Service dogs are specifically trained to help people living with disabilities. The tasks that service dogs help with can range from assisting people who are on the autism spectrum, alerting deaf people to sounds and guiding blind people. These tasks require a high level of training.
For instance, you don't want a service dog guiding a blind person, getting distracted by another dog, and getting into a fight. In this guide, we will walk you through the qualifications of a service dog and give you step-by-step tips on how you can train one.
Step-by-Step Guide to a Lifelong Companion
The Americans with Disabilities Act states that service dogs are not pets. They must be trained to help the handler with a specific task related to the disability. These disabilities can be mental, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory, or physical. Most people confuse normal working dogs and therapy dogs with service dogs.
Although working dogs can be trained to help the owner with specific tasks, they are not specifically trained to help people living with disabilities. So, they help in tasks like military and police operations, search and rescue, hunting, herding, security and detection. On the other hand, emotional support dogs provide and comfort their owners during stress.
As you can tell, most of these tasks are not sensitive and might not have a big impact on the owner if the dog is not well-trained. However, for service dogs, the level of training can mean life or death for the handler. Before we dive into how to train a dog to become a service dog, let us first see the requirements for a service dog and who is eligible to have one.
Qualifications for a Service Dog
The reason a dog has to meet some qualifications to become a service dog is because the law grants service dogs rights to access public places. That means these dogs can go to places like public parks, libraries, stores and restaurants, where other animals and pets are forbidden.
These dogs are also exempted from airline rules such as the dog sitting at the owner's feet or lap during flight. Since the law doesn't recognize service dogs as pets, they're also exempted from airline pet fees.
So, if the law doesn't outline the qualifications for a service dog, many dog owners will claim their working dogs are service dogs so they can enjoy these privileges. Here are some of the qualifications for a service dog.
Eligibility
The first qualification for a dog to become a service dog is for the handler to have a disability and be eligible to have a service dog. Here are some of the eligible disabilities.
- Seizures: People suffering from seizures need a service dog that can go for help or stand guard when the seizure occurs.
- Autism: Service dogs help people on the autism spectrum differentiate critical signals like smoke alarms from other sensory signals.
- Mobility-impaired: Service dogs help mobility-impaired people with things like carrying items, fetching things, and opening cabinets and doors.
- Psychiatric: Service dogs can detect psychiatric episodes and help lessen their effects.
- Hearing-impaired: Service dogs alert hearing-impaired people to sounds like visitors getting into the room or someone knocking on the door.
- Visual-impaired: Service dogs help visual-impaired people navigate things like crossing the streets.
- Diabetic: Service dogs are trained to detect sudden drops or peaks in their handler's blood sugars and contact the relevant medical services or fetch insulin for the handler.
Training
The Americans with Disabilities Act doesn't enforce professional training for service dogs. That means you can train your own service dog.
Documentation
Having a service dog doesn't require any registration, identification, or official documentation. That means your service dog doesn't need an ID card or a special vest to prove it's a service dog.
However, as the handler, you need an official diagnosis from a licensed therapist or a physician proving that you have a physical or mental disability that affects your lifestyle. Something worth noting is that some airlines might require proof of training before accepting the dog as a service dog and giving it flight privileges.
So, to make things easier when taking flights and getting into places like restaurants and libraries, we recommend getting documentation from your physician or therapist showing that you need an assistant dog.
Verification
As we mentioned, there is no official documentation requirement for service dogs, and company staff are not allowed to ask for documents. However, to prevent people from claiming that their working dogs are service dogs, the law allows company staff to ask the following two questions for verification.
- The type of work the service dog is trained to do
- If the service dog is a requirement because of the handler's disability
Note that the staff are not allowed to interrogate the handler's disability or ask for the dog to demonstrate how it performs its tasks.
Step-by-Step Guide to Service Dog Training
In most cases, training a service dog takes around 6 to 9 months because of the extensive level of training needed. The training varies depending on the dog's intelligence level and the tasks the dog is being trained for. Here are some things that mark a good service dog candidate:
- Reliability: The dog should be reliable in doing the tasks it's trained for. Remember, the handler depends on the service dog, so it shouldn't fail in performing repetitive tasks.
