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hi everyone it’s laura from doggy u and if you haven’t visited my channel before welcome i’m a service dog trainer as well as a guide dog placement specialist and i’ve been training service dogs and pet dogs for 13 years so if you’re interested in training your own service dog or have questions about service dogs make sure you like this video and subscribe to this channel as we put out new videos every month a lot of them are service dog related as well as general dog training videos and videos about adventuring with your dog which is one of my favorite things so today we’re going to be talking about service dog myths and misconceptions and all of these topics today come directly from my email inbox people asking questions or interested in attending my service dog 101 console asking questions about how do i get my dog certified or is that even a thing where can my dog go where can my service dog in training go all of those questions and more are going to be answered today so let’s get started [Music] before we get started i want to point out one additional resource that might be of interest to you if you’re owner training your service dog i wrote a patreon page that’s only a few bucks a month at patreon.com eu where i do a monthly live q a where you can get your questions about service dog training or pet dog training answered on a monthly basis i even have a level where you can submit video of your training and get feedback directly from me to help troubleshoot any issues you’re having in your training so if that interests you or you’re interested in supporting this youtube channel make sure you check out patreon.com all right let’s get to the topic so one of the biggest questions that comes into my inbox is does my service dog need to be certified or how do i get my service dog certified now i live in the united states it’s different country to country but in the united states there is no requirement for certification of your service dog in fact all of those websites where you send them 100 bucks and you get a patch and your dog’s name goes on some list they are all garbage do not give them your money that is not a real thing that does not make your service dog a service dog what makes your dog a service dog is that your dog has been individually trained to do a task that mitigates some portion of your disability so that is the ada requirement for your service dog it is not that you sign up for some list that makes your dog a service dog that’s not how it works in the u.s they need to meet the ada requirements for a service dog but there is no u.s certification for service dogs now that being said some people like myself like to have some type of measure or subjective measurement to work towards when they’re training their dog so one of the things that i do with my clients is we do the canine good citizen canine good citizen or cgc testing as a bare minimum to make sure that the dog meets minimum qualifications to work towards public access training then once they’ve received their cgc we then work towards the cgcu or the urban canine good citizen which is another checkpoint saying objectively all right my dog can pass this more difficult public test and then finally we offer a public access test at the end of training to make sure that your dog is ready for full-time service dog work that being said you do not have to do any certification or testing to make your dog a service dog instead you need to do obedience training public access training and task training related to your disability to meet the ada requirements for a service dog as well as making sure that your dog is well-groomed not urinating or defecating in public not disturbing growling barking or any of those things in public all of that is what makes your dog a service dog and i have another video that might be helpful about that so i’ll link that somewhere up here so the next question or topic i get asked a lot is can any dog be a service dog and the short answer is absolutely not no there are many dogs that are not right for service dog work they don’t have the temperament or the aptitude for it so when we’re talking about service dogs we’re talking about the elite of the elite think of olympic athletes or brain surgeons not everyone is cut out for those jobs in life and that’s okay some dogs are just meant to be lovely pets or they can be task trained at home to help you within the house but most dogs if they aren’t qualified for service dog work are going to do poorly at public access when we’re talking about service dogs we need a dog that has a lovely bomb proof temperament and is able to tolerate the stresses of service dog work out in public dogs that are anxious reactive barky or simply too shy to be doing this type of work or upset by a lot of public access type things are just not good candidates for service dog work and if you go to a trainer and they say that they can absolutely make your dog a service dog sight unseen or even after one test run trainers that tell you that any dog can be a service dog are not trainers that you want to work with we do not want to force dogs into jobs that they should not be doing that’s a recipe for disaster for other people who are using service dogs as well as the general public we need to make sure that the dogs that we’re using are of the highest quality and are happy to be doing the jobs that we’re asking them to do the next topic i want to cover or misconception that i get a lot from people is they think that a service dog will magically fix all of their problems and i want to be clear here that service dogs can be an incredible life-changing medical tool that you can use but they are that a medical tool and they are not going to fix all of your problems you want to think of them similar to a cane or a heart rate monitor something