Service Dogs
We have helped numerous people with getting their dogs trained and "certified" for Service. We are willing to help with the Obedience Training on the dog and some exercises that may be required for the dogs working purpose and "certification". Our Basic if not Basic & Advanced is more then enough to pass any testing such as the Public Access Test. Of course your dog may need to pass a test for the task it is supposed to perform for the handler, that training may need to be done elsewhere depending on the task. Any "Certification" you may choose to do will need to be done with that particular organization. There are organizations that have created certification standards and provide testing. People call me and asked us to certify their dog and I cannot get them to understand that we don't do this because there isn't a US standard for certification for these dogs. And I am not willing to just make one up. Maybe it sounds outrageous and hard to believe that there isn't a US Standard for these dogs??
Note: According to the US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE there are no requirements for licensing, certification, or identification of services dogs.
So, you can decide to go with an organization that preforms testing, but it is not required.
Training- First you should have an appropriate dog for the work(breed/temperament/socialization etc...)! The dog needs to have good manners in public, our Basic Obedience will accomplish this. Advanced is suggested. The dog should be trained to perform tasks directly related to the person's disability(see above).
Service Dogs
Service Animals are legally defined (Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990) and are trained to meet the disability-related needs of their handlers who have disabilities. Federal laws protect the rights of individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by their service animals in public places. Service animals are not considered 'pets'.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990), a dog is considered a "service dog" if it has been "individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability." Also according to the ADA, a 'disability' is a "mental or physical condition which substantially limits a major life activity" such as:
• caring for one's self
• performing manual tasks
• walking
• seeing
• hearing
• speaking
• breathing
• learning
• working
• as well as some disabilities that may not be
visible, such as:
deafness, epilepsy, and psychiatric
conditions
To be considered a service dog, she/he must be trained to perform tasks directly related to the person's disability.
So, What is your disability? I, as your trainer, would need to know this, the general public does not however.
Links
West Virginia Consolidated Assistance Animal/Guide Dog Laws