Hello Everyone
I get calls all the time with people enquiring about getting a service dog, however sometimes it is easy to tell the people who just want to find a legal way of bringing their dog into public or keep a pet in a "no dogs allowed" apartment.
My calls always start out the same, the person is in need of a service dog and are looking for guidance on how to get one. The first question I ask is if they have a prescription from a Medical Physician or a Psychiatrist, you need this in order for the dog to be purchased and if you need to complete a certification test, if you train your own. This is really the first hurdle that people start to realize that things are going to be more challenging than they thought. The second hurdle is cost, if you can not physically or psychologically train your dog on your own, there is going to be a cost. The next best thing is to find a sponsor. Many organizations work with sponsors because the sponsors have pre-qualifications that will weed out people and identify people who really need the assistance. It is because of these hurdles that many people start looking at Emotional Support Animals.
There is a BIG difference between a Service Dog and an Emotional Support Animal. Service Dogs are just Dogs, I do not like the term Service Animal because it opens the door in peoples minds that links it more with an ESA. Service Animals are trained to do a minimum of three tasks, either on command or by reading a persons body language and anticipating needs prior to the persons awareness of it. Contrary to this, an ESA is not trained at all, the only requirement is that the animal provides a sense of comfort to the person it is with.
Being from Canada, there is really a huge difference in the laws around ESA's and Service Dogs, where the USA (depending on the state) is a bit fuzzier. To reiterate what the law is in Canada, ESA's are not given any rights. They can not fly with you, they are not exempt from tenant rules, they can not go into public and there is no registration for them. I know people like to search for the answer that they are looking for, in order to have what they want, but anything telling you otherwise is lying. The only animals that have any exemptions to the rules are Service Dogs, implying that you have medical documentation saying you need one, and Therapy Dogs, which are trained and only allowed in because they have the approval of the owners of the place they are entering, to assist their clients, NOT to assist the person handling the dog.
PSI Team
Showing posts with label Service Dog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Service Dog. Show all posts
Friday, March 29, 2019
Thursday, February 28, 2019
The Purpose of a Service Dog
Hello Everyone
It seems like this should be a clear cut idea, a service dog is a tool to aid a person in being more independent, providing tasks that allow a person to do more and go more places. This seems like an easy concept, and people who get fully trained service dogs experience the whole world opening up for them. This is one experience that self-trainers never get to experience, and even people who get a great dog that is still maturing, find this difficult, because they are limited by their experience with their dog.
Going someplace new or places you were scared of before, takes a lot of trust with your dog. In order to desensitize them, they need to experience these places anyway. One topic I talked about before was the idea that, "I don't go to places like that anyway" really defeats the purpose. If you only train a dog to accompany you into places you are already comfortable, then the only thing that changes is you have a dog with you.
Service Dogs need jobs, if you are blind, many new places are scary, you do not know the layout, what if you trip, finding your way may be hard. Getting a dog to guide you would be a great way to feel comfortable going new places. But what if you just stick to your regular route, the places you regularly go and know, these are the same places you were comfortable in without the dog. He/she does not have to tell you how to get places and unless something has changed or a new object is in your path, you already know the layout, they have little to no jobs to perform in these instances. Day after day, sticking to this same routine will slowly diminish their skills and make them board. Many dogs thrive on the change and the challenge of the work, wanting to provide a service to you, if they do not get this task, they will stop working.
Going into new places with your dog is very difficult, especially if you have the joy of going through training with your dog, experiencing the bad along with the good. Trust is a little harder to build when you understand what can go wrong, but this is the whole reason you are going through this, to be able to go to those places and feel comfortable, to open up the world a bit more for you, not just as a companion in your small slice of it.
It seems like this should be a clear cut idea, a service dog is a tool to aid a person in being more independent, providing tasks that allow a person to do more and go more places. This seems like an easy concept, and people who get fully trained service dogs experience the whole world opening up for them. This is one experience that self-trainers never get to experience, and even people who get a great dog that is still maturing, find this difficult, because they are limited by their experience with their dog.
Going someplace new or places you were scared of before, takes a lot of trust with your dog. In order to desensitize them, they need to experience these places anyway. One topic I talked about before was the idea that, "I don't go to places like that anyway" really defeats the purpose. If you only train a dog to accompany you into places you are already comfortable, then the only thing that changes is you have a dog with you.
Service Dogs need jobs, if you are blind, many new places are scary, you do not know the layout, what if you trip, finding your way may be hard. Getting a dog to guide you would be a great way to feel comfortable going new places. But what if you just stick to your regular route, the places you regularly go and know, these are the same places you were comfortable in without the dog. He/she does not have to tell you how to get places and unless something has changed or a new object is in your path, you already know the layout, they have little to no jobs to perform in these instances. Day after day, sticking to this same routine will slowly diminish their skills and make them board. Many dogs thrive on the change and the challenge of the work, wanting to provide a service to you, if they do not get this task, they will stop working.
