 Training requirements under federal law
Currently under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service dog is not required to be trained by any particular entity or individual. Some dogs are trained by their owners exclusively, some by professional trainers and some by a combination, but I repeat...
the law does not require "proof" of any professional training. Your dog must merely be trained to assist you (the person with the disability) in your everyday activities in some way for it to qualify as a service animal.
While there are businesses making money to train service animals, there are not a lot of them, and I would hate for anyone to think they cannot train their dog themselves if it is something simple and there is no trainer near them or they cannot afford a professional trainer.
I have trained dogs in obedinece all of my life so I was more than comfortable training my dogs to perform the basic tasks required. I have used a number of resources and taken my dogs to classes as well but I was the one working with the animal. |