Training Your Own Service Dog

Training your own service dog is something Viki Gentilman knows a lot about. Viki has been training service dogs for several years to help her with her specific needs.

Note that Viki also provides information that reveals the truth about service dog certification

Not sure which kind of dog you need to get to train as an assistance dog? See types of service dogs

For learning more about the training, Viki recommends that the place to start is to go through the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners website at http://www.iaadp.org.

They explain the difference between service animals and therapy, minimum standards for training your own service dog (according to the ADA), and they also have educational pages about how to train your dog.

The three canines at left are receiving a day's service dog training in how to behave on public transportation.

Viki stipulates that each animal MUST be individually trained for one person to mitigate that person's "life altering" disability(-ies).

Medical alert is considered the holy grail of all mitigation and CANNOT be trained. An example of this is where the dog senses you are about to have a seizure or to lose your balance and warns you before it happens. It is something that the animal does by instinct.

Here is some further advice from Viki:
“It is best to have AT LEAST 3 THINGS the dog does for you, if you are asked to demonstrate your need.

I overtrain my dogs; first because it is great fun to teach new things to my partner, and second because some days I NEED the extra help.

Mildred Isabella, the black Lab in the photo above, was a one-year-old as of March 4th, 2010, and could already help me in the following ways:

• with my balance;
• pick up items that I dropped;
• get me groceries off the bottom shelves at the store (sometimes even the ones I wanted -- LOL);
• drag things from room to room for me (as in laundry baskets with things in them);
• open doors/cabinets/fridge (the last one isn't recommended because they find LOTS of goodies in the fridge!);
• go into another room and bring me my phone, keys, her leash, etc.

Requirements for Training Your Own Service Dog

• Be able to follow basic obedience commands: Sit, Come, Stay, Down, Heel, both on leash and using a dropped leash
• Be toilet trained to go in specific places on command
• Receive 120 hours of specific training over a 6-month period or longer with many more hours of practice following the training sessions.
  30 of those training hours should be used to teach a dog to follow commands in public without people noticing (i.e., you should not have to yell at your dog to get him/her to obey)
• Display good manners with no aggression towards humans or other animals
• Ignore food within reach, and not mooch for food or solicit petting from people
• NOT sniff merchandise or other dogs
• Stay calm in all sorts of situations
• Have individual training in tasks that help you with your disability(-ies)
• NOT be trained as a guard or attack dog

IAADP also has standards for you as the trainer. Make sure that you:

• keep your dog healthy, well groomed with minimal odor, and keep up to date on required shots;
• provide humane training with adequate rest breaks;
• follow local leash laws;
• carry poop/barf cleanup equipment;
• remain polite and educate people about what you are doing.