Service Dog Training
 

Anyone have their pooch trained as a service dog?

I thinking it might just be good for the pup, even tho I don't need a service dog.... :confused:

If you dont mind me asking, what is a service dog??

A dog trained to help disabled people. The dog can (I think) be taught to do different things for different people. Help lead a blind person, train to help hearing impaired people, etc.

I was thinking it would be interesting to train a pup to help others.

On this forum, there is a search feature that is very helpful. There are volumes and volumes written about service dogs that you have access to by using the search.

great! I'll check into it - thanks bunches.. :)

found the thread!
 

Really great thread on this....

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...t=service+dogs

Here is a wonderful link for training service dogs: www.adionline.org

Enjoy and good luck!

Delta Society
 

I have 5 service dogs in my family and I have found Delta Society to be a tremendous resource.

Delta Society is the leading non profit organization concerned with improving the human animal bond and they have lots of info on service dogs and trainers as well as all the laws in plain english regarding access, etc.

There mission and goals are:

Delta Society® Mission
Improving human health through service and therapy animals.
Delta Society Goals
Expand awareness of the positive effect animals can have on human health and development.
Remove barriers that prevent involvement of animals in everyday life.
Expand the therapeutic and service role of animals in human health, service, and education.

Here is a link to their site:


http://www.deltasociety.org/dsf000.htm

Kim- I thought you trained your dogs yourself? I didnt realize that they had received training outside of the home!

Candy4me- Here are the ADI Minimum reqirements for service dog training:

MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR TRAINING SERVICE DOGS

These are intended to be minimum standards for all service dog centers that want to be affiliated with ADI. All centers are encouraged to strive to work at levels above the minimums.

1. A minimum of one hundred twenty (120) hours of training over a period of no less than six (6) months, must take place under the supervision of a program's trainer. During that time at least thirty (30) hours of regularly scheduled training must be devoted to field trips and public exposure.

2. Basic obedience skills the dogs must master with voice and/or hand signals are: sit, stay come, down, heel and off leash recall.

3. The dog must show social behavior skills of no aggression, no inappropriate barking, no biting, no snapping/growling, no inappropriate jumping on strangers, no begging and no sniffing of people.

4. The service dog must be trained to perform at least three physical tasks.

5. The training time with the student prior to placement must be a minimum of no less than 60 hours. This is both public and private. All graduates must be given a solid education in appropriate behavior of the team. The dog should stay as invisible as possible and not interfere with people.

6. The training facility must require the recipient to complete a follow-up progress report once a month for the first six months following the placement. Personal contact will be done by qualified staff or program volunteer within twelve to eighteen (12-18) months of graduation and annually thereafter.

7. Identification of the Service Dog will be accomplished with a laminated ID card with a photo of the dog and partner and names of both recipient and dog. In public the dog must wear a harness, backpack or slicker with a logo that is clear and easy to read and identifiable as a service dog.

8. The staff of the training center must demonstrate knowledge of the disabilities of the clients it works with. Organization shall make available educational material on different disabilities.

9. The recipient must agree to abide by the Minimum Standards for Assistance Dog Partners.

10. At the onset of training, every dog will be spayed or neutered and will have a thorough medical evaluation to determine that the dog does not have any physical problems that would cause difficulty for a working dog.

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.

Kim- ADI is a non-profit organization. They are working with legislation to help with the laws regulating service animals and also with helping the facilitation of service and seizure animals for those that need this service. I would hardly think that this organization would be in it to "make money" as you have implied.

I am so happy to hear that you have felt comfortable training your dogs, but not everyone on this forum has experience to do so. many have a hard time with potty training and barking. I do not see anything "simple" about training a dog to be a service animal and I personally don't take it lightly, which is why I posted the ADI's minimum standards... we are talking about people that could have a life debilitating event if their dog is not trained properly. The proper training could save a their life or someone else's. The lack thereof could literally mean death. This is not an area for misinformation as ithe outcome could literally be life or death for a human being.

ADI is an organzation made up of busniesses that primarliy train dogs and places them with disabled people. They do not usually train a dog someone already owns. The standards for membership in their organization are NOT required by any current law. These are simply their own standards they have developed and they deal mostly with the severely disabled like blind persons or deaf persons or people in wheelchairs. They have developed a "model law" for the states, however I do not know that any state has adopted their model law and the federal law under the ADA takes precedence over any state law anyway.

I am just as concerned about accurate info as you are.

The Americans with Disability Act and the access allowed service animals under it does not put any restrictions on the training of a service animal and a service animal can assist a person with many levels of disability from migraine headaches, to anxiety attacks or high blood pressure. Your yorkie can be trained to assist you in your daily activities and the training can be by you, or by a third party, and either is perfectly acceptable under the law.

Sometimes it is as simple as a dog being able to detect a seizure coming on and the person being trained to read the dogs mannerisms to detect this. Sometimes it is as simple as training the dog to alert or bark when the doorbell or the phone rings.

There is no license or certification required under the law, however it does make life easier if you get a laminated card with the dog's picture on it from the Service Animal Registry of America. The application is downloadable and they charge a $35 fee.

Pm me if you have additional Qs. I would be ahppy to help.

Have you thought about having her trained as a therapy dog? I have a couple that are therapy dogs like SoCalyorkiLvr. People at the nursing home really look forward to their visit. It is more practical than training for service dog since you don't have a disability and you do not intend to train it for someone that has(or am I wrong?).