Going into new places with your dog is very difficult, especially if you have the joy of going through training with your dog, experiencing the bad along with the good. Trust is a little harder to build when you understand what can go wrong, but this is the whole reason you are going through this, to be able to go to those places and feel comfortable, to open up the world a bit more for you, not just as a companion in your small slice of it.
Monday, January 28, 2019
Service Dog: How does age affect training
Hello Everyone
Last night I got to thinking about the dog I am training and how old he is. Generally when you tell someone your dogs age, you give an estimate. Turns out, I was about 6 months off what I was telling people. When you say your dogs age, like kids, there is a certain set of behaviours that they should exhibit. We do not expect a 5 year old to know how to have a rational conversation, behave appropriately in public all the time or solve complex problems. However, we can assume that they are still trying to figure it out as their minds grow, what are the consequences and benefits of how they act, why are things the way they are (generally by asking why) and how do I communicate in a way that adults will understand me.
When gauging whether a dog has what it takes to be a service dog, we have to first take into account their age. I always laugh when people say that puppy behaviour lasts until they are 8 to 10 mo. This is in stark contrast to many pet foods that say feed puppy food until they are 2. Turns out the puppy food manufacturers are closer to the truth. People hate it when you compare raising a dog with raising a child, in my experience it is kind of the same, except in fast forward. The behaviours that parents have to handle for 2-3 years, dog moms only have to deal with for 3-6 months. Take in mind, just like children, as a puppy grows it goes through those same stages, baby, toddler, child, adolescent, teenager and finally an adult. This whole process takes 2-3 years and just like children, if you do not raise and train them right, they can turn into terrible adults.
The same reason that dogs are re-homed/surrendered is also part of the reason that dogs fail out of being a service dog. Dogs that mature faster and catch on faster are easier to work with, their is less time and money into teaching them what to do and for people trying to train their own dog, there may be a limit to what you are able to do and how much you are able to handle. Don't get me wrong, there are some innate behaviours that are not due to age, but general temperament, and usually these behaviours continue through all the phases of puppyhood or come as random tendencies that the dog displays without warning or cause, it is these that it is important to document and analyze the situation around.
The dog I am working with is going to be 2.5 in April. For many people this is an adult dog and they should "get it". Sorry to burst that bubble but for many breeds like Labs and Newfoundlanders (more social driven dogs) this is their teenage years and like a general teenager they question the rules, get upset and cranky, try and find ways around things and sometimes can not control their impulses. The things to watch at this stage is whether or not this behaviour continues past 3 in which case means it may not be worth it. The dog I am working with now can be restless/impatient and even though he is friendly with dogs, when the leash goes on and we come across another dog, he can be a jerk because he knows that with the leash on he can just do what he wants and go say hi. When I compare the frustrating behaviours I am working with now, and at times that make me want to give up, I remember a Lab that I trained, who is amazing at her job, but was just a terror to work with at this age. Pushing through these stages and staying consistent with the training makes a huge difference in the end. It is when you stop and give up that the dog realizes the behaviour is okay and you may be stuck with some of those behaviours going forward, the dog never living up to their potential of being a service dog.
Last night I got to thinking about the dog I am training and how old he is. Generally when you tell someone your dogs age, you give an estimate. Turns out, I was about 6 months off what I was telling people. When you say your dogs age, like kids, there is a certain set of behaviours that they should exhibit. We do not expect a 5 year old to know how to have a rational conversation, behave appropriately in public all the time or solve complex problems. However, we can assume that they are still trying to figure it out as their minds grow, what are the consequences and benefits of how they act, why are things the way they are (generally by asking why) and how do I communicate in a way that adults will understand me.
When gauging whether a dog has what it takes to be a service dog, we have to first take into account their age. I always laugh when people say that puppy behaviour lasts until they are 8 to 10 mo. This is in stark contrast to many pet foods that say feed puppy food until they are 2. Turns out the puppy food manufacturers are closer to the truth. People hate it when you compare raising a dog with raising a child, in my experience it is kind of the same, except in fast forward. The behaviours that parents have to handle for 2-3 years, dog moms only have to deal with for 3-6 months. Take in mind, just like children, as a puppy grows it goes through those same stages, baby, toddler, child, adolescent, teenager and finally an adult. This whole process takes 2-3 years and just like children, if you do not raise and train them right, they can turn into terrible adults.
