US Service Animals - Your Guide to Service Dog Training
Dogs have long been labeled “man’s best friend” for a reason; they are loyal, and provide unconditional love and mental support to their owners in many ways. Service dogs are animals that have all the benefits of a normal pet, but are trained to provide a service for a person who has a disability with specific tasks. Service dogs are more common than ever, and provide millions of people around the world with many types of support.
Service dogs are different to other emotional support animals. While an emotional support animal is more like a pet that provides emotional support, service animals aren’t considered pets. There are many laws that cover dogs as service animals, but don’t apply to other service or emotional support animals such as cats or hamsters. Service dogs undergo specialized training specific to their owner’s disability and needs.
Types Of Service Dogs
Service dogs are categorized into groups according to the tasks they provide, and may be referred to as a guide dog, hearing dog, or service dog. Service dogs perform a variety of tasks according to how they are trained, including alerting the deaf to noises such as a phone ringing or an alarm going off, guiding the blind, reminding a person to take medications, alerting their owner of an oncoming seizure or a diabetic attack, relieving anxiety or picking up dropped items. For this reason, it is imperative service dogs undergo strict training and do not falter when providing service to their owners.
Service dogs are trained to do specific tasks, to focus only on their owner, and are desensitized to distractions. Training often lasts several years before the dog works with a person who has a disability. Some common dog breeds for service dogs include Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, and Labrador Retrievers. Regardless of breed, not every dog is eligible to be a service dog. It’s important that the dog is calm, friendly, alert, able to learn and follow commands, well-behaved, able to adapt to many environments and non-reactive.
Service Dog Training Companies
Many service dog training companies breed dogs specifically for training, and the dogs begin training at a very young age. Dogs must be trained to perform tasks on command, are held to very high standards, and must pass the Assistance Dogs International Public Assessment before being placed with clients. As many as 50% of service dogs trained by organizations fail the final assessment.
Dog owners may choose to enroll a dog they already have as a pet into a service dog training organization. Though effective, this option can be very costly-up to $25,000. In most cases the enrolled service dogs will receive two years of training, food and veterinary care. There are many organizations that may provide financial aid for people who have disabilities and are unable to afford a service dog.
Owners can choose to take on the training of a service dog privately, with the help of an experienced service dog trainer. This is often more cost efficient and can be just as effective as professional training. It’s important to research all laws and guidelines according to Assistance Dogs International (ADI) and make sure the service dog trainer is verified. While a professional service dog trainer is required to meet ADI standards, it’s a good idea for owners to do some general pre-requisite training with their dogs such as house training, focus training (ignoring distractions), and public access training. The American Kennel club lists AKC Canine Good Citizen objectives that are key in training a dog at home.
Public Access Training
Public access training is defined by Assistance Dogs International and required of all service dogs. Any service dog is expected to remain under control in public areas; for example: following sit or down commands, entering and exiting and car or building calmly, and control in restaurants, buildings, and crowds even without a leash. Without meeting these standards, it’s unlikely a dog will be approved as a service dog.
Although it may be expensive and time consuming, there are many benefits of having a trained service dog if you have a physical or mental disability. For many, service dogs are a crucial part of their everyday lives, providing constant support and companionship. For more information regarding service dogs please refer to
