Training a Service Dog - Page 3

It is tricky because the law is abused but for those who gain from the help of these dogs,I would hate to see regulation that makes it harder for them. Presently, in the states, service dogs do not need to be licensed, certified, etc, only trained to specifically aid with a disability. Some agencies claim to certify but there is no official standard being used.

my confusion comes from the early posts which ask about training but never clearly state the needs.

on a different note, it is sad that dogs are not allowed in stores etc here in the states like in some other countries. Instead of trying to gain acceptance, u.s. Dog owners tend to simply "cheat" never clearly understanding the damage done to legitimate service dogs.

Thinking about this guy - he is a "die hard" farmer, he already does own an adult St Bernhard´s female ( for sure not his first dog ), he is still able to drive hundreds of miles on his own, he is ignoring cancer ... I like this guy He seems to need a companion, nothing else.

He sounds like being well aware what he is doing - I´d go with a medium drive puppy, well socialized, used to ride in the car, and used to stay in a crate for a while. His wife should be able to handle the pup, too. What about the St Bernhard? Are we talking about inside or outside dogs? There always is the chance of a fight...

After all I wouldn´t care about "service/assistance-stuff", but about daily routine, makes life easier.

I do see where the guy warrants "service animal" as he takes off on his own; maybe he gets lost;  maybe he needs help on the farm with guidance of a dog; maybe he needs protection when in the car on trips or otherwise, maybe he is forgetful?  That is why I mentioned earlier in the posts to follow this guy around for a couple of months around his farm and traveling to see where this dog can be of assistance to him and maybe that will be a companion dog.  Not for us to decide though was my point.  That would be like saying my double amputee friend does not warrant a service dog.  NO.  Not correct.  So if it makes this guys life even a tiny winy bit easier and SAFER he is definitely deserving of a service dog.  Maybe he does not want to talk about his needs on public forum and doesn't want them exposed. 

Kitkat:  go for it you have made your boss a very generous offer and obviously he needs your help in this venture.  Best of  luck with his puppy  Nan

Y'know folks,  I found it really distressing when I first came to this

Board and heard a number of tales about the degree to which some

people are prepared to tell lies about the nature of their canines, in

order to get on planes and so forth.  I had genuinely never heard of

this problem before;  as far as I am aware we have almost zero history

in the UK of people saying their dogs are Service Dogs when they aren't.

I guess it didn't surprise me that much;  I am aware humans will sink

to some interesting depths, about all sorts of stuff, lol.

Maybe its partly to do, as GSD4 suggests, with the fact that most of

our shops and eating places will allow at least Guide Dogs in;  and/or the

fact that just about all of our organisations that provide & train Assistance

Dogs of any sort have their own logos displayed on the dog, on a vest or

a leash.  But other than that, the supply of dogs isn't particularly regulated

in any way.

And of course we don't have so many internal flights !

Getting back to what a service dog can do for this man, think about ways the dog can help him function to as close to 100% as possible. Bringing water from the fridge ( a huge hep when going through chemo). The dog can remind him when it is time to take meds, etc.

start the puppy out with an in-training vest. If you are doing the socialization, training, it is legal for to to bring the dog places as part of the training.  Also remember it is good for the dog to learn about on and off duty. My girl is very social and when just wearing a regular collar, etc. she enjoys pet, hugs, etc. when she is wearing her service vest, she understands she is not to socialize.

http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

There is no American rule of "three tasks" or anything like the other myths I have read here in this thread. By law they are not even required to wear a vest which the programs seem focussed to try to limit the sale of. I am all for a revamp of the system and having a certification program for handler and dog in order to be allowed public access and use of a service dog. I see this is what it will eventually come down to and can't say that I will be sad to see it... To many fakers and to many people trying to sell services training service dogs and or selling service dogs that should not be. I also want a federal certification for all programs and trainers to be certified :)  I know my dog and I would pass any test or scrutiny so I am not afraid but rather eager for a certification program to weed out the people who abuse the right.

A real service dog can also be asked to leave a premisis if not groomed and clean, agressive, or defecating/marking as long as they give the handler the option to finish their business without their partner. You must be disabled, ie: : having a physical or mental disability : unable to perform one or more natural activities (such as walking or seeing) because of illness, injury, etc.

Your dog must be trained specific tasks to mitigate your disabilities such as in my dog.... A FEW of his tasks... alert low blood sugars for my non functioning pancreas, Counter balance and bracework, mobilitity assist with stairs and ramps, bring help if I go down, cognitive awareness alert is very helpful when my brain swells for my Lupus, Guide work when my eyes are affected by same, retriveing and fetching items, etc......

The dogs aren't the ones doing the cheating, its the owners who are saying they have disbilities they don't have. My question is - how does a person qualify for the use of a service dog or is there only the need to say he or she needs one regardless. Is there a specific list of ADA disabilities that could require the use of a service animal? Does the owner of a service animal need to have been diagnosed by a doctor?