The same reason that dogs are re-homed/surrendered is also part of the reason that dogs fail out of being a service dog. Dogs that mature faster and catch on faster are easier to work with, their is less time and money into teaching them what to do and for people trying to train their own dog, there may be a limit to what you are able to do and how much you are able to handle. Don't get me wrong, there are some innate behaviours that are not due to age, but general temperament, and usually these behaviours continue through all the phases of puppyhood or come as random tendencies that the dog displays without warning or cause, it is these that it is important to document and analyze the situation around.
The dog I am working with is going to be 2.5 in April. For many people this is an adult dog and they should "get it". Sorry to burst that bubble but for many breeds like Labs and Newfoundlanders (more social driven dogs) this is their teenage years and like a general teenager they question the rules, get upset and cranky, try and find ways around things and sometimes can not control their impulses. The things to watch at this stage is whether or not this behaviour continues past 3 in which case means it may not be worth it. The dog I am working with now can be restless/impatient and even though he is friendly with dogs, when the leash goes on and we come across another dog, he can be a jerk because he knows that with the leash on he can just do what he wants and go say hi. When I compare the frustrating behaviours I am working with now, and at times that make me want to give up, I remember a Lab that I trained, who is amazing at her job, but was just a terror to work with at this age. Pushing through these stages and staying consistent with the training makes a huge difference in the end. It is when you stop and give up that the dog realizes the behaviour is okay and you may be stuck with some of those behaviours going forward, the dog never living up to their potential of being a service dog.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Service Dog: Looking at your needs
A few days ago I received a phone call from someone trying to understand my process for choosing whether or not a dog is appropriate for a person. Like I talked about in my last Blog, my application asks for details on their life. This is because it is going to tell me the energy level of the person, what type of household I am looking at putting a dog into, as well as, how experienced the person is with a dog.
The next thing you need to ask yourself is, what are my needs? Don't just ask yourself this, ask the others around you. I have friends that are writing lists, what do I struggle with and what does/can my dog do to help me. The other thing is, don't just rely upon your own assessment of yourself, others see things that you may miss or one behaviour you thing is an issue, actually may be completely normal or tied to something else that the dog can help with. Sitting down with the family and having a candid discussion about their concerns and needs goes a long way to create harmony in the family, you never want to receive a dog to help you, only to have your home life fall apart due to the dog.
Looking into different breeds, look at what their natural tendencies are. Going against their instinct is never wise. Some breeds are natural at picking up and bringing items, this is especially helpful if you have mobility or balance issues. Some breeds, even though they can retrieve, have genetic or physical characteristics that make bracing on them an issue, drastically reducing the life of the dog, like a Shepard. Always talk to your vet about what breeds you are considering and always have your dog/puppy physically assessed to ensure it is even a task that they can do.
Last time I talked about some dogs not being the norm when it comes to natural behaviours, this can also happen when choosing a breed that has the correct tendencies but not looking at the individual dog. Each dog is also an individual, just because you get a retriever, doesn't necessarily mean it will retrieve. Never go into choosing a dog blindly, and looking at puppies, try and match some of their natural behaviours with what you can work with and grow into what is going to help you. Getting a trainer involved will also help you not only choose the correct temperament but also assess the puppies behaviour in order to determine if they have the skills necessary.
The next thing you need to ask yourself is, what are my needs? Don't just ask yourself this, ask the others around you. I have friends that are writing lists, what do I struggle with and what does/can my dog do to help me. The other thing is, don't just rely upon your own assessment of yourself, others see things that you may miss or one behaviour you thing is an issue, actually may be completely normal or tied to something else that the dog can help with. Sitting down with the family and having a candid discussion about their concerns and needs goes a long way to create harmony in the family, you never want to receive a dog to help you, only to have your home life fall apart due to the dog.
Looking into different breeds, look at what their natural tendencies are. Going against their instinct is never wise. Some breeds are natural at picking up and bringing items, this is especially helpful if you have mobility or balance issues. Some breeds, even though they can retrieve, have genetic or physical characteristics that make bracing on them an issue, drastically reducing the life of the dog, like a Shepard. Always talk to your vet about what breeds you are considering and always have your dog/puppy physically assessed to ensure it is even a task that they can do.
Last time I talked about some dogs not being the norm when it comes to natural behaviours, this can also happen when choosing a breed that has the correct tendencies but not looking at the individual dog. Each dog is also an individual, just because you get a retriever, doesn't necessarily mean it will retrieve. Never go into choosing a dog blindly, and looking at puppies, try and match some of their natural behaviours with what you can work with and grow into what is going to help you. Getting a trainer involved will also help you not only choose the correct temperament but also assess the puppies behaviour in order to determine if they have the skills necessary.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Service Dog: Choosing a Breed
The first question people ask me is; how do I choose the dog? This is the first question anybody asks themselves when getting a dog, even a family pet. Choosing any dog should not be done because you like the way that they look, or because your family has always had that type of dog, or because you know people with that dog and they are great. I know many people who have given up pets because this is the criteria they used for picking a dog, this is also how I have received dogs myself. Many times it has nothing to do with the dogs potential, but the inability of the dog to suite the family situation that it was put into.
