Service dog or emotional support dog anyone?

[Mayzoo]

Has anyone gotten their kiddo either of these two types of dogs?

 

We adopted a dog a few weeks ago and he and kiddo have clicked really well. I am seeing if her doc will write the script for an emotional support dog.

[4Nikki]

I don't believe it is necessary to have a script. It wouldn't hurt as backup, But there is no official certification for service animals. There are some organizations that issue training certificates, but again there are no state or Federal guidelines for service animal certifications that I know of. There are some civil organizations that have fines and/or jail time for impersonating a service animal, that can make life difficult so depending on where you live, its best to check out the local rules. http://www.ada.gov/qasrvc.htm

 

We got DD a service dog for emotional support when we lived in California and when we moved to Washington the home we rented wanted a $1500 dollar deposit for pets, however the housing guidelines classified her dog as a service animal thus no deposit was required. The proof was not the dog but actually DD's assessment for her disability. I actually blacked out all of the details in the report except for the vitals.

 

Some people use vests or colored tags so that the pet looks like a service animal when they enter business establishments, but it's all fake so that people don't ask. I recall correctly they are actually not allow to ask.

Edited June 16, 2015 by 4nikki

[Mayzoo]

Interesting. I thought service dogs had to be certified through passing a state approved behaviour/task test. This would be fabulous. We adopted him (pound) just for her and her anxiety/emotional state and to sleep with her to aide her well being at night, but he is definitely trainable. I may leave him as an emotional support dog for now and begin task training him a few things for her. I have task trained dogs before and have no major difficulties with that.

 

1, She simply will not look both ways before crossing a parking lot or be observant in a parking lot, so that would be a biggie for me if I could figure that one out.

 

2. She tries to run (anywhere quieter) when she hears a train, so if he could help with that would be great, but he is only 8.4 lbs, so he cannot use brute strength to stop her running, so I could never "count" on that.

 

There are other things he help could with, but I will have to think about it. I may come and post them here for my permanent reference

 

Here is a picture of "big" guy. This was before I could bathe him from his surgery and 3 weeks stay in the pound. He is sleek and shinny now:

 

Edited June 16, 2015 by mayzoo

[Mayzoo]

Oh, doing more research now. Thank you for the heads up and the motivation to keep researching. Apparently, the first sites I visited did not have all the right data.

 

If the disability is not obvious, a business may ask two questions:

 

To determine if an animal is a service animal, a public entity or a private business may ask two questions: 1) Is this animal required because of a disability? 2) What work or task has this animal been trained to perform? These inquiries may not be made if the need for the service animal is obvious (e.g., the dog is guiding an individual who is blind or is pulling a person’s wheelchair.)

 

Additionally this applies:

 

A public entity or private business may not ask about the nature or extent of an individual’s disability. It also may not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained or licensed as a service animal, or require the animal to wear an identifying vest.

 

http://www.adapacific.org/ada/info/serviceAnimals.php

 

ETA: Mario is now "officially" a service dog in training. I printed out the ADA service animal fact sheet and will keep a copy in my car.

 

I had already printed out and laminated a tag for his collar and his harness from an example on the web in case the doc wrote the script, but now I have attached them. I will make an appt to have a sit down meeting with our local grocery store manager to inform them and ask about a few preferences they may have. I know I do not have to, but I live in a tiny town and everyone knows me and my kiddo so no issues expected there.

Edited June 16, 2015 by mayzoo

[4Nikki]

You could always check around for obedience training, typically I found the cost to be about ~$200 for 6 to 8 weeks of training, which I think is a great price. There are also many organizations that offer service dogs. Many are free and provide service through donations and volunteers, while others charge. Typically there is an application process (I'm not sure what happens when a child has violent behaviors). Some will not train owners dogs, while others will train both the dog and owner. You can also find workshops, and they usually fill up quickly. Also Youtube is a great resource as well.

 

http://www.anythingpawsable.com/what-are-the-minimum-training-standards-for-a-service-dog/#.VYB-UPlVhBc

Edited June 16, 2015 by 4nikki

[Mayzoo]

You could always check around for obedience training, typically I found the cost to be about ~$200 for 6 to 8 weeks of training, which I think is a great price. There are also many organizations that offer service dogs. Many are free and provide service through donations and volunteers, while others charge. Typically there is an application process (I'm not sure what happens when a child has violent behaviors). Some will not train owners dogs, while others will train both the dog and owner. You can also find workshops, and they usually fill up quickly. Also Youtube is a great resource as well.

 

http://www.anythingpawsable.com/what-are-the-minimum-training-standards-for-a-service-dog/#.VYB-UPlVhBc

 

Thankfully, our kiddo is not violent . I have done behaviour training (not professionally, but for us and friends) myself for over 23 years with great success and many compliments to our dogs. I have also task trained dogs, so training is not really an issue, but I will have check resources for this specific of task. We have trained numerous dogs to stop at the curb and not cross until they are cued. This will be just a little more complicated since it is a parking lot with no curbs. As with all training, it will involve training the dog and (owner) my kid to work together with the cues.

 

She is bonded with this dog already and he with her. We got him just for her and her issues, so it would be ideal if I can get him to work out. Thanks for the link . I will peruse it and make sure he is in complete compliance prior to "graduating" him. He has a tag already that says he is in training and I won't be taking into anywhere until his basic training is done. He already sits to receive his food, sits and waits for a cue to go in and out the door, and knows "high five" LOL. He is mostly house trained now and we are working on stay, down,lay down and we just need to put a bit of fine tuning on his leash training.

 

He came to us with no training at all, not even sit, and the house training he had must have involved beatings because he was not house trained at all and was terrified to pee inside or outside despite my praising him for outside. He has come a long way in 3.5 weeks and is happy/eager to learn and please us. Really, it has actually been less than 3 weeks of training because he was neutered prior to us picking him up and I did not start work with him until I was certain he was no longer in pain.

Edited June 16, 2015 by mayzoo

[Mayzoo]

For others interested in pursuing this, here is a link to a site where you can download the "test" that a dog should be able to pass to show they are trained properly. If they were to become a certified service dog, I believe this is the exam they must pass along with their specific task training they are to know as well:

 

http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/standards/public-access-test/

Edited June 18, 2015 by mayzoo