- Socialization: The dog should be able to socialize easily with new environments and working situations. So, it's advisable to choose a dog that has been socialized from an early age.
- Training: The dog should be intelligent enough to learn and remember the information. Avoid independent thinkers as they can choose to ignore your commands any time.
- Temperament: The dog should be affectionate and willing to please the handler. Also, the dog shouldn't be aggressive against animals or people. Instead, it should remain calm even when in unfamiliar environments.
- Health: The dog should be physically fit. Remember, it's helping a disabled person, so it should have a low chance of developing medical emergencies.
- Age: Although there are no age restrictions, we recommend going for puppies, so they finish the training by the time they reach their adult age. That way, they'll have many more years to serve you in their energetic age.
As you can tell, not all dog breeds can achieve this, regardless of the level of training. For instance, it's hard to train an American Pitbull Terrier to remain calm in new environments and when around strangers and new pets.
Another thing is that some of the tasks these dogs perform are physically demanding. For instance, even a well-trained Papillon might not be able to pull a wheelchair. So, the first thing before training is to choose the right dog breed. Here are the common service dog breeds depending on the tasks.
- For physically demanding tasks like pulling wheelchairs, go for large breeds like the Bernese Mountain Dogs, Saint Bernards, and Great Danes.
- For guide dogs, go for breeds like German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, and Labrador Retrievers.
- For tasks that require high intelligence but less physical strength like detecting blood sugar levels and activating light switches, go for small but intelligent breeds like the Poodles.
After choosing your preferred dog breed, you have the option to train it yourself or get a professional dog trainer to do it. We recommend doing the basic training yourself, and then the trainer handles the advanced part. Here are some of the benefits of doing the basic training yourself.
- Evaluation: Before you get a professional trainer, the basic training helps you evaluate the dog and determine whether you're comfortable with it becoming your service dog.
- Bonding: The training involves giving treats. This strengthens your bond, and the dog will always be willing to please you, even after professional training.
- Cost-effective: The cost of hiring a professional trainer to only do the advanced training is less than getting the trainer to start from scratch.
Here are the training steps.
Proper Training Equipment
Like any other dog, you'll need to use positive reinforcement training. That means you'll need things like treats, a pouch for carrying the treats and clickers. Another thing is that you'll start from the basics such as leash walking.
That means you need a no-pull harness or a martingale collar for leash training. We recommend using the Alpine Dog's martingale collars for leash training. These collars tighten a little bit when the dog pulls, discouraging the pulling behavior. The controlled tightening means the collar can't choke your dog.
They are also lined with neoprene, so your dog remains comfortable throughout the training sessions. However, if you're training the service dog to do things like pulling wheelchairs, we recommend using no-pull harnesses so it gets used to harnesses from the onset.
Again, we recommend the Alpine Dog's no-pull harnesses because they're universal. They have a front clip and a back clip. So, you'll use the front clip to discourage pulling when leash training. Then you'll use the back clip when training the dog on how to pull the wheelchair.
Other than that, you need a leash. We recommend a Biothane leash because it doesn't cause leash burns and is easier to clean.
Engagement Training
Engagement training is the foundation of positive reinforcement training. As the name suggests, the aim of this step is to make the dog know there is a reward when it shows interest in you and what you're doing.
In this step, teach the dog what a certain sound means and give it a reward whenever it's correct. If you're using a clicker, give treats a split second after the click. Delaying to give treats might make the dog not relate the treat rewards with the sound.
Remember, you're not teaching any commands at this point. It's just encouraging the dog to give you attention whenever you make a certain sound. If the dog gives you a blank stare after making the sound, it means it's not yet conditioned to the sound.
On the other hand, if the dog opens its mouth and salivates in anticipation of the treats after the sound, it means the dog is conditioned to the sound. Then, you can use that sound for the next level of training.
