Service Dogs

Occasionally I receive inquiries regarding training a dog for service work - persons wanting a dog to provide some sort of assistance for a handicap or limitation. Some of the callers have legitimate need, but some (unfortunately) are seeking "certification" to allow their pet dog access to a variety of public or housing environments. Those with legitimate needs I try to refer to reputable help. All others I try to educate. While I DO NOT offer this type of specialty training, I do have educational background pertaining to how it should be done - properly. Today I thought I'd share some important points regarding service dogs from a training perspective.

For starters, if a dog is going to be trained to perform some task or "service", where a person's life is in the balance, reliability is crucial. One of the reasons I don't do this type of work is that it typically takes hours of work each day, for many months (or even over a year). Because this work is tedious, specialized, and low volume (relative to normal obedience), it's usually handled in a regional training facility. So those with a legitimate need should be searching across several states for potential providers. Reliable service training isn't going to happen in a few weeks, or with a few visits from a trainer. And because of the time required, if done properly, this training usually starts around $15K.

A dog's personality will be a factor in whether it can provide service reliably. Service dogs need to be calm and confident in a variety of settings. They also can't be protective should help be summoned for an ill owner. Nervous dogs, dogs with problem behaviors, and dogs with poor conformation or health issues, will never be chosen by responsible programs. It would be foolish to put time and effort into a dog that will never perform reliably.

To improve success rates, most professionals specializing in service dog training work with breeders to hand select puppies with likely aptitudes for assistance work. The pups will be properly socialized early, started on core obedience skills, then assessed around 9-18 months of age to see whether they still seem fit for specialty training. Dogs may also be found through rescues, but will need to pass stringent assessments before starting in a training program. Even with planning and careful assessments, many dogs can't successfully complete the training program.

Service dogs are wonderful to read about, and can dramatically change the life of a person needing help. But there's a great deal of background behind every successful story. One key element is how reputable trainers always assess a specific dog for any required work. Without a good foundation, you'll never have a solid finish. Qualifications for service dog work are exacting, as they should be. Picking a pet, then deciding you want to train it for service work, rarely works well.