# Quick question



## ricksmith (Nov 26, 2012)

I would like to get our new dog Jake trained to be a service dog (not an official therapy dog.) What is the process to make that happen?

Thanks!

Oh, and here's a picture of Jake and our son (who was born with Down Syndrome) Noah!


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

I foster future service puppies for our local service organization. The puppies are usually fostered by volunteer families until they are approx. 1 year. In that time, they are extensively socialized to as much as possible. They go to schools, malls, restaurants, movie theatres, trains, buses etc. They learn housebreaking and basic obedience skills, and start on some of the serivce dog commands, such as opening handicap doors, carrying things in their mouth etc. At one year of age, it is determined which branch of service (guide dog for blind, autism, special skills etc) they are best suited to. They are then turned over to professional trainers and it takes 6 months- a year or more to place them with their life partners. 

I do believe there are a couple of members on the forum that are training their own service dogs.

This is a link that might interest you: Puppy Training


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

ricksmith said:


> I would like to get our new dog Jake trained to be a service dog (not an official therapy dog.) What is the process to make that happen?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Oh, and here's a picture of Jake and our son (who was born with Down Syndrome) Noah!


 
What a fantastic photo. Noah is gorgeous, and Jake is very cute.


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

Awww, a boy and his dog! 

Sorry can't help with the question, but what a lovely photo.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

What a sweet picture. There have been a couple members recently posting about training their dogs to be service dogs. Hopefully they'll see this and comment.


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## Jessie'sGirl (Aug 30, 2010)

No help here either but nice picture of two cuties! I applaud you for trying to do all that you can for Noah. Children with Downs are now prooving that they have way more potential than was ever thought possible.


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## buzdean (Aug 28, 2012)

great pic--absolutely wonderful!!


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

You need to decide if you have the ability to train him yourself, or if you need to hire a trainer. It is a long tedious process - generally two years before a dog can be considered a trained service dog.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

The picture of Noah and Jake is just precious.

I am not from TX, I'm sure maybe some of the TX members can give you more and better information. However, I did a search and came across this group-Paws Across Texas, not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for or not.

Dogs have to be at least 2 years old, have completed and passed basic obedience training and some advanced level courses as well to be considered for this program. 

Paws across Texas, located in FW, TX

Paws Across Texas Animal Assisted Therapy

There is a link for the requirements and lots of info on this site.

If they aren't what you're looking for, maybe they can point you in the direction you need to go.

Best of luck to you!


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## Lennap (Jul 9, 2010)

I can tell you how it worked for me in NY/NJ area. 

A service dog first and foremost needs to be able to handle any and all situations, which means massive socialization, as Millie'sMom suggested. Then start with basic obedience and just keep taking classes with your dog.

You will also need a diagnosis that warrants a service dog. That means the medical condition will define the type of service Jake needs to provide. I am not at all questioning that Jake will bring huge value to Noah's life - the challenge is having a doctor write it up so support the need for a service dog and properly document what Jake will need to do for Noah.

Here is where the way to training diverges a bit, based on what Jake needs to know how to do. Will he need to know how to sense when a seizure is coming on and after it's over be a calming influence? Or will he need to be able to help him pick things up and get around? 

The training will be targetted to teaching Jake how to properly support Noah's needs, as defined by the doctor. I worked with my doctor and a physical therapist to make sure Remy fit the criteria. 

When I thought he was getting close to ready I decided to have him tested - figuring the first time would be practice. Basically the trainer tested the skills he needed to demonstrate to support me, and then basically gave him an extreme form of a canine good citizen test, which included sitting in a restaurant through a meal, using a revolving door and lots of other stuff a normal dog would not be required to do. Who would have thought that he passed the first time?!

Anyway I hope this helped, lots of luck with it - and of course please feel free to private message me if I can help in any way


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

The trainer in Dallas I'd refer you to is part of a therapy group with her own dogs. She would be a good person to answer your questions and evaluate your pup for that type of work. If you will send me a PM I'll give you her information.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Rick,
I don't have any advice for you, just wanted to say hi! I follow your blog (and FB pages and Instagram pages... I swear I'm not a stalker!) and I absolutely adore Noah and what your'e doing to raise awareness about Down Syndrome. I saw your screen name and thought... no, that can't be him. LOL... guess it could! Welcome to GRF!

Julie, Jersey and Oz


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## ricksmith (Nov 26, 2012)

Jersey's Mom said:


> Rick,
> I don't have any advice for you, just wanted to say hi! I follow your blog (and FB pages and Instagram pages... I swear I'm not a stalker!) and I absolutely adore Noah and what your'e doing to raise awareness about Down Syndrome. I saw your screen name and thought... no, that can't be him. LOL... guess it could! Welcome to GRF!
> 
> Julie, Jersey and Oz


Small world! Thanks for saying hi!


