HOW CAN I CERTIFY MY DOG TO BECOME A SERVICE DOG?

Please note that
Doggie Manners can help you in *training* your dog.
We do not certify dogs.

***Please DO NOT CALL
with any questions about certification
or any legal issues
other than training your dog.

Contact Christy Hill,
whose contact information is at the end of this article
for additional information.

Click here for the new ADA
(Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements.

California Penal Code:
365.7. (a) Any person who knowingly and fraudulently represents himself or herself, through verbal or written notice, to be the owner or trainer of any canine licensed as, to be qualified as, or identified as, a guide, signal, or service dog, as defined in subdivisions (d), (e), and (f) of Section 365.5 and paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 54.1 of the Civil Code, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

This article originally appeared in ForwarD,
The National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors' award winning quarterly newsletter,
and is published here with permission of the author.

Milestones in Training Service Dog Candidates © 2008

By Jeanne Hampl

I have given up counting the number of phone calls I get asking how someone can get their dog ”certified” as a service dog. Seldom do I receive calls asking how to choose an appropriate dog or how to train the dog in question. When I ask the callers what training the dog they want "certified” has, the answers is usually "none." They have not attended obedience classes. They have not even read a book on training.  When I ask about task training, they usually respond, "Well I just want the dog to come places with me." Interestingly these callers do have a disability but have no concept of the training necessary for public access work and no idea that service dogs must be task trained.

So where does a person training a potential service dog begin?  I recommend all service dog candidates from puppy to adults attend dog training classes.  (emphasis added) They should begin with either a puppy or beginner class and continue on until they pass the AKC Canine Good Citizenship Test (CGC).

Classes are the first milestone. Successful completion of the CGC is the second. A dog that cannot pass a CGC has no business being out in places of public accommodation.

Once a dog is sufficiently trained to pass a CGC the trainer should download a copy of The Assistance Dogs International’s Public Access Test (PAT).  (www.adionline.org). The trainer than begins to practice the individual test items such as appropriate loading and unloading of a dog from a vehicle and the dog’s ability to ignore food on the floor.

The third milestone is successful completion of the Public Access Test.

While training the dog in public access skills, the trainer /handler needs to determine what actual tasks the dog needs to be able to perform to assist the person with a disability. There is an excellent disability and task list on the website of The International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (www.iaadp.org).

A dog that is not task trained is not a service dog even if its owner is a person with a disability. (emphasis added) Federal law clearly states:

A Service Dog is ‘‘any dog that is individually trained
to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability,
including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
The crime deterrent effects of an animal’s presence and
the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship
do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.’’

The fourth milestone is reliably performing tasks both at home and in public. Program-trained dogs and dogs tested by some local assistance dog clubs must perform tasks as part of their Public Access Test. The handler chooses the tasks. Assistance Dogs International requires a minimum of three tasks in their standards for service dog training.

The question, “How do I get my dog certified?” is just the tip of the iceberg. Federal law does not require certification of service dogs. It does require that a service dog be task trained and under the control of its handler and not a direct threat to the health or safety of others. (emphasis added)

You may contact Jeanne Hampl here: assist_dog_club@hotmail.com for more information.
Ms. Hampl is affiliated with the Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound, which helps club members train their own service animal and assists members in selecting an appropriate animal.
The club meets in the Puget Sound area of Washington state.

Please note that
Doggie Manners can help you in training your dog.
We do not certify dogs.

  
***Please DO NOT CALL
with any questions about certification
or any legal issues
other than training your dog.*

If you would like to learn more about Service Dogs and Housing, read this article.

http://www.ddal.org/pdf/bffl.pdf

You may also be interested in this Yahoo Discussion group.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/assistance-dogs/