Simple Commands
The next step is to teach simple commands like Sit, Down, Come when called and Stand. You'll use the treats in combination with the engagement sound. Since the dog doesn't know these commands, you'll start by using physical cues to get it to perform the behavior you want.
For instance, you can hold treats in your hand and lure the dog to sit. Once it sits, you mark it with the engagement sound and give treats. Once the dog is familiar with the physical cues, start including sound commands that accompany the physical cues the dog already knows.
Then, you click and give rewards. Over time, start withdrawing with physical cues and only use the sound command. Once the dog is correct, click and give treats. In the end, your dog should be able to follow the sound commands without physical cues.
Advanced Training
This is where things get complex because you have to train the dog to perform a specific task. Remember that these tasks vary widely. For example, the training a Saint Bernard needs to pull a wheelchair is different from what a German Shepherd needs to guide a blind person.
Again, that is quite different from the training a Poodle needs to detect seizures or blood sugar levels. The easiest route is to get the following specialized service dog training programs.
Specialized Service Dog Training Programs
As the name suggests, specialized service dog training programs are courses that train specific tasks. Usually, the training is done by professional dog trainers or organizations that specifically deal with training service dogs.
The American Kennel Club estimates that training a service dog can cost up to $25,000. But this is because the training involves training the dog, the disabled person receiving the dog, as well as follow-ups to make sure the dog works reliably.
The good news is that there are non-profit organizations that help train assistant dogs, such as Assistance Dogs International. Usually, professional training starts with the following public access skills
- Load up: get into the car
- Empty: go potty
- Sit: sit and stay in one place
- Exit: get out of the area
- Wait: stop any movements
- Heel: move next to me and walk by my side
- Leave it: leave the object or person alone; don't touch
- Down: stay in one place, but lying down instead of sitting
- Kennel: get into the dog crate
- Come: go to the handler
- Off: climb down from the sofa, person, or surface
- Out: drop whatever object it's holding in the mouth
To evaluate whether the dog is ready for graduation, a Public Access Certification Test is administered. The aim of the test is to confirm whether the dog can go in public places without supervision from the trainer.
This test works like a consumer protection measure, ensuring the dog meets standards before going out to help disabled people. Note that any service dog can go through this test, regardless of the specific tasks it's trained to perform and whether it's trained by Assistance Dogs International or not.
But before the dog takes this test, the Assistance Dogs International will ask for video clips showing the dog performing at least tasks related to its area of training. If the dog succeeds in this initial step, the Public Access Test now evaluates the ability of the handler to control the dog in different situations, and the dog's manners and level of obedience.
Keep in mind that the Americans with Disabilities Act doesn't require certifications, so don't expect official certification from Assistance Dogs International when the dog passes the test.
However, most trainers will give your dog an ID card showing that it's a fully trained service dog after this test. Other than that, this test is a great way to test whether your service dog has got quality training. So, only go for trainers who are willing to administer this test.
Legal and Ethical Considerations in Service Dog Training
Since there are no official service dog documentation requirements, many people come up as trainers. After all, nobody cares who trained the dog.
So, to avoid getting low-quality training, we recommend getting the training from Canine Good Citizen test evaluators, or getting a trainer approved by the Professional Dog Trainers Certification Council or The National Association of Obedience Dog Instructors.
Another glaring issue is the limited questions the law allows to be asked about disabilities. As a result, many people claim that their dogs are service dogs. For instance, the American Kennel Club Government Relations Department tracked over 150 cases of misrepresentations.
These cases of fake service dogs have made many local and state governments come up with laws that prohibit misrepresentation of service dogs. Even the Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans came up with minimum standards for service dogs to prevent the misrepresentation.
Conclusion
Service dogs are the right hand men for people living with disabilities. They help in repetitive but critical tasks, such as the blind crossing roads or the deaf knowing someone is knocking. Training a service dog is easy, as the government doesn't have certification requirements . However, to make sure your dog gets quality training, we suggest you get a professional trainer, and then the dog takes the Public Access Test to confirm the training.