If you are interested in having your dog become an official service animal, this is the information you need to know.
Every dog owner knows how much their fur baby enriches their lives every day. Some dogs go above and beyond and are able to provide crucial assistance for their owners. Service animals are a wonderful aid that can revolutionize the way a disabled person interacts with the world. A service dog can mean the difference between a person being housebound and being able to go out without constantly worrying about their health.
What is a Service Dog?
The American with Disabilities Act defines a service dog as “a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability” and “can help with physical and psychiatric disabilities”.
Disabilities are further defined in the ADA as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, including people with history of such an impairment, and people perceived by others as having such an impairment”. Traditionally, seeing eye dogs were the only service dogs, but now they have a much wider variety of jobs. For instance, a person with diabetes might have a dog that can detect when their blood pressure drops. A service dog could be trained to stop repetitive behaviors for a person with OCD, or turn on the lights for someone with PTSD. The common denominator is that these dogs have a specific job to do and are trained extensively to be able to do them well.
Therapy dogs and emotional support animals (ESAs) are not service dogs and are not covered by the ADA.
- Therapy dogs are trained to provide comfort, attention, and love to people in a clinical setting. This includes schools, nursing homes, hospitals, and more.
- Emotional support animals are any animal that helps a person with mental illness and must be prescribed by a psychiatrist to be covered under the Fair Housing Act. ESAs might bring comfort to a person suffering from a panic attack but do not perform a specific action to help that person. While some local and state governments might allow ESAs in public places, the ADA only covers service animals.
Can My Pet Be A Service Animal?
Maybe, but not necessarily. Any breed can be a service dog, but not all breeds are suited for all jobs. If you have a disability and are in search of a service animal, professional training programs can train a dog to meet your specific needs and there are many that adopt dogs from shelters and train them. However, the United States does not require service dogs to be professionally trained.
The key component service dog trainers look for in their animals is their temperament. These standards are so rigorous that 50-70% of the animals that begin training will not become service dogs. Service dogs have to be:
- Calm and focused in unfamiliar settings
- Alert but not reactive
- Willing and able to learn and retain information
- Reliable when performing repetitive tasks
Beyond the disability-specific skill, the dog will also learn skills that allow them to be invisible and unobtrusive in public settings. Service dogs can cost up to thousands of dollars for their handlers, although some trainers might charge nothing or offer payment plans.
Gulf Coast K9 Dog Training provides obedience and training programs for Sarasota and Bradenton area dogs. Call us today if we can help with your dog’s behavior and training.
