How to Certify My Dog to Be a Service Dog
A service dog, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, is a dog trained to assist people with disabilites (except for blindness or deafness). In the United States, there is not a nationwide certification program that service dogs are required to pass before being used as service dogs, but there are voluntary certification programs offered by some organizations. Be aware that you should be required to demonstrate your dog's training in public to an official of the certifying organization in order to receive certification; those that just only require you send in money should be avoided.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Training a Service Dog
-
1
Make sure your dog fulfills all of the training requirements for a service dog. These requirements include tasks such as obedience skills (sit, stay, down), as well as tasks specific to the handler's disability. You can consult the training standards for several organizations, such as Assistance Dogs International, to find out what your dog needs to know.
-
2
Find an organization that is willing to certify your dog. Again, you can start with Assistance Dogs International or another similar group to find someone who offers certification services.
-
-
3
Arrange for the public access test. This is the test that proves your dog is safe and obedient enough in public to be of use to a disabled person.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Certification doesn't mean that your dog can't be denied access to a facility. If you refuse to answer a property owner's questions about what your service dog does and why the assistance is necessary, the owner does not have to admit your dog.
References
More Like This
Comments
-
Service dog registry's are a SCAM designed to separate disabled people from their money. These ideas only make access difficult for those who do not buy into this certification and identification scam! Our Service Dogs do not need to be certified. Do not need to wear any identification. Do not need to be "dressed" in any special collars, harnesses, leashes or vests! Doing these things may make access easier for you, but harder for the next team who perhaps cant afford all this nonsense.
-
chasc
Apr 18, 2010
All certification means is you spent money you could have used for training treats as all a gate keeper may ask or require is 1) is that a service animal? and 2)what tasks is it trained to do. your dissability is none of the gatekeepers business as he is not a part of your treatment team.
