
• Great Dane Service Dog Gives Birth To 8 Puppies (huffingtonpost.com)