How and Why to Get a Service Dog?

By Judy Keene

Seeking and training a service dog can be a wonderful thing, providing 24/7 companionship and doing tasks that help your disabilities greatly.

First be sure that you want and need a service dog for your disability – it is a major commitment, much work and determination, a lot of fun, and definitely worth it if you understand what the dog can do for you.

1. Do you want a service dog? Or do you really want an emotional support dog or a therapy dog?

LITTLE OR NO TRAINING REQUIRED for an emotional support dog: An emotional support animal (ESA) is a companion animal that provides therapeutic benefits, such as alleviating or mitigating some symptoms of a disability. Emotional support animals are typically dogs and cats, but may include other animals. Legal rights of an emotional support dog are very limited and may vary from state to state.

LITTLE TRAINING REQUIRED for therapy dogs: A therapy dog is a dog that is trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, hospices, disaster areas, and to people with autism.

EXTENSIVE TRAINING REQUIRED for a service dog: A service dog is a type of assistance dog specifically trained to help people who have disabilities. Those disabilities may include visual difficulties, hearing impairments, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), seizures, ambulatory issues, mental illness, diabetes, autism, and more. Legal rights of a service dog are extensive and protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) law.

The training of a service dog with you may take: 2 to 3 weeks on a service dog campus for certain disabilities (mobility training, for example)
or may require up to 6 months of training of client with dog, meeting 2 to 4 times a week with a service dog trainer, until you and dog are bonded, communicating effectively with each other, and meeting service dog requirements (most often for PTSD and psychiatric service dog training).

2. Training a service dog and maintaining the service dog requirements requires commitment. At the end of the training process, the client must be able to pass the Public Access Test with the dog, for the first major accomplishment – it is fun, sometimes easy, and sometimes very challenging, but all very beneficial. To download and review the Public Access Test, go to:

http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/standards/public-access-test/

If you want a service dog, here are tips on how to find one:

1. Check the ADI (Assistance Dogs International) website for a listing of service dog organizations.

http: //www.assistancedogsinternational.org/location/north-america-adina/

This list is a good start but not comprehensive — so do extra searching on the Internet.

2. For specialties, search the Internet under key terms that apply to you:

Examples: diabetic service dogs, seizure service dogs, guide dogs (for blind), psychiatric service dogs, PTSD service dogs.
Also search blogs and websites that involve your disability, and ask for recommendations for service dogs in your area.

3. Look on each service dog website for answers to the following questions, then phone them for the items not answered on their website:

a. List your disabilities and ask how a service dog could help you with them. Does the organization specifically train to help my disabilities?

b. What is the cost of applying?

c. What is the cost for the dog and it’s training?

Be very careful if the organization requires a lot of money for the dog, for the training, or asks for your promise to raise a lot of money to support the organization. Some of these organizations do not properly train the dogs, do not do any follow up support, and are unethical.

d. Does the organization use negative or positive reinforcement methods for training the dogs?

Some organizations use choke or pinch collars extensively, and apply pain to teach commands to the dog quickly. Negative reinforcement can create a fearful traumatized dog that is unable to think creatively. Only seek the use of positive reinforcement methods.

e. Does the organization select and train a dog, then you attend a 2- or 3-week training program? This is somewhat common and can work well for some disabilities.

Ask – how many hours of training a day? What is the cost of the local hotels?

If you do not feel that the dog works well with you, or that the program did not teach you enough, can you cancel the contract and return the dog?

Ask yourself – do you have the energy and focus to spend many hours and days in training classes?

(Note: PTSD or psychiatric service dog training usually requires up to 6 months of client-dog training, meeting with trainers 3 times a week, to be successful.)

f. How long does it typically take to get a dog after my application is submitted?

g. Will they train my pet dog? If so, what are the requirements and costs for that training?

Next Step Service Dogs in San Diego County serves veterans with PTSD and TBI.

For more information about PTD service dog training, see www.nextstepservicedogs.org or call 760-438-9190.