Any Other Service Dog Yorkies?

[Nanoki2]

Hi again! I originally posted on this thread back in March 2011 about the Yorkie I had just adopted. Here we are a year after I got him and e has passed his canine good neighbor test, he dock dives competitively, he is training in agility and he has past his therapy dog evaluation and is 8 visits awat from being officially certified. We visit a nursing home every Saturday afternoon. He is doing AMAZING! I am o proud of him.

[gardengirl77]

Your pic didn't show up, but I'd love to see it. That's awesome. Way to go!

[Nanoki2]

Sorry! You're right. As soon as I have some time, I will add his pic.

[dpatt]

I have a 17 week old Yorkie I am training as a service dog and have done a lot of research on this to find out laws and requirements. I was very surprised to find out there are none, any dog or are you ready!! mini-pony can be a service animal. You are not required to have a license and they don't have to be certified in anyway, once more you can do your own training. They do recommend you identify your dog with a vest and carry vaccination papers with you if there is a question. It is against the law for anyone to ask you what your disability is for or for your dog to perform their service. In food establishments the state can't forbid them - Federal trumps the State. You must also remember they are not pets!! they are working animals. There are lots of places on the internet where you can buy service dog supplies, badges, patches, vests and ID tags so if you would like more info I would be glad to send you all kinds.

[yorkiemini]

You might want to take a look at this:

Psychiatric Service Dogs... | Service Dog Central

There is a difference between an emotional support dog and a service dog. Beware of the online service dog patches & badges -- is is fraud to pass a dog off as a service dog who can not perform a specific and demonstrable task.

On a recent flight I observed a fuss about a psychiatric therapy dog that the airlines did not allow due to it being an anxiety support dog with no specific task -- such as a seizure dog, a seeing eye dog, a hearing dog, a diabetes alert dog who have demonstrable tasks other than or outside of being a companion.

I have a patient with agoraphobia and the ADA will not stipulate her dog as a service dog -- it is considered a support dog such as a therapy dog.

You might also look at the Psychiaytic Service Dog site. It also has a training program.

Some states, such as California certifies service dogs. PTSD dogs for military folks are having trouble getting certified as service dogs unless they can show a specific task they perform for their handler, other than companionship and emotional support.

There is also talk that the ADA folks are considering re-writing the requirement and requiring service dog training and certification. The service dog training facilities are encouraging this and hoping to get it changed.

Hope this helps.

[dpatt]

You are correct there is a difference between an emotional support dog and a service dog and none of the patches can be fake when there is no legitimate one in the first place so I am not concerned there. You also can't commit fraud if there is no law written pertaining to a service dog. I believe an argument can be stated that an anxiety support dog does perform a task if only to provide a calming support to someone to prevent a panic attack.

I also do know some states are trying to enforce their own rules and regulations concerning service dogs but it still boils down to Federal trumps state and on the ADA site it says just that, the states can't require anything legally.

I have no doubt that the ADA might re-write the act a little and I will be curious to see what they do. I think there should be a little more regulation on this but what I have a hard time with is the cost of these animals. I had a friend who purchased a so called certified dog to assist her due to mental issues she had. This dog was trained for 2 years and does nothing more then to never leave her side. She always brought him to work and one day he lost site of her (her fault) and he panicked and ran all over the shop looking for her, poor little guy. I don't know maybe if he had lived with her for the 2 years he would have learned that from her, anyway her church had to have a fundraiser to help raise the money for him, she couldn't afford him. This wonderful little guy cost her $8000.

I am going to check out the Psychiaytic Service Dog site to see what they have to say and I really appreciate your information. Please if you have anything else I would be interested. I have no doubt with the popularity of these gifts from God and the money that could be made off them that things will change.

Thanks Again

[dpatt]

Originally Posted by Cat Hunter

Phoebe is cute!!

I am replying to all the people who posted on this thread. First of all thank you for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate your input.
My dog helps me even when I am not at home, he came with me to Washington DC for five days and he not only reminded me to take my medicine he also helped me with my fear of flying! This was the first time in ages that I did not take a tranquilizer before flying. I needed to be sure to keep my wits about me as this was Mogwi's first flight. The stewardess let me keep him on my lap almost the whole flight. Having him on my lap, stroking and talking to him was immensely calming to me and removed my need for the tranquiler all together. I have been taking pre flight tranquilizers for 8 years now! I took him on as a pet so I had to pay $100 per segment and on the way back the stewardess did not allow me to have him on my knee, causing major stress to Mogwi and me. The other passengers were not too happy either. The difference was like night and day. What can I do to make sure he is allowed on my lap? It seems that it is a question of the personal preference of the stewardess, so basically if she/he does not like dogs I have to take a tranquilizer, seems very unfair.

According to the ADA you must first remember a service dog is not a pet he is a working dog. You should do two things 1.Make sure he is identified. You can also go to some states and if you take a note from your doctor they will give you a service dog license instead of a regular one. 2. Carry his vaccination papers at all times. This is for your convenience only, not required by law. Here is a site for you to check out. ADA Business Brief: Service Animals and here is one more http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.pdf they should answer all your questions correctly.

[yorkiemini]

ADA states that is fraud to imply or falsely use this federal law to pass off a pet as qualified per the ADA law. ADA indicates that the law is to allow access to people with disabilities and it is fraud to fake the use. It is like pretending to impersonate a federal or state official.