Therapy dog does require to pass a 2 part test to get certified. After your dog is certified you and your dog both get a ID stating that your dog is a therapy dog. Delta also insure your dog for liability. Then you and your dog can bring a little bit joy into peoples life when you go visit them. What do you think?

Thank you for the offer to help, but I am very blessed that I have all of my faculties and that Tino and Bunny are simply my pets and there is not a need for them to labeled as "service" dogs. I am very sorry to hear of all of the disablilties that you have posted that plague your family. You are very lucky that you have been able to train all of your dogs to help you all with your needs, especially the Yorkies at such a young age!

As I stated previously, I was trying to help others that are interested in training their dogs as service dogs.

We wanted to Mya to be a Therapy Dog after only having her one week. We have been trying to get her in to Puppy Kindergarten only because she needs proof she has attened. She is pretty well behaved but could use some improvement with "stay".
I was told by some agencies that she needed to be one year old in order to get insurance on her incase she hurt a patient. One family sued after an elderly woman was scratched. Meanwhile I felt I really needed to socialize Mya and so I take her almost everywhere and let others pat her and hold her.
She has visited seniors clubs. I have her little vest with the patch "IN TRAINING" on it. I also looked in to service dogs and most handicapped people keep the dog. The only area I saw that was new that fell under "Service" and that was on a visitation program was for people suffering from Depression. As for now I am training her. She is getting used to groupls of people, I take her to the doctor's, hospital, dentists ...all for my own visits. She is on a waiting list for formal training and then we will try out at the Therapy Dog Agencies. After that we will try for the Service Dog Certification and if I have enough energy left I will enroll her with a casting agency as an extra, as I used to do that work myself.

Cyn- I LOVE what you are doing! I think you just kind of know if your Yorkie would be a good therapy dog... Tino has a very loving nature and since he is a year old, I would love to get him involved in a program like you are talking about... therapy. There is a retirement home that is near us downtown and I LOVE taking him by there... al of the people sit outside absolutley go nuts when I take him over to see them! We just went by there Saturday! I've actually told them about the Yorkie Meetup group and a few of them want to come to play with our babies. Since Bunny is only 5 months, I don't really know how well she would do with any therapy training.

Could you PM more info on the program that you have Mya in?

p.s. I adore the saying in your signature! That is so original and I can definitely identify!!!!

A service dog "in training" is allowed access just as if they are fully trained as well, so as soon as your dog begins training they qualify as a service animal under the law allowing access. Someone was amazed that my yorkies were so well trained at such early ages, but, in reality, their training begins as soon as they are in my home and they have learned a lot by the time they are 6 months old. My dogs continue training for life and are always learning new behaviors. They love their "work" and it has definitely deepened our bond.

I have never been through the therapy dog training but it is a wonderful "job" as well. The healing powers of dogs is well documented. Unfortunately. therapy dogs are not afforded the same access as service dogs, but the law makes sense since the people benefitting from the therapy dogs are not the owners but "others".

The dog doesn't have to be doing something to assist it's owner at that particular time either when it is going into a place where the non service dog would not be welcome. The theory behind this is that the trained working dog takes his job very seriously and being separated from his owner is very stressful for him. There a tremendous bond which develops between a service animal and the person he assists.

This may be a dumb question, but can a dog become a service dog if a person does not have a disability? Do they require a dog be placed with a disabled person after the training? Just curious - Thanks!

That may be an option too. I was thinking that, all the articles I read talk about how intelligent toy breeds can be, and I would love to be able to train my pooch in helping others. It would take a lot of time & effort, so Therapy Dogs may be great too. My mom is disabled (blood disorder) and is really depressed sometimes, so I was thinking to bring my pup over to visit her lots....this may be the ticket for her spirits! :)

That's a really good question.... :confused:

Wonderful info...lots to consider...this is great - thank you :)

Sounds like this may help my mom (I posted above she gets really depressed). Thanks ! :animal-sm

Thanks everyone - this will take careful thought on my part....I really appreciate any thoughts as I'm not the smartest person, and could use any advice.

:thumbs up

Sure you can private msg me. Mya is not in an official program yet as she is to be one year old. I am training her myself and will get her formal training at a K9 school that has a very long waiting list. I have some Canadian Links for programs if you are interested.

I am glad to see that you are taking this very seriously..it would be a very serious matter to me as well if I were putting someone's life in my Yorkie's paws! Which is really what we are talking about here!

Of couse it is not dumb question and you could certainly train your dog to be a service dog if you don't have a disability. A dog that thoroughly trianed is a wonderful companion disability or not.

It would not grant you the accessibility, however under the Americans with Disabilities Act, since for the public access law to kick in the dog has to be with the person with the disability.

But, who cares, you still have a wonderfully obedient companion to help you with yoru daily activiites!

Everyone on here offers such great advice and experience. Just another reminder why this place is soo awesome!

Very true. I have to really study the subject more. I'm a newbie to this forum, and really find everyone's thoughts pretty interesting and eye-opening. :yorkietal

I agree. Tiny who is one of my dog that is a therapy dog has some level of training that would probably make him a good service dog. He is comfortable walking beside a wheel chair and has been taught to sit on someone's lap when the wheelchair is moving. He will pick up small stuffs when you point to it and place it in your hand. He is also taught to pick up things and place it in certain areas. However, since I don't need a service dog, he is my little helper. His job is to pick up all the toys laying around the house and put it in the toy box and when I'm studying and too lazy to pick up the pencil, etc.. that I dropped, he picks it up for me and put it in my hand. I really make him very dear to my heart.