Service dogs serve as guides for people with disabilities and can also be animal ambassadors to places like retirement homes and schools. Getting your own dog certified as a service dog will mean that you can use it to help other people and also take it places where "normal" pets aren't allowed. Service dogs carry a great amount of responsibility, though, and therefore require training. If you have found that your dog is extremely obedient, intelligent and naturally helpful, it might be a good candidate for certification as a handicap helper.
Things You'll Need
- Dog training tools
- Service dog application
Instructions
Test your dog's physical and mental capabilities to make sure it measures up to the requirements. Test your dog for physical soundness by acquiring hip and elbow X rays, eyesight tests and general health tests at your local vet's office. Your dog must be tall enough to reach light switches and the tops of counters or tables. It must also be strong enough to tow a wheelchair and support someone who has fallen or is incapable of walking on their own. Your dog must be friendly and helpful, with no signs of aggression when someone leans on it or pushes it. If your dog can meet these requirements, and the X rays are clean, move on to training the dog.
Test your dog's ability to follow commands and train the dog to follow any new commands it doesn't know. A service dog must demonstrate controlled unloading from a vehicle, calm approach toward buildings, controlled entry into and out of doorways and good behavior when walking through a building. To be a good service dog, your dog must never wander further than six feet from you, should sit and lay down on command, maintain the sit or down position until it's released and maintain focus through any noise distraction. Your dog should remain in place and wait for you if you drop its leash. See http://www.servicedogsamerica.org/certification/index.html for specifics on these requirements. If you're having trouble training your dog, consider getting professional help. To register, your dog will have to pass all of these tests in front of a certified professional.
Practice these commands with your dog until it can pass the tests every time you try. Contact your local service dog organization through the web or a nationwide licensing organization (http://www.servicedogsamerica.org/certification/index.html) to schedule the tests and file an application for your service dog.