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## tanyacook13 (Oct 10, 2012)

*service dog?*

Hello, I just brought home my 8 week old golden girl Lexi. I will be training her to be my service dog( I had a previous service dog I retired) and like some said, it is massive socialization and obedience training. Even at 9 weeks, I am doing obedience training at home and socializing her as much as possible. 

When she is about 5 months, I will start the obedience classes with her and do the "service stuff" which is diabetic alert( scent work) the whole time. That is actually the easiest part and takes the least time! 

Good luck

It will be nice to keep in contact with those training for service work!

Tanya


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## Jtpllc (Nov 26, 2012)

Service dog is the key word, what service is the dog going to be doing?

You also need a doctor to sign off on any condition. You will first want toget your dog to pass a basic CGC certification.


Knowing all the basic commands and having the dog know all the hand movements too.

What Is the reason for service dog? F your reason is to get your dog in places you normally can't then your doing it for the wrong reasons and gives those who need the dog a bad name...

The ADA are cracking down on those who don't have conditions that warrant a service dog.


If your asking how your dog can be a service dog, first you gotta know what service it's doing; most service dogs are picked at a early age for certain tasks not all dogs can do...


But I'd first get his CGC, knowing all his commands, go to training once or twice a week for at least 3 months; go to dog parks, local public areas get him to socialize and then lastly after he's mastered all his commands find a local service dog training center to evaluate your dog to see if they have what it takes and then get your doctor to sign off 


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## tcamp33 (Nov 7, 2013)

Jtpllc said:


> Service dog is the key word, what service is the dog going to be doing?
> 
> You also need a doctor to sign off on any condition. You will first want toget your dog to pass a basic CGC certification.
> 
> ...


Yes and no to the above. 

Technically (legally) a doctor does not need to sign off on any condition. CGC is also not a requirement.

Legally, there are very few requirements to service dogs, for very good reasons, although this is hotly contested in our world. The reason most SD advocates do not want stricter regulations for the most part is that it becomes highly cost and time prohibitive to those who are ADA disabled and have legitimate need. Others worry about those who abuse it, but there is actually little data out there on the actual incidence and harm of this.

To qualify for a service dog to have access rights under ADA, you need to have an ADA disability (the nature of the disability, ie the diagnosis, does NOT need to be disclosed). Your dog needs to be trained to do task oriented work that is required for your disability. For example, your dog may retrieve medication or detect a seizure. However, the task cannot be something that can be done by using a purse or a fanny/hip pack, so this is part of the "trickiness" of the determination.

Also, you dog does not need to know hand signals necessarily. Voice commands alone are fine. Just as hand signals alone are fine. Hand signals can be helpful to some, but again, this is based on the specific type of work your SD needs to do. For me personally, Rylee needs to know both hand signals and voice signals (not together). For example, she needs to be able to alert during a time where I cannot physically speak, so she has a command where she knows you go get help that is a simple hand signal. For the most part, I prefer voice command (very quiet) but that is up to the handler, honestly.

I'll private message you a post of mine from earlier that contains information and sources that are up to date and accurate.

Very best from Rylee and me!









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## tcamp33 (Nov 7, 2013)

tcamp33 said:


> Yes and no to the above.
> 
> Technically (legally) a doctor does not need to sign off on any condition. CGC is also not a requirement.
> 
> ...


This is another post I wrote that could be helpful. Happy to speak via private message too if you need the help. I'm so grateful to all those here who have helped me!!!!!

AKC/pet partners has a listing by state of reputable service dog trainers. Rylee is 17 weeks and we have two trainers: one for obedience, agility, etc. and the other to build on that training for specific service/task oriented work that will qualify her as a service dog virus therapy or emotional support dog.



Technically it is from Pet Partners, which is one of the primary therapy dog organizations and on of the offs AKC used when setting up its TD program



http://petpartners.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=452



Our SD trainer has us focusing on obedience and manners, although Rylee has been so quick to learn, she can sit, lay down, back, shake, heel, up, fetch and recall without treats, and stay, watch me, roll over, with treats. Obviously some of these are just for fun and not service/task oriented.



She recommends really honing in on the manners and to build foundation to task oriented training without actually introducing task training until they are developmentally ready, between 1-2 years depending on breed and dog (goldens can be earlier). Based on Rylee's evaluations, she will start at 6 months. She'll start her scent classes at 5 months as foundation.



The reason that reputable SD trainers, including ours, are reluctant to do too much before 1-2 years is because research has shown that pushing/training too early can result in the dog refusing to work altogether when they ARE old enough, which is why our trainers focus on the foundational training that, with a few tweaks when she is developmentally ready (mental, emotional and physical maturity), can be task-oriented, "officially" qualifying her as a service dog.



I have my MPH in health policy from Yale (studied joint degree law and public health) and have been a policy researcher (legislative advocacy) for years, so when recently diagnosed with an illness and ADA designated disabilities, I've opened up my research focus to include policies for those with "invisible disabilities" although my primary research area is health disparities and food security.



here are some other resources I found helpful:



http://www.iaadp.org/conference.html



http://www.iaadp.org/psd_tasks.html



Let me know if you'd like to know the service tasks we've identified for Rylee. It is such a joint effort between different health providers, SD trainers, etc to figure out how to do it and we all need each other to make it work well and with enough support!



