Owner Training Part II

Obtaining a service dog is a very personal decision and experience. Legally, service animals are considered medical equipment, not pets.  Just like other medical equipment, the disabled individual is allowed to choose where, when and how they obtain their service dog.  These dogs begin training from a very young age and training can continue from anywhere between 1.5-2.5 years.   Service dogs are trained in advanced obedience, public access training and task training. Lincoln was not obtained to be a pet. He was personality tested and chosen after looking at 11 different breeders in 4 states.  The decision to owner train was a very delicate and deliberate process.  My organization candidate through Quad Cities Canine Assistance Network (qccan.org) washed out due to her OFA prelim hip scores.  I decided to owner train because the organization had not yet found an Australian Shepherd breeder to their standards and I did not want a conformation Labrador retriever.  My current service dog, Mac, is due to retire in a year, so time has not been on my side.   

As you can tell in the video below, Lincoln is nowhere near graduation.  Lincoln will continue training for another 12-15 months.  Once his training is finished, Linc will be evaluated by a service dog trainer.

Owner trained service dogs are legally recognized by the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act and by The ADI, Assistance Dogs International, which is an organization that sets standards for assistance dogs internationally.  Nowhere in the ADA or ADI does it say who must train a service dog.  Many programs do not cross train assistance dogs for multiple disabilities, so many disabled train their own dogs.  The requirement for assistance dogs according to the ADI is that “The program/trainer should have a minimum of a 6-month period working with the owner and their dog. The owner and dog will be observed in a variety of settings and situations during this time. This will also include any training necessary to complete the program and meet the ADI Minimum Standards.”

According to the ADA “Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.” Also, certification, identification and documentation of training are not required by the ADA.  There are no federally recognized certification including program certifications.

           Service dogs are also allowed to just be dogs.  Service dogs are not disallowed from participating in extracurricular activities such as agility, rally, obedience competition, fly ball, hiking, etc.  It is also important that they take part in these types of activities.  By participating in these activities, it helps prevent burn outs.  Humans don't work 24/7 and neither do service dogs.  They deserve off time.  Obviously, if you receive a program dog, the program may retain ownership and have rules against certain types of activities.  That is between the handler and the organization.