There are a couple states who are certifying service dogs mostly with the idea of controlling access to their state buildings. It supposedly came about do to people with pets claiming their dogs were service dogs.

The fact that there is no mechanism in the law to actually certify, as you mentioned, more of the service dog training facilities are giving letters of "reference" with pictures of the handler and dog that they can carry with them.

One time when my dog and I were traveling the clerk The airline desk did not believe that my small dog was actually a hearing dog - sshe knew ASL sign language and was stunned when my dog dropped to a "down" when she gave the lay down sign. She later told me she had a younger deaf brother.

They cannot ask you what you what your disability is but they can request that you relate what specific duty the dog performs for you in their setting.

[Nanoki2]

I find this information facinating! For Therapy Dogs in Ontario, Canada most facilties ask that the dog be certified by St. John's Ambulance Therapy Dog program. Its a 2 1/2 hour temperment test, then probation and supervision for up to 10 visits. We had to provide vaccination records anda signed testament from the Vet that they have never seen any aggression in the dog. I had to have a police check done as well as supply 3 references. We are now 5 visits away from certification. Once certified, I have to wear a uniform and Shiloh does too! (a St. John's Ambulance bandana and leash) and we both will be issued St. John's Ambulance I.D. We can only wear our uniforms when on duty and there is no establishments that have to allow the dogs entry. Each facility is contacted and asked if they would like a therapy dog to visit. Service dogs...now thats a different story! They can go anywhere. Ontario is in the midst of ensuring a disabled person has barrier free access throughout the province. Pretty much the dog has to be wearing the service dog vest and it is accepted.

[Charlie_Boy2011]

Can someone tell me where I can get more info on how to get a dog certified as a therapy dog to take into hospitals etc?

I thought about looking into training Charlie as a service dog, but I don't know if I could travel so much, afford it, and want to give him to a trainer for long. Also it would be hard to treat him as a working dog not a pet always. I wish there was something in between a therapy and service dog where you could train them to do minimal things for you and still take them into stores, etc.

[dpatt]

I think the quickest way would be to contact one of the training schools they should have all the information you need to certify your dog. However keep in mind that Therpy dogs can not go into stores unlike a service dog. They can only go where they are used as emotional support for people like hospitals and senior citizen facilities etc and because they have a person to person contact with people they have to be professionally trained and certified. I am training Binky to be my service dog for seizures and other disabilities I have and this I can do myself, he does not have to be professionally trained or certified and I would never send him away anywhere for training. Like the person said a few posts back it is against the law to pass them off as a service dog, you must have a disability. I had a young lady call me recently to set up a play date for her dog with mine, she said she had a designer dog!! I wanted to choke her some people think these little guys and girls are a fashion statement, that makes it hard for people that really need them. Sorry !! I'm rambling here. Call a school in your area and they should be able to help you.

[dpatt]

If you own a service dog and have not done this yet do it now - important! This is the United States Service Dog Registry and it is free. They will give you a 10 digit ID # when you are done. Anyone who wants to check on the status or your dog can do this on-line at this site. All they will be told is your dog is a registered service dog with the US. This can help you verify your dog to a business and they do have ID's you can purchase from a gov site. I just did it and it only took about 10 minutes and I had my ID#

The United States Service Dog Registry

[Charlie_Boy2011]

Originally Posted by dpatt

I think the quickest way would be to contact one of the training schools they should have all the information you need to certify your dog. However keep in mind that Therpy dogs can not go into stores unlike a service dog. They can only go where they are used as emotional support for people like hospitals and senior citizen facilities etc and because they have a person to person contact with people they have to be professionally trained and certified. I am training Binky to be my service dog for seizures and other disabilities I have and this I can do myself, he does not have to be professionally trained or certified and I would never send him away anywhere for training. Like the person said a few posts back it is against the law to pass them off as a service dog, you must have a disability. I had a young lady call me recently to set up a play date for her dog with mine, she said she had a designer dog!! I wanted to choke her some people think these little guys and girls are a fashion statement, that makes it hard for people that really need them. Sorry !! I'm rambling here. Call a school in your area and they should be able to help you.

How are you training him for that yourself? You are saying I can train him to do minimal things I need and then I can easily get paperwork saying he is a certified service dog and take him into places with me? I wouldn't be trying to pass him off. As I said in another thread I have a spinal cord injury and use a wheelchair so have an obvious disability that wouldn't be questioned by facilities. I just would like to look into getting this done right on paper. Where would I find info on training schools so I can call? Thanx in advance.

[dpatt]

Hi Charlie Boy I am truly sorry if it sounded like I thought you would pass him off, I really didn't mean that. Yes you can train Charlie Boy yourself and register him. I used to be a breeder and showed dogs years ago and I also have a close friend who owns a kennel and does training. I have also checked into training material on the internet from pro's so I am covered for what I need him to do. From what I have been told it can take anywhere from 1 1/2 - 2 years to train a service dog depending on the required tasks. I no longer can work so I have unlimited time to do this.

I did a lot of research on this to make sure I was doing it correctly and legally. I am sending you a couple of sites that will explain everything and I have a couple of friends that have service dogs professionally trained who are also helping me. I of my friends had to pay $8000 for her dog and I just can't afford that. These are government sites that deal totally with service animals.

*http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.pdf

ADA Business Brief: Service Animals

[dpatt]

Charlie here are a couple more sites for therapy dog training, one is The Humane Society and they have a phone number you can call - hope it helps

Therapy Dogs International

Therapy animals | Animal Humane Society