Not too long ago I was told at a show that a specific dog was able to stay in a hotel that was not dog friendly because her owner had her "certified" as his service animal, he had the "certificate" with him to prove it and bought a vest off the net. The owner was not disabled in any way whatsoever and admitted it as he bragged about cheating the system; he never has to board his dog anymore.

It's really a slippery slope and totally dependent on the ethics and mindset of the owner and most likely it will always be that way. How can a dog be certified to do things like detect when a seizure is about to happen, a blood glucose fluctuation, etc unless it is actually happening at the time? It's on the owner to be honest.

Read the ADA and interput it, it used to have a few specific ones listed like the low sugars, but when it was re written that was left off. It states anyone with a disability with a dog trained to mitigate tasks to help the disabilitity is a service dog. You better be ready and able to prove it in court should you need to. You have a disabilitity then you normally have medical care of some sort for that disabilitity. In my case on top of my regualr doctor, I have a rheumatologist, cardiologist, neurologist and a endocrinologist. My service dog and I are being featured in an issue of Lupus magazine as my service dog helping me with this disease, handicapped plaquard..... but I can say I have been working and just hired over to the company I have been reaching for and have met my second career goal since I went back to work last Sept. I have never been on disabilitity and do not consider that a way of considering someone being disabled. My dog helps me be as good as a person without these medical hinderances. keep in mind many disabilities are invisible as well as many diabled people also cannot control their dogs.... I believe in a system being built to test dogs and handler skills of every service dog team every couple years for behavioral issues and or disability needs to make sure they are being met but not abused. I have seen real service dogs being bad because their handlers let them get away with things as well as dogs that have no business in public doing the same with fakers. If you have a specific question Blitzen just ask it? You have written this same thing every single time service dogs are brought up? Better yet, ask the person you are talking about? Most people dont like to be asked personal medical info though and the heppa helps with that. If someone asked me in public why I have a service dog most times they think I am training him, but some ask rudly what is wrong with you lol I say back nothing is "wrong" with me but may be something "wrong with them..... If they ask and I can tell they genuinly want the info and arnt being jerks most times I will share with them so that at least people are getting educated about service dog use and disabilities that may or may not be invisible. More people have Lupus than aids and yet no one knows much about the disease if you ask them, so I do use it also to advance the knowledge of Lupus and get it out there.... It is May right now, Lupus support month!!   I have driven to a dog show over 1200 hundred miles, well hubby drove it not me.....and had rude comment made to me by competitor at the hotel desk accusing me of being a fake for flying.... just cant discount ignorance.... There are invisible disabilities and there are fakers and IMO not everyone using a dog has the dog that should be in public or the skills to handle the dog. Certification would help all of this and I know it is coming, but how soon? Sooner than I first thought since all the new news articles are pumping up the topic, but not one news caster has given the real facts.... it just amazes me.
 

GSDNewbie:  your boy seems so well rounded; experienced and absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.  Always nice to have a handsome guy by your side assisting in the many ways you have trained your boy.  Can you share what and how you got your boy started from puppyhood;  how you socialized him and how much he was socialized?  All that.  Would love for Kitkat to be able to have some helpful guidelines for her training program for the "bosses" new service girl.  I feel your boy is truly a very good ambassador for the breed and the service dog abilities. 

Also would you recommend any type video on training/socialization or is there anything out there that you are aware of for guidance regarding service dog training, do's and don'ts;  that type thing?  In another post someone mentioned Michael Ellis tapes/video's for another training method/problem solving.  Is there anything available for people to view like that? 

Thank you for sharing  Nan

Newbie, you too know one of the persons who used to encourage others to say their dogs were service dogs in order to gain priviledges. She used to advise all her friends to fake disabilities so they could fly their dogs free, etc..  She told me to do it many times. How many actually took that advice, I do not know.

The oness to keeping the service dog program honest and always readily available to those who truly need it and want it rests on the owner of each service dog. Every service dog owner who fakes a disability in order to gain that priviledge is doing the program a terrible wrong. So yes, I do always ask the same thing about the service dog program as I may very well need it one day myself. I have not received a satisfactory response because there is none. It's the honor system.

How many times have there been messages posted here about service dogs biting and how they could not possibly have been real service dogs? There is clearly a big loophole in that program that allows almost anyone to say they have a service dog.  Anyone can buy a vest on the net and ID cards and tags. They know they are protected from being asked what the disability is, from providing documented proof that their dog has been trained and from providing proof that they are legally disabled That's as it should be, otherwise it would be an invasion of privacy,  but it invites fakers to take advantage and that should be a very big concern for those who truly need a service dog. If saying that pushes the buttons of anyone faking the need for a service dog, then so be it. 

I think those here needing service dogs would like to learn how to train their GSD's to serve their needs. Is it possible to train a dog to detect seizures, glucose issues, whatever or is it something they either sense of they don't - like Jackie's dog alerting to her cancer? Other services are trainable - alerting to sounds, fetching objects, dialing 911.