Being a service dog isn't all work and no play - or it shouldn't be.
Itzl is an anal-retentive workaholic dog. He loves his work a lot. If I let him, he'd be a quivering mass of anxious attention, alerting on each and every sound ever made. He'd be happy in a stressed out, neurotic sort of way.
I know a few service dogs like that and their handlers don't see anything wrong with it. The trainers saw nothing wrong with it, either. Hearing dogs, because they aren't doing physical labor like guiding the blind or pulling wheelchairs, or being used for balance, don't have to "work" as hard, so they should work more. I've had a few disagreements over this attitude that listening isn't really work.
When I trained Itzl, I noticed his tendency towards being a workaholic, so I made sure he knew it was OK to play, and that some sounds weren't important ones. I created a signal for him that let him know when a sound wasn't important, when he didn't have to alert.
I let him play with other dogs. There are organizations that provide service animals that insist the handler not have any pets at all, that the service dog they provide is the only animal in the house. Some are so strict that they won't even allow another person in the house to have a service animal, regardless of the need.
I happen to disagree with that stance, and it seems to me that more and more organizations are relaxing those rigid standards.
Not sure if you've noticed or not, but especially when people get up in age, it's not uncommon for both partners to have some sort of disability. Sometimes it's the same one, and sometimes they are different: one needs stability and mobility assistance and the other has a seizure disorder, for instance.
Sometimes, a person has several disabilities and might need more than one service animal. Again, especially with age, it's not uncommon for a person to need help picking things up from the floor when they drop things, and need help alerting when their blodd sugar drops or their blood pressure rises. Some dogs can be trained for multiple disabilities, but sometimes they can't. And sometimes, a person's disability is so severe that one dog just isn't capable of constantly being on call.
We don't expect people to work 24/7 shifts 52 weeks a year, why do we expect dogs to do that?
Xoco picked up a lot of the hearing training from Itzl. At first, she alerted after he did, copying him. Then one day, her poor damaged little brain figured it out and she alerted first. After that, she was gleeful when she alerted before itzl. Not long after that, Itzl ceded alerting at home to her, and now he lounges when we get home. He'll confirm her alerts, and sometimes, if it's one of the urgent alerts (the smoke alarm or storm sirens), he'll alert anyway. But he gets a break from having to constantly be on alert and listening.
I don't really need to have 2 hearing dogs. And honestly, Xoco is only good for alerting at home, but going out to other places scares her, and she's terrified of other people. She's a good in-house hearing dog, but she'd never make it in all the situations I put Itzl in. She'd be torn to a frazzle.
If I were restricted to having only Itzl, he and I both would be stressed out - he from too much work and me from worrying about him.
And if he didn't get regular play breaks, he'd be high strung, yappy, snappy, and nervous.
So I make sure he has plenty of playmates:
His first True Love: Pepper, a solid black mini dachshund. She adores him, and he likes her. He likes visiting her and playing with her.
The stray that taught him how to play well with other dogs, Pugsley. We found a nice new home for Pugsley, but the weeks that Pugsley spent with us were highly enlightening for Itzl. He played with Pepper, but he did so cautiously as if he wasn't quite sure what to do. Pugsley was a no-holds-barred, I-love-everyone dog who played as dedicatedly as Itzl worked. He insisted Itzl play all his doggie games, and Itzl came to love them. They still have the occasional playdate.
Shika loved him with a passion, but as a rescue doggie, she had no clue how to play. Itzl, having just learned from Pugsley, was delighted to teach her. Itzl savors his role as teacher.
Rafferty was another rescue dog we re-homed. Itzl spent a lot of time patiently teaching him how to be a well-behaved dog. Rafferty went to a home that adores his manners, and he got those manners courtesy of Itzl.
And when Xoco, little crippled, brain-damaged Xoco, came into our lives and set up housekeeping forever with us, Itzl was prepared to be her mentor. She was the first dog he taught to share his job listening for me. And he trusts her to do it so he can relax. It makes me happy that he's learned to relax and share the workload because that means he'll be able to work for many more years to come.
He also has a few favorite toys. His pink elephant is is second most favorite snuggle toy. He shares the elephant.
But he won't share His Bear. This is his all time number one favorite comfort and snuggle toy and no other dog had better ever put tooth or claw on it. He won't fight for it or be aggressive about it, but he will snatch His Bear from any other cat or dog and hide it. When no other critters are around, he'll go fetch His Bear, and sigh, and snuggle down with it.
He stole that bear from my daughter. Her best friend gave her the beany baby bear one year, and when Itzl saw it, he was all, "My Love, She is Mine, all Mine!" (in a deep, French accent) he jumped up on her bed, snatched the bear and ran off as fast as he could, convinced we would take His Bear away from him.
We laughed.
It took him weeks to trust that my daughter wouldn't take her bear back.
He wasn't so distrustful of me - he brought the bear into his dawgie bag, and his car seat, and his bed, and begged me to play with him and his bear. He likes for me to toss His Bear short distances, then he'd run after it and bring it back for me. And he likes to sit in my lap with His Bear, casually gnawing on one leg or another. Even Xoco, he Best Beloved Doggie, isn't allowed to play with His Bear.
He lets her have the pink elephant. If she finds His Bear, he will go find the pink elephant or the blue bunny and bring them to her. When she gets all dog-in-the-mangerish over him having a toy she doesn't, and grabs away the elephant or bunny, he whisks His Bear off to hidden safety,
I have never found his hiding place for His Bear, so it must be a good one!