What is the legit way to have my dog certified as a service dog?

After a useless surgery, it still causes me a tremendous amount of pain to bend over. My new doctor recommended I get a service dog. What are the official guidelines and rules regarding having a dog trained to be a service dog? I currently have a very…

    What is the legit way to have my dog certified as a service dog?

    After a useless surgery, it still causes me a tremendous amount of pain to bend over. My new doctor recommended I get a service dog. What are the official guidelines and rules regarding having a dog trained to be a service dog? I currently have a very…...
    Dogs Training Discussions : What is the legit way to have my dog certified as a service dog?...

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.

    • What is the legit way to have my dog certified as a service dog?

      What is the legit way to have my dog certified as a service dog? Dogs Training Discussions
      After a useless surgery, it still causes me a tremendous amount of pain to bend over. My new doctor recommended I get a service dog. What are the official guidelines and rules regarding having a dog trained to be a service dog? I currently have a very well-trained dog who retrieves things on command and I would like to see her trained, but I can't find any official regulations. Every website seems to contradict another.

      What is the legit way to have my dog certified as a service dog?

      What is the legit way to have my dog certified as a service dog? Dogs Training Discussions
    • The websites contradict each other because each state and organization has different criteria. Make sure you're not looking at therapy dog sites. There are national, regional and state groups, the certifications are all different.Do a google search on your city or state and the words 'service dog', you'll narrow down the specifics a lot more that way.

    • The first step is to train the dog to preform tasks to help you. This is best done by the large programs. However, yes you may train the dog your self or with the help of a professional trainer. Under the ADA that covers the entire country, you don't need to be certified. Some state and organizations do certify dogs. Doing so is controversial. Also, some organizations charge huge prices for vests and certifications that mean little. Check www.iaadp.org and http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/animal.htm They are legit.

    • To have and use a service dog in the US, 3 criteria must be met.1. The person must meet the legal definition of "disabled" as set forth by the US Department Of Justice contained in the Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments. A simple "doctors note" or a mere diagnosis of a condition is not legal proof of a disability. Neither is being a recipient of SSI, SSDI or the use of any other definition. The only one which matters for service dog use is the USDOJ definition.2. The dog must be trained in work or tasks that directly mitigate the life limiting effects of the qualifying disability. This means that the dog must be trained to do something that you cannot do because of your qualifying disability. If the dog can open a door for you, but you are capable of opening your own door, that would not be a legal work or task. In your case, if you meet the legal definition of disabled and you cannot pick up a dropped object because of your disability, your dog can be trained to pick up dropped objects which would be a legal task under the law.3. The dog must behave properly in the public venue. This means that your dog cannot bark, whine, growl, lunge, bite or attempt to bite, urinate/defecate, jump up on people, stick its nose in peoples crotches, get in the way, surf for food, be obnoxious, or otherwise cause a disturbance. In other words, a properly trained service dog is, for all intents and purposes, "invisible" when in the public venue.All you really need to know can be found on the US Department Of Justice website under the ADAA homepage.

    • There is no legit way to have a dog certified as a service dog in the US b/c there is no certification recognized by the government. It is a common misconception that service dogs are certified.To have a service dog, three things must be true:1) The handler must meet the ADA definition of disabled. This means that they must have a physical, medical, or psychological condition that significantly negatively impacts one or more major life activity such as walking, talking, learning, caring for yourself, etc..2) The dog must be trained to mitigate the disability of the handler. What this means is that the dog must do something for the handler that the handler can not do for themselves due to their disability. What is a task for one team may not be for another because it is based on the disability. For example, my service dog picks up dropped objects and/or objects that are low enough to make me bend down because bending/kneeling will cause me to faint. So, for us, it is a task. But, if another handler can pick stoop/kneel and pick up items, than its not a task for them.3) The dog must be trained to behave properly in public. This is the longest and hardest part of service dog training. The dog must be able to handle all the noises, sudden movements of people and children, and smells and ignore them. They must be able to walk through a store and not sniff the food, ignore food and stuff on the floor, not solicit attention, etc... The vast majority of dogs do not have the temperament to handle it.What you need to do if you already have dogs that you think are good candidates is hire a professional dog trainer with experience with service dogs. Have them temperament test the dogs. If one/both of them pass, I would work with the one with the best/highest score. You will want/need to have a trainers help guiding you through this training program. When starting from scratch, it takes 18 mo - 2 years to train a service dog.