As far as whether or not your pup would be suited as a therapy or service dog, only you and your doctor can determine your need for a service dog versus therapy dog, and your dog will tell you whether or not she is suited for either/both. It sounds like Sunni is already therapeutic for you, and even without titles and designations and certificate, and this is important! Quality of life is so critical and helps during those "gloom" moments and can make them lesser in duration and frequency, which will likely help the other physical symptoms as well (it does for me, and for most!)



I've done quit a bit of research on what types of work SD can do, and Goldens can do all of the tasks I've been able to research thus far. This is of curse contingent upon setting up circumstances for success. For example, if trained to retrieve a type of medication, the access place needs to be easy enough for a large dog to navigate . Of course, having a large breed dog as a SD has its advantages, which is why we selected a golden to begin with. For those prone to anxiety or pain mitigated by heat, a large breed can be trained to "hug" which essentially is to lay on top of large muscle groups which provides pressure and heat that allows the autonomic system to trigger to relax, which can reduce the duration and/or severity of the attack. SAs can be trained to recognize onset and preventatively carry out this task, reducing the need for medication, therefore reducing side effects, etc.



What might be helpful for you would be to work with your physician to determine the disabilities you have that require assistance, and then make a list of those. I prioritized mine, so that we could focus training on first things first. You can always message me privately if you want to discuss some of your needs (current and what you anticipate) and I can probably point you to some really good, specific resources. My company HR and ADA office has also been great at identifying some good modifications for me (although I am still on medical leave currently), but these resources (from ICAN) have been really helpful for my providers and me to figure out what my needs really are to help determine Rylee's course of training.



As far as being in the hospital, you may find it valuable to get Sunni certified as a therapy or emotional support dog (which most won't do until 1 year of age) which will allow her to go into hospitals (now this is a little fuzzy in interpretation and i can explain further) and I would recommend that you expose Sunni to hospital equipment if you can, including the beeping, loud noises, etc. what you can also do is ask the hospital administration for a waiver to allow Sunni to go with you. Since Sunni is not officially an SD she will not have the access rights that an SD has, but the hospital may be willing to work with you, especially if you can show that she is CGC. Hospitals care about liability and risk when it comes down to it, so trying to work with them to mitigate that risk will only help you.



Also, few states have regulations specific to the in training versus full sd designation (California is one such state with substantial regulations), so this may be a non issue for you depending on your state in addition to registrations (which FYI, there is no federal regulation or statute requiring SD registration, so states and local governments cannot really "require" this, although some people find it helpful to comply just to prevent the hassle from business owners or others). 



I know this sounds overwhelming and confusing, but it gets easier the more you read and of course, the more puppy kisses you get. Rylee was bred and selected specifically to be a service dog, so if you find that Sunni is not fit to be a service dog, it is already clear that she is helping you tremendously. Obviously it would be great for her to be able to help you get out of the house if your are physically able to, and Sunni helps you with that,but I think people get very caught up in the designations and certifications and forget that at the end of the day, the most important thing is getting us all to be able to live our lives and thrive in spite of disability and illness. She is already there and so are you. Please don't feel pressure on you or on her to achieve any sort of status yet and continue to do as you have--focus on your bond!



Obviously even though Rylee was bred for this and currently shows the signs for it, you never know because animals are as unpredictable as people and we can only do and hope for the best.



As far as working on training when you are physically unable to do so, if you have a training partner, they should come to all of the training classes with you so Sunni knows how to listen to both on voice command. If your hospital denies Sunni access, can you try face time or Skype so you can still see and hear each other? Sunni should also continue her training 2-3 times a day in short increments according to her age (10-15 minutes is all you may get out of her at this stage, but once she masters the "watch me" command, you will see her mental attention spa increase exponentially!!! So I totally recommend this!!!) so even on days when you cannot do this yourself, hopefully your partner can. Rylee knows how to listen to my husband, but is much quicker to hop to with me 







Best of luck from Rylee and me!















Sent from my iPad so please excuse or be entertained by typos and autocorrect!






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## Cooper's Papa (Sep 22, 2013)

I am a Combat Veteran and I am currently training a Golden for my service dog. He is 14 weeks old right now. I have been working with him since he was 71/2 weeks old. He is the most well behaved dog any of the trainers have ever seen. He has all of his commands down, no treats, and will be taking his CGC on the 7th of Dec (I know he is supposed to be 6 months old, but he will just have to retake the test at one year old.).
I am working with a group called Shepherds for Lost Sheep. You can Google them. They are terrific people. They work with vets across the US. 

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## Cooper's Papa (Sep 22, 2013)

Cooper passed his CGC test on the 7th of Dec.

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