Self registered service dogs

[Sheila Braund]

ok so my 30 plus yr old son has a beautiful American Bull dog. Diesel.... Aka Meat head.... My son has PTSD.
He wants to register his dog so he can ride on the Go-Train in Toronto with him....
My lovely mother (rolling my eyes) tells him he could just buy the service vest on line and he's good to go..... This dog hasn't had any professional training.... My son believes he has enough control over this dog to do this.... Everything I've seen says no he doesn't.... It takes my son a good 5 minutes to get the dog to calm down when I go visit.... And I don't even acknowledge The dog until his totally calm.....
The only saving grace right now is my son can't afford this registering.

So what's your thoughts on this self register service dogs?


Mine is I'll pay for it no problem only if both my son and his dog go for training and can show me that my son has complete control over this dog. And I'm willing to pay for the training as well!

https://www.servicedogscanada.org/certification/

 

[Boxergirl]

I don't know the laws in Canada. This link might help. Please make sure he does it the right way.
http://servicedogcentral.org/content/Canadian-sd-laws

In the US, for a dog to be considered a service dog they must perform tasks that directly relate to the disability of the person. Simply giving emotional support isn't enough. For instance, my daughter's dog is training to be a DAD (diabetic alert dog) and a PSD (psychiatric service dog). Specific tasks would be alerting to high and/or low glucose levels. Retrieving her diabetes emergency kit. Providing DPT (deep pressure therapy). Blocking her in a store. If he ends up not being able to alert - not all dogs can - then he can be a response dog, which counts. He is also being trained to push a button that will call an emergency number if she's non-responsive. Simply providing her comfort in the event of an anxiety attack would not qualify him as a service dog.

In the US, there is no required professional training. Nor is there any requirement to wear a vest or be certified. Most of the organizations that offer certification online are bogus.

 

[Steven C]

Some areas in the United States have group service dog training which is much more affordable. I think for this pup it would be beneficial as he still gets very excited. In the group training that my friend used to offer at ABS guide dogs, the dogs would walk all together and go into stores that agreed to allow the training but it was heavily based on socialization and having the dogs around tons of people all the time. They even had Disney days with the dogs.

 

[DennasMom]

I would get the son+dog into a training class and get them to pass the "Canine Good Citizen" test - that would get the pair certified with the AKC that the dog is a "good" dog... and give you some confidence that he can control the dog and the dog is safe to be out and about in busy, crowded public spaces. The AKC sends you a tag for the dog's collar, so you'd have some ID/proof of training, at least.

The CGC is 75% of what's needed for a dog to be a registered therapy assist animal (not service animal), and has lots of good, usable stuff in it. The class and test should be very reasonably priced, too - similar to any other obedience class. Denna is the first dog I've had that tested for the CGC, and I'll probably do that for all my dogs in the future. It was a great experience, and gives me a little "official backup" when I say "yes, my dog is a good dog".

 

[Sheila Braund]

I would get the son+dog into a training class and get them to pass the "Canine Good Citizen" test - that would get the pair certified with the AKC that the dog is a "good" dog... and give you some confidence that he can control the dog and the dog is safe to be out and about in busy, crowded public spaces. The AKC sends you a tag for the dog's collar, so you'd have some ID/proof of training, at least.

The CGC is 75% of what's needed for a dog to be a registered therapy assist animal (not service animal), and has lots of good, usable stuff in it. The class and test should be very reasonably priced, too - similar to any other obedience class. Denna is the first dog I've had that tested for the CGC, and I'll probably do that for all my dogs in the future. It was a great experience, and gives me a little "official backup" when I say "yes, my dog is a good dog".

Great idea....now I just have to see if they have anything like that here in Canada....I'm sure they do....Google here I come

 

[Boxergirl]

Great idea....now I just have to see if they have anything like that here in Canada....I'm sure they do....Google here I come

It's a great idea. Just understand that a therapy dog is not the same as a service dog. CGC is a good place to start for all dogs who will be working in public areas, but he's probably going to need to have someone help him teach the dog specific tasks directly related to his disability. It's good that you're willing to help. If all goes well, the dog will be invaluable to him.

 

[Smokeycat]

Great idea....now I just have to see if they have anything like that here in Canada....I'm sure they do....Google here I come

I think in Canada it's called Canine Good Neighbor.

 

[Sheila Braund]

It's a great idea. Just understand that a therapy dog is not the same as a service dog. CGC is a good place to start for all dogs who will be working in public areas, but he's probably going to need to have someone help him teach the dog specific tasks directly related to his disability. It's good that you're willing to help. If all goes well, the dog will be invaluable to him.

Absolutely! I just googled it and there's a CCGC text with the list of what is expected in the test.... Pretty reasonable if you ask me.... Now just need to find a trainer to train my son to train the dog. Just in case someone else is interested here's the link I found

http://www.responsibledogowners.ca/ccgct-info.html

 

[Sheila Braund]

Talk about "signs" this morning on my local news don't they have "Canine Good Neighbor" on the special spot
So totally agree with what their doing.
Yes I do believe if you want your pet to be certified service dog then the handler and dog should be able to complete the 12 requirements to be Canine Good Neighour.