How To Make Your Dog A Service Dog

Dog lovers know that the benefits of a canine companion are too numerous to mention. In addition to this, some dogs provide professional service to the people who need it. Thanks to the ADA's decision in 1990, these service dogs are more than pets. What dogs are best suited to be service dogs, and how are they certified? We have a step by step guide to getting a dog service ready.

For more information, check out this well-reviewed guide for training your own dog service. 

What breeds are the best for service work?

The short answer: any race! That said, German shepherds, golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers and border collies are common for a variety of services due to the training capacity and the typical personality. A larger dog may be necessary for physical assistance such as mobility, but medical alert or emotional support services can be performed by a smaller breed.

Not sure of the make-up of your dog's breed? The dog's DNA tests can provide valuable information about the instincts related to your dog's breed. The Wisdom Panel test is an affordable option that receives high marks for accuracy.

In general, the temperament and health of your dog are the most important. That brings us to the first step.

Step 1. Assess the age and health of service dogs

An initial visit to the veterinarian (with regular check-ups) is important: health conditions such as arthritis and diabetes put undue pressure on the best of pets, so adding responsibilities of service animals is unwise.

All service dogs should also be neutralized so that males are less aggressive and women will not face working when in the heat. Dogs must be at least 6 months old and past the puppy phase, too.

Step 2: Test Your Dog's Personality

Some dogs are aggressive while others are submissive, and in many cases this is not "good" or "bad" - not so simple. The proper temperament for a service animal is a very narrow margin between these two poles. If your dog is quiet, cool and collected, but also alert and sensitive, chances are that she is a good fit for the service job. Paw Rescue has a great primer on the temperament of the dog, with additional resources to test ideas.

As mentioned above, it may be useful to know the typical characteristics of your dog's breed. If you have a mixed breed dog, a reputable doggy DNA test can help you better understand your inheritance.

Step 3: Find a reputed service dog trainer

Some people have a DIY spirit, but many of us will not be up to the task of in-depth training that is needed to have a proven care animal. Legally in the United States, there is no certification required, but the service animal training community has come up with self-regulating minimum standards for training. Find a reputable trainer near you!

Step 4: Time to train your service dog

Putting in the required time is critical. That's why it's wiser to use an established trainer.

International standards are a minimum of 120 hours over six months or more, up to 24 in some cases. At least 30 of those hours should be spent in public dealing with the distractions and potential surprises that come with it.

While the United States does not have a defined requirement, self-regulation is critical and it is advisable to follow these hours and guidelines. They are divided into the following three phases:

• Heeling is the most difficult to teach. It is more than "coming here" or "sitting." It is about maintaining the relative position of the handler (human companion) regardless of how the handler moves.

• Testing is the longest since it requires dog training to tune in to all distractions and be constantly in command.

• The task, or learning the specific task they are going to perform, is what most people think will be more difficult. After overcoming the other two concepts, this is often the easiest. Tasks include providing guidance or detecting a medical alert.

Step 5: Public Access Test

It's time for prime time. Video documentation is always useful when it's time to put all that training to the test. Among other things, some basic expectations for a dog service include:

• No aggressive behavior (biting, barking, growling, etc.)

• Only urinate or defecate on command

• Overloading of sniffing behaviors

Step 6: Registration and Equipment

Again, our current situation in the United States is self-regulated. That means we have to be as courteous in our public behavior as the dogs we have trained so diligently.

Documentation of the training process, public access testing, and registration with a reputable service such as the United States Service Dog Registry will help ensure dog competition and any future situation in which your dog (or you) Can be interrogated.

The ADA has put in great safeguards to protect humans who need service animals and their pet companions, but having solid answers and evidence in case of misunderstanding or altercation will never hurt. If our dogs can go the extra mile, then we can too.

Step 7: Find someone in need

Simply having a trained service animal does not mean that they can accompany you, or just anyone, to places where they are denied pets. Public accommodations should be made legally for service dogs which are accompanied by the individual with the disability.

To locate a service dog, or to find one, check with local service dog organizations and community groups, such as Nextdoor (which also has a new pet directory).

Service dogs provide assistance for people facing one or more potentially disabling living conditions. Along with physical disabilities, this includes depression, anxiety and PTSD. If you or someone you are interested in might benefit from a service dog, these steps will help you assess whether your partner has the potential to be of even greater service than the unconditional love they already provide.

You may also wish to consult our guide to encourage therapy for dogs, which are related to, but different from the service dogs.