Instructions
Testing Service Dogs
Observe the dog during a greeting routine. The dog must be able to sit politely while the tester shakes hands with the owner. Then, the dog must sit politely while the tester pets it. Finally, the dog must tolerate grooming, which includes brushing, teeth examination and other examinations, such as feet or ears. If the dog jumps on you, mouths you or barks at you, it's not ready to be a therapy dog. It should be able to calmly tolerate all interactions and seek out petting.
Observe the dog's leash skills. The dog should be able to walk politely on a leash during a left turn, right turn, about face turn and stop. It should also be able to walk politely through a crowd, ignoring people, food and other pets. This could take place in a crowded parking lot, grocery store or other crowded area that the person may need to navigate. The dog also needs to show it can navigate a street, including stopping for traffic.
Make the owner demonstrate that the dog can do a sit, down, heel, stay for at least 10 seconds and recall on command. Without those basic skills, the dog isn't ready for service work.
Bring a well-behaved dog to test the dog's reaction to other dogs. The dog should be able to walk past another dog and sit politely at the owner's side for long enough for you to shake hands while your dog is also politely sitting at your side. The dog can be interested but cannot pull toward or bark at the tester dog.
Test the dog's ability to handle distractions, such as loud noises, joggers, crutches and wheelchairs. The dog shouldn't be afraid of anything because it needs to help its owner no matter what the distraction.
Hold onto the dog while the owner walks out of sight. The dog should remain calm, even if it is intently looking for the owner.
Place food and toys on the ground and have the owner walk the dog past. The dog should be able to ignore the temptation, no matter how close the owner walks, though the owner may give the "leave it" command if necessary.
Observe the dog in a car. The dog should be able to enter the car only when instructed and remain calm the entire time in the car. You may also observe the dog in other confined situations, such as elevators, as well.
How to Test Service Dogs
There are several service organizations across the country, and each of them requires slightly different skills for certifying a therapy dog. However, most of the desired skills are similar, beginning with the skills required on the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen test: sitting for greetings, sitting for petting, allowing grooming, walking politely on a leash, walking through a crowd, staying, downing, coming when called, ignoring distractions, walking past another dog and staying calm for three minutes of supervised separation. Beyond that, dogs are required to demonstrate skills necessary to the type of therapy dog they will be, such as navigating a grocery store or responding properly to noises.