that’s going to help you in your daily life mitigate some portion of your disability so i do a lot of guide dog placements and i think an apt reference here is that dogs are medical equipment that also have personalities physical and mental needs bathroom needs etc when thinking about tools to increase your mobility and safety you can use a guide dog or potentially a cane or a sighted guide but let’s go with the cane for reference here when you go out and use your cane as a mobility tool you go and use your cane you go about your day you come back you put your cane in the corner fold it up and it never poops on your floor so it’s important to know that these service dogs that we’re using have pros and cons just like any mobility aid is going to have a pro or a con it’s important to really weigh the pros and cons of using a live animal as a medical device service dogs are amazing but they are also a lifestyle you want to really understand what you’re getting into and decide for yourself if another medical device or tool is a better option on your current lifestyle and needs it’s important to note here also that service dogs can sometimes make your life more challenging not only do they have all of these needs specific to having another living breathing animal in your household but they can also for instance attract attention to a person who doesn’t love to have attention out in public they can have medical issues that are very very expensive and maybe have to take some time off from doing their job and in that case what are you going to do in the absence of that service dog you need to have a plan b type of situation happen so it’s really important to know there are always pros and cons when using any type of medical device or tool and you want to weigh those carefully before investing your time money and energy in a service dog the next question that i get asked a lot has to do with service dogs breeds so i get asked do i have to pick a lab or a golden for service dog work the short answer is no you don’t have to but there is absolutely a reason that most well-established trained service dog training programs are using primarily labs and goldens and it’s because they have the highest success rate and when you’re investing that much time money and energy into your service dog you want to give yourself the best chance to succeed as possible and i want to talk a little bit about genetics but also about form and function for your dog the type of dog you choose should be appropriate for the task that you’re asking them to perform so for instance if you’re interested in deep pressure therapy a chihuahua is not your best bet same goes for if you fly multiple times a week you know for your job a great dane probably isn’t going to be the most suitable breed because it’s going to be difficult to travel with them so first off you want to make sure that the type of dog you’re looking at first has a propensity for doing the type of task that you need them to do and fits into your general lifestyle and how you’re going to use the service dog next i want to talk about genetics genetics matter and anybody who tells you differently run genetics are one of the number one determinants on whether or not the dog is going to be capable of doing public access because the temperament that’s bred into the dog matters a great deal dogs are not blank slates so i fully expect that my cattle dog when introduced to cattle is going to nip at heels it is what he’s been bred to do for lots and lots of years that is my expectation and that is the reason we’ve bred certain types of dogs so let’s talk about service dog genetics even schools that have been breeding dogs specifically for the work for the past 50 or so years only have a success rate of about sometimes as low as 50 percent and these are programs that have been breeding specifically for the temperament that’s required of a service dog we’re talking here about biddable purpose bred lines service dogs must be calm handler responsive and have a sound temperament they have to be structurally sound and able to do their work in any environment many things can disqualify a service dog from working including general reactivity or noisy behavior fear issues fear of people noises animals shiny floors moving vehicles structural unsoundness we ask a lot of our service dogs and we need them to be comfortable and confident in their jobs so you see a lot of labs goldens german shepherds and poodles used for service dog works by some of these larger schools and there’s a reason they do that now i know a lot of you are going to say hey i have you know this aussie that’s perfect for service dog work and that is probably true but you’re talking more about a needle in a haystack situation rather than a rule so when you’re looking at investing a bunch of time money and energy into your service dog and service dog training make sure you’re giving yourself the best chance possible by making sure that the dog has an aptitude for doing the tasks you need has had their genetic tests their health tests and is coming from a reputable breeder that has had successful service dogs in their lives in the past we can talk a lot more about uh what we’re looking for in a breeder if we’re going with a breeder for our service dog or what we’re looking for when we’re evaluating an older prospect with a more established temperament so if that interests you make sure you comment down below and i can you know add that to my list of videos that i’m going to produce in the future the next question i get asked is do i need my service dog to be professionally trained to qualify as a service dog short answer on that one no you do not you can fully train owner train your service dog and it is fully acceptable under the ada as a trained service dog that being said i think an analogy is helpful here so i don’t do my own