Take a deep look at your lifestyle. What do you do for fun? how energetic are you? what activities do you want to do with the dog? how much time can you actively spend training? what kind of space do I have available for the dog to live in?
Different breeds do have different traits and even though you may know a great Boarder Collie that has the correct temperament and fits into a household exactly like yours, that doesn't mean that every Boarder Collie will display these traits and have these needs. Choosing a herding dog as a service dog, or even a pet, comes with many challenges, however if you do not have the right household, space, time and energy to fulfill the natural needs of a dog like this, then training becomes a lot harder, longer and the dog may end up suffering in trying to go against some of it's natural instincts. If you are determined to stick with a breed that typically would not fit into your lifestyle, like having an apartment and wanting an Australian Shepard, look at older dogs and see if you can find one that is lower energy and has a temperament that matches your needs and ensures that you can fulfill theirs.
As puppies age and mature, they go through phases, sometimes growing into breed traits that they didn't have as a puppy and sometimes growing out of them. As a very little puppy, I had never heard my dog bark and he stuck to me like glue. Thought it was something I did not have to worry about. Barking and running are two traits of his breed, but felt like I would not have that issue. At about 8 months old, he decided barking was his new favorite hobby, and that the world was a big place that he just had to see. Because these traits were indicative of the breed, they were very big challenges to overcome and things that I work on to this day, but I have the time, energy, space and knowledge to adequately work with his behaviors, and give him an outlet, otherwise he could have become highly destructive.
Take a deep look at your lifestyle. What do you do for fun? how energetic are you? what activities do you want to do with the dog? how much time can you actively spend training? what kind of space do I have available for the dog to live in?
Different breeds do have different traits and even though you may know a great Boarder Collie that has the correct temperament and fits into a household exactly like yours, that doesn't mean that every Boarder Collie will display these traits and have these needs. Choosing a herding dog as a service dog, or even a pet, comes with many challenges, however if you do not have the right household, space, time and energy to fulfill the natural needs of a dog like this, then training becomes a lot harder, longer and the dog may end up suffering in trying to go against some of it's natural instincts. If you are determined to stick with a breed that typically would not fit into your lifestyle, like having an apartment and wanting an Australian Shepard, look at older dogs and see if you can find one that is lower energy and has a temperament that matches your needs and ensures that you can fulfill theirs.
As puppies age and mature, they go through phases, sometimes growing into breed traits that they didn't have as a puppy and sometimes growing out of them. As a very little puppy, I had never heard my dog bark and he stuck to me like glue. Thought it was something I did not have to worry about. Barking and running are two traits of his breed, but felt like I would not have that issue. At about 8 months old, he decided barking was his new favorite hobby, and that the world was a big place that he just had to see. Because these traits were indicative of the breed, they were very big challenges to overcome and things that I work on to this day, but I have the time, energy, space and knowledge to adequately work with his behaviors, and give him an outlet, otherwise he could have become highly destructive.
Monday, January 21, 2019
Getting Assistance to Train Your Own Dog
Hello Everyone
I am starting this blog in order to talk about training your own dog and some of the pitfalls and successes that can come out of it. For the past five years, I have been training service dogs and have been contacted by many people who have run into issues. Getting a trained dog is expensive and many times there is no funding, many people view training their own dog as more affordable. However, the one thing that they do not take into account is that there is a 75% chance a dog will fail, and this is with professional trainers, the odds of a dog failing out increases significantly with self trained dogs, not just due to incorrect training, but also people just giving up on them or working them past their limits. Consulting and working with a trainer will provide good training techniques, assist in knowledge about dog behaviour and provide feedback on whether training should continue.
I am starting this blog in order to talk about training your own dog and some of the pitfalls and successes that can come out of it. For the past five years, I have been training service dogs and have been contacted by many people who have run into issues. Getting a trained dog is expensive and many times there is no funding, many people view training their own dog as more affordable. However, the one thing that they do not take into account is that there is a 75% chance a dog will fail, and this is with professional trainers, the odds of a dog failing out increases significantly with self trained dogs, not just due to incorrect training, but also people just giving up on them or working them past their limits. Consulting and working with a trainer will provide good training techniques, assist in knowledge about dog behaviour and provide feedback on whether training should continue.
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