About Service Dogs

What are service dogs?
Service dogs are dogs that are trained to assist disabled people. The main types of service dogs are:
Guide dogs: Dogs who are trained to assist blind and visually impaired people. They are trained to take them around obstacles, stop at steps, stop at curbs, go to certain destinations and can even be trained to find certain people.
Hearing dogs: These dogs assist deaf people. They alert their owner to sounds, such as doorbells, smoke alarms, phones and crying babies.
Mobility Assist dogs: These dogs pull wheelchairs, bring wheelchairs to people, pick things up, carry things in a backpack, open and close doors and more. They can also help people who have trouble walking or trouble with balance.
Seizure Alert dogs: These dogs alert their handlers if the handler is about to have a seizure. They either stay with the person or go get help.
Psychiatric Service dogs: These dogs assist people with psychiatric disabilities. They can help people go out in public, alert to panic attacks, take a person who is going to have a panic attack to a safe place or check that rooms are safe before a person goes into them and do many other tasks.
Medical Alert dogs: These dogs can alert to things like low blood sugar in diabetics, migraines and other things. They can also be taught what to do once these things occur.
Some dogs are trained to assist people with multiple disabilites.

Service dogs are allowed to accompany their handler into any public place. They can also be of any breed or mix of breeds.

What to do when you meet someone with a service dog:
Ignore the dog. Don’t talk to or pet the dog.
If you want to pet the dog, ask the handler first. Some people don’t allow people to pet their dogs because their dogs might get too distracted or for other reasons.
Don’t interfere with a dog while it’s working. Let it do it’s job. Don’t do anything that might distract the dog (eg. get too close to it, make loud noises, make eye contact with it, or talk to it).
If you want to help someone, ask first. Don’t just assume they need help.
If you have a dog, keep your dog under control. Have your dog sit or stand quietly and not bark at or jump at the service dog. Call out to the service dog handler to let them know you have a dog, especially if the service dog is a guide dog.

Don’t try to take your pet places where it isn’t allowed by saying it’s a service dog. It’s extremely disrespectful to people who need service dogs and put a lot of work into making sure the dogs can do their job and are as unobtrusive as possible. It can also give people a bad impression of what service dogs are like if your dog isn’t up to the standard service dogs are supposed to be.

Things To Think About If You’re Thinking Of Getting A Service Dog:
Do you and everyone you live with want to live with a dog?
Some people don’t like dogs and the fact that most of them shed and mean extra work. It’s a good idea to make sure that everyone you live with is going to be okay with having a dog in the house, because a service dog can’t be left outside all the time.

Will you be able to look after the dog?
Dogs require a lot of work to look after them, like feeding, grooming, training and making sure they always have water, as well as spending time with them. As the person the dog is going to be helping, you have to do that. Your dog has to bond with you, and that won’t happen if someone else is looking after it.

Is your dog going to have enough work and excercise?
Dogs need to have excercise and things to do. Some dogs will lie around at home quite happily, but even those dogs get bored! You will have to make sure your dog gets walks, time to play and has plenty of things to keep it busy, as well as enough service dog work to do so that it won’t forget it’s training.

Do you have enough money to pay for your dog’s needs?
You will need to have enough money to buy food, vet care and everything else your dog needs. There is also the possibility of big vet bills if your dog gets injured or sick.

Other things to consider:
- You must have a disability. Different countries have different laws on what is or isn’t a disability, so it’s important to check that you do legally have a disability.
- The dog must be trained to do tasks for you that mitigate your disability. Tasks that are useful, but are things you can do for yourself don’t count. The dog has to do more than just be there. Trained tasks can be things like alerting, guiding, anything that your disability prevents you from doing for yourself. A good way to figure out what a dog could do for you is to write a list of things you need help with and then write another list of what you think a helpful robot could do to help you with those things. That should give you an idea of what an SD could do for you. There is also a task list in the links section that might help as well.
- Check your country’s law to see who is allowed to train service dogs. Some countries allow people to train their own dogs, others don’t.
- Some countries require a dog to be certified. You should check your country’s laws to find out.
- Chances are being out in public with your dog is going to draw a lot of attention to you. Make sure you can handle people coming up to you and asking questions about or wanting to pet the dog. You should also make sure you can handle access challenges. Take papers with copies of the law with you so that you can show people what the service dog laws are if you need to. Try to educate people about service dogs wherever you can, because most of the general public doesn’t know about SDs or the laws regarding them.
- Be aware of where you will be allowed to go with your dog, and where you might not be allowed.
- Remember that your dog has needs. Your dog may decide he wants to go to the toilet at an inconvenient time, or he might misbehave in a shopping centre and you may have to leave there and take him home. There may also be places that you shouldn’t take a dog for it’s own safety, or if your dog might get too stressed, such as fireworks shows. Be aware of what your dog can handle and what it can’t.
- Not all states in the US have the same laws, so if you live in the US, check your state laws. The ADA can override the state law, though. Different states also have different laws regarding service dogs in training, so if your dog isn’t a full SD yet it’s a good idea to check whether your state allows SDITs public access.
- Try to get your dog a vest or something else that says that your dog is a service dog. That way people are less likely to mistake your dog for a pet. It isn’t required in the US, but it is a good idea.
- It’s a good idea to have a copy of the laws that apply to you and your SD so you can show gatekeepers who challenge you. It would also be handy to have some phone numbers they can call for confirmation if they still don’t believe you. Remember that you can call the police if you really have to, but I’d only advise that as a last resort.
- Also remember that business owners have the right to make you leave if your dog is misbehaving (i.e. barking, acting aggressive towards people or otherwise causing problems).

The Difference Between an SD and an Emotional Support Animal:
Service dogs and ESAs are not the same thing. ESAs are pets prescribed by a doctor that help with emotional difficulties (such as if someone had anxiety problems and needed a pet to help keep them calm). These animals do not have to be trained and are not always dogs. In the United States they are allowed to stay in no-pets housing, but are not allowed public access. You could not take your ESA to a restaurant, shopping centre or anywhere else where normal dogs are not allowed. Psychiatric Service Dogs and ESAs are often confused.

Useful Links
Service Dog Tasks
Service Dog Central
Minimum Standards For Service Dogs
International Guide Dog Federation
Psychiatric Service Dog Society
Hearing Dogs For Deaf People
Assistance Dogs International
Service Dogs Group on Dogster
The American ADA and Service Dogs
The Delta Society