taxes and there’s a reason i don’t i truly believe that someone who’s gone to school for taxes and has been doing that job for the last 10 15 20 years is better qualified to do my taxes than i am i’m going to get frustrated upset and spend a long time doing them whereas lisa my accountant is going to be able to fly through them and get me back more money on my return than i would be able to do myself so i really believe that the investment i make in having someone else do my taxes saves me both frustration and money in the long run i think that analogy is apt when we’re talking about dog training as well so you have the option to totally own or train your dog by yourself but most people can be very much helped by having an experienced instructor even on a consulting basis to help them troubleshoot if something comes up you also have the option of buying a totally trained service dog a totally trained service dog has a very high chance of success which is great it’s also going to have a significant cost but don’t rule that out because if you’re going to get professional training and help with training your service dog sometimes the costs over the life the life of the training of the dog so about two years can be relatively equivalent and when you get a dog from a puppy you don’t necessarily know that it’s going to have the temperament and aptitude to become a service dog most people have budgetary constraints but it’s important before purchasing a service dog prospect that you have some money put away for training help most people can benefit from at a minimum taking some group classes at the beginning but really getting a service dog trainer on board from the beginning to set you up for success with your puppy and at least be there you know once a month to help you troubleshoot issues that you’re having so do you have to have a professional trainer on board to make your dog qualify as a service dog absolutely not but will it help you in the long run and save you time money and frustration probably so definitely build that into your budget when you’re starting to think about your service dog journey next question is can my service dog go anywhere the answer is no while service dogs can go most public places the ada specifically exempts private clubs synagogues mocks and churches as places that do not have to allow service dogs or that the ada does not apply to so that’s something to know before you get your dog as well as hospitals so generally dogs are allowed anywhere in the hospital but can be exempt from certain sterile rooms so that’s important to note that service dogs can go almost all places that you can go restaurants malls you know bars all of those places they can go but there are a few exceptions to those that ada regulation so another related question i get is can my service dog and training go anywhere or where can my service dog in training go and the answer is no they cannot go everywhere they are not covered under the ada service dogs and training are covered in state by state laws in the u.s so you have to check your local state laws to see how service dogs and training are treated only fully trained service dogs are covered under the ada that’s not a huge deal however when you’re first starting out in training because there are many stores that are pet friendly and can help you simulate full public access behavior when your dog isn’t totally ready for full public access or maybe isn’t covered uh under the 80 the state laws for service dogs in training so they can go places you know you want to check each store individually but in general they can go places like hardware stores like lowe’s and home depot barnes noble or other bookstores certain shops in the mall like nordstrom’s apple usually allows service dogs and then you can also usually take them for restaurant experience to outdoor bars and patios in some restaurants so there’s lots of opportunities to practice your public access in pet friendly spaces before you go into spaces that are no longer pet friendly the last misconception i want to discuss is that service dogs are robots and they’re well behaved a hundred percent of the time that’s just not true and especially not for young or green dogs that haven’t been out working for very long so it’s important that you train your dog to maximum level with lots of distractions in pet friendly places before you go out into those places that exclude pets so that your dog is very well behaved before you’re tackling those challenges but your dog is definitely gonna sometimes have an off day and when that happens you have to remember that you cannot be out with a service dog that’s disrupting others in public so you need a plan b and you need to know that sometimes you’re just going to have to leave and try again tomorrow because your dog’s having an off day and we all have bad days sometimes so we need to allow for that and have a plan all right everyone i hope you found this video on dispelling some of the myths and misconceptions around service dogs and service dog training helpful if you’re training your own service dog and want some additional support or to be part of our live streams and monthly q a sessions make sure you check out my patreon page at patreon.com doggy you to join the dog eu crew and get some additional videos and content every single month for you to help you on your service dog training journey and if you like this video make sure you give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel hit that little bell button so you get notified any time a new video comes out also if you have questions go ahead and put them down in the comments below thank you all for watching you have an awesome day and happy training thanks for watching and stay tuned for our next video subscribe now and never miss an episode …
Develops your Dog’s “Hidden Intelligence”Click Here 👈