Owner Training

[Abhean]

[IMAGE_LEFT] [/IMAGE_LEFT]One of the questions I hear over and over is: Can we train our own dogs to become a service dog?

The quick answer is yes! However, there are many different facets within sd training that every owner should be aware of.

All-in-all very few canines that really have what it takes to become a service animal. Their temperament and intelligence are two of the biggest factors. Some dogs are simply born aggressive or overly passive, neither are really good prospects. Canine intelligence is also of high importance, the dog has to be able to learn their tasks along with all the other stuff we have to teach them or else they will not do us any good.

For many of us, we really do not have the skills to be able to figure these things out when we look at a litter of puppies. Face it, we are going to look for the cutest in the litter. What can we do? Time to hire good trainer or breeder to look for us. Normally called temperment testing. This will give the prospective hander the best possibilities on finding a puppy that will be able to be trained. I would suggest against letting the breeder do the testing, unless you really trust them. What would they do to make that sell?

For training there is a group that I consider the world's gold standard, it is the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP). So, what do they require as far as training a service dog?

IAADP Minimum Training Standards for Public Access

1. Amount of Schooling: an assistance dog should be given a minimum of one hundred twenty (120) hours of schooling over a period of Six Months or more.* At least thirty (30) hours should be devoted to outings that will prepare the dog to work obediently and unobtrusively in public places.**

2. Obedience Training: a dog must master the basic obedience skills: "Sit, Stay, Come, Down, Heel" and a dropped leash recall in a store in response to verbal commands and/or hand signals.

3. Manners: a dog must acquire proper social behavior skills. It includes at a minimum:

No aggressive behavior toward people or other animals - no biting, snapping, snarling, growling or lunging and barking at them when working off your property.
No soliciting food or petting from other people while on duty.
No sniffing merchandise or people or intruding into another dog’s space while on duty.
Socialize to tolerate strange sights, sounds, odors etc. in a wide variety of public settings.
Ignores food on the floor or dropped in the dog’s vicinity while working outside the home.
Works calmly on leash. No unruly behavior or unnecessary vocalizations in public settings.
No urinating or defecating in public unless given a specific command or signal to toilet in an appropriate place.
4. Disability Related Tasks: the dog must be individually trained to perform identifiable tasks on command or cue for the benefit of the disabled human partner. This includes alerting to sounds, medical problems, certain scents like peanuts or situations if training is involved.

For a definition of a "task" and "individually trained,” and “what is not a task” and many examples of tasks performed by different kinds of assistance dogs, Click Here.

5. Prohibited Training: Any training that arouses a dog’s prey drive or fear to elicit a display of aggression for guard or defense purposes is strictly prohibited. Non aggressive barking as a trained behavior is permitted in appropriate situations. (See IAADP’s ban on the enrollment of protection trained, attack trained or aggressive dogs as an assistance dog with our organization. Click Here)

6. A Trainer’s Responsibilities: Trainers function as ambassadors for the assistance dog movement. This includes a disabled owner trainer, a provider’s staff or a volunteer with a puppy or adult dog “in training.” It also includes an assistance dog partner or able bodied facilitator helping a disabled loved one to keep up an assistance dog’s training. At a minimum, you should:

Know pertinent canine laws (i.e. leash laws and public access laws)
Ensure the dog is healthy, flea free and the rabies vaccination is up to date
Take time to make sure your dog is well groomed and free of any foul odor
Show respect and consideration to other people and property.
Use humane training methods; monitor the dog’s stress level; provide rest breaks.
Carry clean up materials. Arrange for prompt clean up if a dog eliminates or gets sick.
Be polite and willing to educate the public about assistance dogs and access rights.
* The 120 hours of schooling includes the time invested in homework training sessions between obedience classes or lessons from an experienced dog trainer. ** Eligibility for Certification from a provider who supports IAADP’s Minimum Training Standards for Public Access may require you turn in a weekly training log to document your dog received a minimum of 120 hours of schooling over a period of six months or more. (See Sample Training Log)

Yea, it is a lot. I guess this is a good time to let you know it can take 2 years or more to train a fully ready service dog, sometimes longer.

For me, I had some experience in dog training. So some of the things were/are decently easy for me. However, I have sought help from several trainers' when I got stuck on how to train Dougal on certain tasks. But for the overall training my first stop is places like YouTube, forums and facebook groups. There is tons of knowledge out there, for free, for those really wanting to learn.