Service Dog Fraud

Despite what scam websites will tell you, service dogs usually take between 1.5-2 years of intense training.  This includes basic and advanced obedience, public access and task training.  You cannot just take a pet dog and throw them into the public atmosphere and expect them to adjust and suddenly become a service animal.  Service animals are trained in specific tasks that help mitigate a diagnosed and legally recognized disability.

There sadly are quite a few people who have decided to purchase a fake "certification," ID and service dog vest online.  Sadly, with the current ADA laws, these people get away with it.  These pets tend to be untrained in even basic obedience and can cause problems for legitimate service dog teams.  Buying a vest does not make your dog a service animal.  It takes training, time, money and lots of energy.  Service dogs must be extremely well behaved and perform tasks. The handler must also have a diagnosed and legally recognized disability.  If taken to court, you must have proof of the need of the service animal and you must prove that the dog is a service animal. Yep, gotta prove it people.

Some of the problems caused include:

• Barking, growling and distracting a sd and they can miss performing a task or an alert
• Attacking sd teams
• Defecating in public 
• Business owners begin to question every "sd" that comes in and can cause access issues for legitimate teams
• Can cause issues on airplanes, or public transportation

True service dogs DO NOT:

• Sit on furniture, in booths, in chairs, etc (service dogs must have four on the floor)
• Eat food from the floor or steal food
• Defecate in buildings or without a command
• Whine, bark (unless part of a task), growl or bite
• Cause any problems in public

Service dogs should be seen and not heard.  Most people are usually shocked when they realize that there is a dog under the table.  My dogs are never heard from.  The go under the table where they belong in a restaurant and stay there, silent.  Service dogs are legally considered medical equipment.  They shouldn't be pet, spoken to or distracted in any deliberate way. 

Fake service dogs do not behave in public, are carried, placed in strollers, carriers, etc.  Service dogs need to be able to perform their tasks.  This means that they should be on the floor, heeling next to their handler.  Tasks can then easily be performed.

Things that are NOT TASKS:

• "Cuddling"
• "Just Existing"
• "Keep me calm"

A task is a physical motion, alert, retrieval, etc that the dog performs in order to mitigate their handlers disability.  If the dog naturally alerts to certain conditions such as migraines or seizures, these alerts can be honed to be a task that is performed when needed.

Legally considered tasks:

• medical alert (migraine, seizure, diabetes)
• deep pressure therapy
• retrieval of an item (wheelchair, phone, meds)
• mobility tasks (counterbalance, brace)
• open and close doors, drawers, etc
• push a 911 button
• etc.

And now a cute video of Lincoln watching Westminster: