I own two dogs. One is Otto, my heart dog. He’s a largish mutt, about 7 years old, well-trained, well-behaved, and well-socialized. He serves very effectively as a watchdog, letting us know when anyone enters our front gate – and when UPS has a package for us. Or anyone else on our street. Barring his suspicion of UPS, he’s a joy to live with.
The second dog I own is Tito, also about 7 years old. He’s a probable Chihuahua-mix, having been purchased (by a relative) as a purported purebred puppy from a likely puppy mill. His start in life was a little rough, and he bounced from one relative’s home to another, picking up “issues” along the way. But he’s an astute observer of behavior, and once he landed here he just started going along with the program, more or less. Aside from his barking when friends arrive, he stirs up no trouble in the house, in the car, or on the trail. He follows Otto cheerfully, and though they don’t cuddle or sleep together ever, they get along with perfect understanding.
I’d be perfectly happy with just one dog again, but two works out fine, especially when number two is so easy. But this summer, I’ve got a few extras.
The first is my daughter-in-law’s dog, Sadie, a little scrap of a puppy-mill air-quotes Miniature Schnauzer – there is probably a little Miniature Schnauzer in there somewhere. My daughter-in-law is away, helping with a seriously ill relative, so 5-year-old Sadie is staying with me. She’s sweet, playful, and a funny little character. If she wasn’t so shrill, she’d be a lot less annoying to have around, but her bark is high-pitched, piercing, and frequent.
The next “extra” dog is my son’s coonhound, Cole. My son is on the road with various sports teams this summer for more than three weeks, so I get time with my granddog. Cole is 2 years old now, and growing up into a lovely young man of a dog. He’s affectionate and biddable, well-socialized, and friendly to everyone he meets. But his restless habit of trying to agitate the other dogs into playing – “C’mon, everyone, this is boring! Let’s play! I’ve got your toy! Try to catch me! – makes my adult dogs grumpy. Cole will nudge and nudge and nudge, sometimes dropping toys on top of my sleeping dogs, until one of them snaps and launches after him. In delight, and not the least bit afraid, Cole will spin and fly out of the room, thrilled that he’s finally gotten a reaction out of someone. It’s a tad disruptive of our quiet days.
One blessing (and curse) of having Cole here: we HAVE to get out for a long off-leash run every day. It makes me get all the dogs (and myself) out for more exercise than we would ordinarily make time for. If I don’t manage to make time for this, I lose sleep at night, when the clicking of Cole’s toenails pacing up and down my hall all night, and the occasional “Baarooooooooo!” of a hound call in the middle of the night, for example, when through our front security screen door, he spots a cat walking across the street. It’s easier to make sure we go for a run every day.
The last extra dog is a foster from my shelter, a perhaps 2-year-old Chihuahua/Dachshund-mix. I took in her and her tiny 3-week-old puppy a few months ago, to help raise and then place the puppy in a good home. That got accomplished, but the mommy really needs more socializing and training before she’ll be able to find a good home. She’s incredibly sweet and affectionate, but also suspicious and growly around new people. Despite having been with me for more than a couple months, I haven’t managed to take her out into the world to work on this with her very much. First, I didn’t want to take her away from her puppy, then she was recovering from her spay surgery, and then she licked a wound open, near the end of her healed-over spay incision, so she’s wearing a cone until it’s fully healed again.
How do people manage having this many dogs all the time? I’m finding it hard to adjust to having to sweep and mop every day (sometimes more than once a day), and I suspect my friends are daunted by the thought of dropping by spontaneously, as it takes a good five-plus minutes to get all the dogs calm and settled after anyone comes to the door. Also, with five dogs around, there is no odd sound in the neighborhood that goes unnoticed by at least one of the dogs (usually the ever-alert small ones), and once one dog sounds an alarm, they are all keen to join in. Who wants to be the last dog responding to an emergency, such as the mailman passing by?
Needless to say, we are working a LOT on ALL the dogs’ polite behavior at the door, and a “group emergency recall” to bring the whole bunch of them to me as quickly as possible. Group training sessions are surprisingly effective for teaching former strays like the mommy dog how to behave; she’s learned quickly how to follow everyone else’s lead for treats.
This won’t last forever. One by one, the three “extras” will return to their own homes, and it will be calm and (mostly) quiet around here again. I love and enjoy each and every one of these dogs for different reasons, but five is a little much for me.
The dog shown here is half Bloodhound, half Border Collie. I was skeptical, too. Bloodhound I can see. But I don’t see a trace of Border Collie.
Then I learned her story. Indy was an “accident” – the product of two purebreds owned by a family who actually breeds and shows Border Collies and Bloodhounds. I wouldn’t have guessed that a fan of one of those breeds would also possess the other, but you never know about people. Indy’s owner could testify to the certain presence of Border Collie; she bought Indy as a puppy who was still trying to suckle her totally-over-it Border Collie mother.
I was reminded of this incongruous cross last weekend when I saw these dogs. I never got a chance to ask what they were; they also look like some sort of Bloodhound-mix. I saw these dogs at a sports event within 80 miles of Indy’s breeder; could they have been littermates? The odds are against it, in a state as populated as California, but who knows? Weirder things have happened.
What’s the weirdest mix you’ve ever seen? Just among the mixed-breed dogs whose parentage was certain? Breeds whose origins were just a guess don’t count here.
Most holistic veterinary practitioners recommend switching any itchy dog to a complete and balanced home-prepared diet containing “real foods.” This will decrease the dog’s exposure to unnecessary or complex chemicals and give his body the opportunity to utilize the higher-quality nutrients present in fresh foods. Whether the diet is cooked or raw, the increased nutrient quality and availability of fresh whole foods will improve the health of any dog who currently receives even the best dry or canned foods.
“Feeding fresh, unprocessed, organic foods provides more of the building blocks for a healthy immune system,” says Dr. Lisa Pesch, a holistic veterinarian in Sebastopol CA. “Dogs who have allergies are more likely to be deficient in trace proteins and sugars (proteoglycans) that are used by the immune systems. Deficiencies in these nutrients will increase allergic response.”
For more information on diagnosing and treating allergies in your dog, purchase and download Whole Dog Journal‘s ebook, Canine Allergies.
It’s that time of year again: when rising temperatures lure dogs and dog owners to bodies of water, intent on cooling off, and when the water itself becomes dangerous to drink or swim in. The dangerous element, a toxic substance often called “blue-green algae,” is more accurately called cyanobacteria.
Genuine algae are simple plants; cyanobacteria refer to a group of microorganisms that possess characteristics of harmless algae, but differ from algae in that they produce highly potent toxins.
When the conditions are right, with high temperatures and shallow water, the population of this microscopic bacteria explodes, causing a sudden and highly visible “bloom” of blue-green scum on the surface of the water. That “bloom” is also responsible for the release of the toxins into the surrounding water.
One species is responsible for a type of skin irritation called “swimmer’s itch,” but the more notable danger is that oral consumption of the cyanobacteria can be quite toxic. Exposure to cyanobacteria has caused the death of many dogs, cattle, and even humans.
According to the World Health Organization: “Disease due to cyanobacterial toxins varies according to the type of toxin and the type of water or water-related exposure (drinking, skin contact, etc.). Humans are affected with a range of symptoms including skin irritation, stomach cramps, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, fever, sore throat, headache, muscle and joint pain, blisters of the mouth, and liver damage. Swimmers in water containing cyanobacterial toxins may suffer allergic reactions, such as asthma, eye irritation, rashes, and blisters around the mouth and nose. Animals, birds, and fish can also be poisoned by high levels of toxin-producing cyanobacteria.”
The take-home point? At this time of year, keep your dog away from ponds, small lakes, and other shallow and warm bodies of water, even if he has swum in and consumed water from that water without any ill effects in the past. This is especially important if the water is green or covered with a green or blue-green scum. On hot days, your dog may race for a body of water to cool off in, so leash him up if you know you are getting close to a pond or lake that may have experienced an algal bloom with recent warm weather. And if your dog does manage to get into and drink from such a body of water, get him to your veterinarian as quickly as possible. Aggressive, immediate treatment may be needed to counter the serious, often deadly, effects of this fast-acting toxin.
Water is wonderful, but not if it’s toxic. When conditions promote the growth or “bloom” of toxic blue-green algae in lakes and ponds, animals can die. In the U.S. and Canada, blue-green algae blooms have claimed the lives of deer, elk, livestock, and dogs, soon after drinking algae-infected water.
There are hundreds of species of algae, but the family of blue-green algae called cyanobacteria can produce toxins that affect humans and animals. According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, this type of algae occurs in many aquatic environments year-round, but may thrive to a dangerous degree during periods of sustained warm, sunny days in shallow, nutrient rich bodies of water. In these conditions, the blue-green algae suddenly “blooms” – that is, reproduces exponentially. The algae produce a powerful toxin – one of the most powerful natural poisons known.
In September 2006, the Quebec Gazette reported that scientists blamed global warming for the increase in Canada’s algae problems. Blue-green algae contaminated 43 Quebec lakes and rivers in 2004 and 50 more in 2005. Health inspectors closed lakes and waterways to swimmers and boaters because in addition to killing dogs, the algae causes skin irritations, headaches, nausea, and other health problems in humans. Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, and several other states have reported algae problems.
In 2001, a new planktonic bluegreen alga, Cylindrospermopsis, was identified in reservoirs and lakes in Indiana. This organism was described in India in the early
1900s, spread to Australia by the 1980s, and reached Florida lakes in the 1990s. It is thought to produce toxins continuously, not sporadically like North America’s native blue-green algae.
In June 2007, a Michigan dog died as a result of swimming in (or drinking water from) a pond containing a blue-green algae bloom.
The state of Minnesota warns its citizens about this hazard, stating that the blue-green algae blooms are occasionally responsible for the deaths of livestock and dogs who drink contaminated water. Although toxic blooms may occur in any ice-free water, they usually develop in late summer and early fall. (Michigan authorities were surprised by toxic blooms in that state’s ponds in mid-June of this year.)
Algae blooms may turn the water cloudy with a green (like pea soup), yellow, or blue-green hue. The water may develop a “swampy” odor as the algae accumulate in large floating mats and decompose. Wind-driven blooms often accumulate on downwind shorelines.
Algae blooms may be toxic, but not all of them are; it is impossible to predict which blooms are toxic and which are not. In addition, blooms can be temporary, for the
wind can completely dissipate a toxic bloom in a few hours or over the course of a day.
People and animals should avoid swimming in or drinking water from ponds or lakes that contain an algae bloom. Check with park departments, state cooperative extension offices, and local news media regarding the algae status of nearby lakes and ponds
before planning outings with your dog. And always carry enough fresh water for both of you!
Have you ever met a dog who is fun, smart, and friendly – but who seemed to have no real interest in humans, or at least, you in particular? Perhaps this sort of dog is right for some occupations, and perfect for some people, but for me, a dog with “affiliative” behaviors is a must. I like dogs who like people!
I’m not alone, either. When I help someone find and select a new dog for his or her family, I ask them to write a list of attributes that they really want in a dog, things they would like to have (but aren’t deal-breakers), and things they really do not want. If their lists look thin, I ask them questions to try to spark a little more discrimination. My motivation is simple: If they are going to commit the next 10 to 15 years of sharing their lives with this dog, it should be a good fit. Nine times out of 10, what most “pet dog” people want is a dog who behaves as though he likes them, and wants to be with them. If a dog can make a person feel cared for, or as is they are being paid attention to, the person can often overlook a LOT of other behavioral or health deficiencies in the dog.
However, I’ve found that it’s not all that common to find dogs who have an overabundance of this trait – and it’s a shame, because if they need to be rehomed, the trait can literally save their lives. It’s a fact that shelter and rescue workers are attracted to and work a lot harder for dogs who behave as if they LOVE people. And really, why wouldn’t we? They are easier to place than any other type of dog.
This is another reason why I like and promote training methods that are based on positive reinforcement: they really help puppies and young dogs form positive associations with humans. And in the end, for most of us who truly love dogs, it really is all about our relationship with our dogs. Trying to re-home a dog who naturally behaves as if he loves people is a million times easier than trying to find a home for one who is scared and distrustful of humans – or even one who seems friendly, but who has no special affinity for people, other than as bringers of food and throwers of balls. The kind of dog who wants nothing more than to climb into almost anyone’s lap and spend the rest of the day there – truly affiliative dogs – are like gold coins, welcome everywhere.
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in the highly unusual (for me) position of being in a strange city and ready for my flight home more than an hour before I needed to go to the airport. So I killed time by asking my phone to direct me to a nearby pet supply store. Some national chain stores populated the list, but then I recognized the name of a small, regional chain, Centinela Feed. I hadn’t been to one of those stores before, but I knew that the folks who own the chain are also behind Lotus Pet Food. They had invited me a few years ago to tour and take pictures and video of the canning facility they built, where they make Lotus’s canned foods. But I hadn’t had time on that trip to visit any of their stores.
I am a huge fan of independent pet supply stores – and this includes these small, regional chains. You can visit the big super chains every week for a year and not see more than one or two new items; in a single one-hour visit to a single independent store, I saw more unique and helpful items, and new pet foods and treats, than I had in ages. Clearly, I have to get out more!
The other really cool thing about independents: Many store owners are building or remodeling their stores to meet pet owners other needs, for training, routine veterinary care, daycare, bathing, and more. The Centinela store I visited had a doggie daycare and self-bathing facility in the store, and dog-training classes were offered during certain hours. When time is at a premium, being able to meet so many of your dog’s needs in one visit is really a huge help.
The store I visited had the largest selection of frozen raw diets I had ever seen, including a couple I had never seen; that’s something that the giant chains just won’t offer. It also offered a really wide selection of treats made from local and organic suppliers. I’m super fussy about the chews and treats I buy; if there is possibility the ingredients come from China, or the packaging is the least bit unclear about the origin of the ingredients, forget it, I won’t buy them. I found a number of locally sourced treats in this store, as well as some varieties from some of the national companies I do like that I hadn’t seen before.
All in all, I highly recommend the experience. It’s easy to get into a rut and go to the same store every time you need pet food or other supplies. But it’s worth it to take some time to check out stores you’ve never visited before, especially the independently owned and operated ones.
What’s your favorite independent store or chain? Let some of our readers know about the good ones!
Dogs are not engineered to gain a significant portion of their nutrition from grains. This explains the large, soft stools excreted by most kibble-fed dogs. It is clearly processed poorly by the dog. Many vets agree that corn, wheat and soy may cause allergies, skin and coat problems. Overfeeding grains may be a big factor in the frequency of canine obesity today. This in turn may cause or aggravate many other health problems.
Grain-based diets promote bad dental health and that can lead to systemic infections and weakening of all major organs. I have seen that 85% of all dogs over the age of three suffer from periodontal disease, largely from feeding a soft mushy kibble diet. One of the first benefits of a raw diet, often noticed within a couple of weeks, is improved breath and whiter teeth. I always gave my dogs plenty of raw chew bones when I was feeding kibble, thinking that was enough. It wasn’t. Once I gave my kibble away and went 100% raw, my older dogs’ breath became sweeter within days, and their teeth steadily became whiter and cleaner.
Yes, there are decent kibbles on the market. You are probably feeding one now. However, all contain grain in one form or another, and a cornerstone of the raw feeding concept is that grain is wholly unnecessary for dogs. Grains are often used as fillers, and are the “glue” that holds the other ingredients in those little pellets. They provide, at best, an inexpensive, low quality protein source. Most grains are poorly digested, hence the large smelly poops they produce. Dogs did not evolve to eat grain, yet this is mainly what we have been feeding them for the last sixty years or so. Kibble contains cooked, often low quality ingredients that have had most of the nutrients, enzymes, and antioxidants “boiled” right out of them.. These nutrients are then often replaced by synthetic supplements. Dogs have absolutely no need for such a high carbohydrate diet. A wolf eats very few carbs. Added to this, most run-of-the-mill kibbles are often so laden with Preservatives and salts that the dog has to drink tons of water.
Where there are allergies, yeast infections, GI upsets, poor dental health, obesity, and cancer, grain may be the major culprit.
Moe has been Steve Killips’ service dog for 8 1/2 years. the handsome Labrador, who was trained by Paws With a Cause in Wayland, Michigan, often helps pull Steve’s wheelchair, vastly increasing Steve’s ability to enjoy the outdoors.
For people living with disabilities, a dog can be the key that opens the door to independent living. It’s been estimated that there are more than 500,000 service-dog/handler teams in the United States, and by law, these teams are accorded the right of access to nearly every place that the human handlers can go. Most dog owners love seeing well-trained service dogs enabling their disabled humans to ride public transportation, navigate shopping and workplaces, and enjoy a night out in restaurants and the theater.
Few of us, however, like seeing obviously untrained or out-of-control dogs in public places where they may reflect badly on the service-dog industry. They may also engender hostility from business owners and managers, who often feel they have no recourse when ill-mannered dogs wreak havoc in their establishments.
We discussed the moral and legal considerations associated with the growing problem of “fake service dogs” in “Artificial Needs” (WDJ July 2013). It’s a complex conundrum, in part due to the Department of Justice’s use of an “honor system” as to whether or not a dog is a trained service animal, the various agencies involved, and the challenging nature of drafting regulations designed to protect – without infringing upon – the rights of those living with a disability.
Adding to the confusion is another class of companion animals who, teamed with their disabled handlers, are accorded expanded rights of access in certain situations: emotional-support animals, often referred to as “ESAs.” Many people believe – falsely – that emotional-support animals are allowed to go anywhere with their handlers that service-dog/handler teams can go.
It seems that almost everyone is confused about which dogs can go where, and how one can determine which dogs are legitimate helpers and which are pets whose owners may be taking advantage of the confusion! Let’s sort it all out.
The law that gives service-dog/handler teams the right to enter places where dogs are not usually permitted is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). First enacted in 1990, the ADA is overseen by the United States Department of Justice. An amendment process began in 2008, with revisions to the Act taking effect in 2011. (Technically, the current regulation is known as the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act (ADAAA), though most people still refer to the “ADA” when referencing federal service-dog law.)
The ADA was enacted to “provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities,” and to protect a disabled person’s access and right to “fully participate in all aspects of society.”
The ADA defines a disabled person as one who “has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.”
The phrase “major life activities” is defined in the ADA as including “caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.”
The ADA recognizes that disabled persons may require “reasonable accommodations or auxiliary aids or services” in order to “fully participate in society.” Service animals are included as one of those aids; that’s why dog/handler teams are granted expanded rights of access to areas that are typically off limits to animals. Under the ADA, “state and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is normally allowed to go.”
Currently, only dogs and miniature horses who have been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a disabled person may be considered service animals. (Miniature horses are regulated with slightly different guidelines; we will discuss only service dogs in this article.)
Keep in mind that it’s the task that the dog is specifically trained to perform, in order to entirely or partly mitigate the handler’s disability, that gives handlers the right to have that dog in public areas that are typically off limits to dogs. The ADAAA’s definition of a service animal includes these clarifications:
“Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.”
The ADA imposes reasonable restrictions on the use of service animals in public; the Act is certainly not a license to bring just any dog anywhere at any time. The dog must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless the device interferes with the animal’s ability to work, in which case the individual must still be able to control the animal through voice commands, hand signals, or other means of effective control.
The dog must also be well-behaved and entirely under control. “Through the ADA, if a dog is misbehaving in public – if they’re in a restaurant and the animal is not house-trained, or is eating food off of the table, the business owner has the right to ask the individual to remove the dog from the premises,” says Jeanine Konopelski, a spokesperson for Assistance Dogs International (ADI).
The ADA also states that, in some cases, it might be appropriate to exclude a service animal. For example, although a service dog can’t be excluded from the general-access areas of a hospital (patient rooms, exam rooms, or the cafeteria), he can be reasonably excluded from operating rooms and other sterile environments.
Protecting the Rights of the Disabled
Of course, ordinary dogs are barred by law from many public areas. But disabled people can bring their trained service dogs with them almost anywhere, because the ADA makes it against the law to discriminate against or restrict access to disabled persons – in this case, ones who are using an auxiliary aid (a dog) to mitigate their disabilities. When a business owner or employee is unsure whether the dog is a service animal, he may ask only two specific questions of the handler:
1. Is the service animal required because of a disability?
2. What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?
Staff may not inquire as to the specifics of the handler’s disability, require any special documentation, or ask that the animal demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task. However, the handler’s answers must be credible. “He’s trained to dance on his hind legs and it makes me happy,” would not qualify as a credible answer to Question 2. The trained tasks must be relevant to the handler’s disability.
Emotional Support Animals
Now, buckle up, because this is where the ride gets bumpy.
There is another type of commonly referenced animal that assists disabled humans and is granted greater access in certain situations than most pets: the “emotional-support animal” (ESA). These are personal pets (different types of animals, not just dogs, can be used) who have not been trained to perform specific tasks, but whose presence is physically or psychologically beneficial to their disabled handlers.
It’s a safe bet that many of us would be happier if our dogs were allowed to accompany us on all of life’s adventures. But there’s a significant difference between being happier when in the company of a beloved pet dog and experiencing a psychiatric disability in its absence. The key word is disability, which must meet a clearly defined standard. In order to qualify as disabled, one or more of a person’s activities of daily life must be severely impacted by the condition. A treating medical provider must diagnose the individual’s disability and state that having access to the animal will benefit the disabled handler.
A team comprised of a disabled person and her emotional-support animal does not qualify for any special protections by the ADA, which states clearly, “Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.”
However, there are two other federal departments that grant ESA/handler teams more access than people with ordinary pets. Their access to housing that is otherwise not available to people with pets is protected by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Fair Housing Act,” and their access to air transportation is protected by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Air Carrier Access Act.”
Both Acts stipulate that the disabled person has a letter from his or her treating medical professional corroborating the disability, and the professional’s opinion that a specific emotional-support animal ameliorates the symptoms of disability.
The Fair Housing Act prevents landlords from refusing to make reasonable accommodations in rules and policies (such as a “no pets” policy), as needed in order for a disabled person to use the housing. Service dogs and most emotional-support animals are considered reasonable accommodations. There are some exceptions to this provision of the Fair Housing Act; for example, a person with an ESA may be denied housing in a building containing four or fewer units where the owner lives in one, and in cases where an individual who owns three or fewer single-family homes and does not use a broker to manage those homes.
The Air Carrier Access Act states “carriers shall permit dogs and other service animals used by persons with a disability to accompany the persons on a flight.” Airlines are not required to permit emotional-support snakes (or other reptiles), rodents, or spiders in the cabin.
People often ask about the difference between PTSD dogs (that is, dogs who are used to assist a person who has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder) and emotional-support dogs. PTSD dogs are a type of psychiatric service dog. Like all legitimate service dogs, PTSD dogs have been trained to perform specific tasks that mitigate the handler’s psychiatric disability. For example, a PTSD dog might be trained to recognize and respond to an impending panic attack or interrupt self-mutilation behaviors.
Emotional-support dogs are not trained to perform specific tasks related to the psychiatric disability, yet in many cases, the dog’s presence is considered physically or psychologically beneficial to the disabled handler.
To review: PTSD dogs are service dogs and emotional-support animals are not. Handlers with medically necessary emotional-support animals can fly with their animal and request that the animal be accepted in most housing situations that wouldn’t otherwise allow pets. However, they are not allowed in typical “no pets” areas such as inside restaurants, shops, hospitals, office buildings, etc.
Service Dog FAQs
When it comes to navigating the seemingly endless sea of information pertaining to service-dog law, the following questions are most commonly asked:
Do all service dogs come from professional organizations?
No. Service dogs are not required to be trained by a professional organization in order to earn the ADA’s right to access, and many handlers choose to self-train their dogs. However, it’s important that prospective handlers carefully evaluate their own skills when deciding whether to self-train, train with the help of a professional trainer, or look for an already trained dog from a reputable organization.
For a person who has never previously had a dog, working with a service-dog program can be helpful. Dailyah Rudek, a service-dog law and mediation expert and executive director of The ProBoneO Program, says, “For someone who is a novice dog handler, we definitely have a bias toward a program-trained dog.”
Handlers with a bit of dog training experience under their belt have access to myriad resources to assist them throughout the owner-training journey. Rudek says it’s imperative that those looking to owner-train familiarize themselves with – and utilize – as many of the resources as possible.
“If folks are diligent about it and go step by step, and if they’re lucky enough to get a dog who has the right temperament, owner-trained dogs can be incredibly successful,” she says.
People searching for a professionally trained service dog must exercise due diligence. While the members of ADI are screened as part of their paid membership, dog training remains an unregulated industry, which means any trainer can advertise “trained service dogs” for sale, often with shockingly high price tags.
“People need to be beyond careful,” Rudek says. “You hear stories all the time – people who paid $10,000 for a dog and it doesn’t even know how to sit. I wouldn’t pay that kind of money unless I knew they had successfully trained at least 15 different teams, and I’d had a chance to speak with some of those satisfied customers and see them in action.”
Are service dogs required to be certified?
No. There is no legally recognized, nor federally required, national certification for service dogs, nor is there a legitimate national registry for service dogs. However, a quick Internet search reveals any number of websites offering to “register” a dog as a service dog – for a fee, and without any type of evaluation. Such sites typically sound authoritative, with names boasting words such as “national,” “United States,” and “official,” and offer things like registration certificates, photo identification cards, and service-dog patches – all for a price.
While it is not required, some legitimate dog/handler teams choose to pay for the official-looking paperwork and other accessories, as showing such items sometimes simplifies access issues when dealing with business owners who are not familiar with the law. However, to those truly knowledgeable of the regulations, such paraphernalia is a potential red flag.
“Personally, I am inherently suspicious of anyone who shows me an identification card because the law says you don’t need one,” cautions Matthew Karpinski, chief legal officer for The ProBoneO Program.
It’s also been said within the service-dog community that legitimate handlers who choose to show things like identification cards inadvertently make it harder for those within the community who don’t, because it sends a mixed message to businesses, many of which become more resistant to teams who lack the same gear.
Paul Vaughn of Kennesaw, Georgia, purchased Hunter as a puppy. Paul and his wife trained Hunter to be Paul’s service dog. Hunter’s primary duties are to help Paul around the house, picking up and giving items to Paul as needed. And when Paul’s arm falls off his armrest, preventing him from driving his power chair, Hunter pushes Paul’s arm back up onto the armrest.
Are there any standards for service dogs at all?
The answer to this depends on what is meant by standards. As discussed above, service-dog/handler teams don’t need any official certifications in order to have public access. However, many service-dog advocacy organizations, including International Association of Assistance Dog Partners and Assistance Dogs International, promote a similar set of minimum training standards for service dogs, which they recommend handlers meet or exceed when training or working a service dog in public.
The two above-mentioned organizations address a minimum number of training hours for basic obedience and public access-specific issues. They also provide basic guidelines for obedience and the ability to perform disability-related tasks on cue. The standards state that a service dog must not display any signs of aggression (either natural or elicited on-cue, such as in protection work), and further include the handler’s responsibilities as part of the dog-handler team.
Both sets of standards can be used as a road map of sorts for handlers wishing to train their own service dogs, or when training in partnership with a professional trainer. They are also used by professional organizations that provide fully trained service dogs. When a dog/handler team successfully meets the minimum standards or passes the public access test, the team is often considered “certified” by virtue of meeting the standard. It’s a tricky choice of words, as it likely contributes to the public’s confusion regarding the lack of a legally required certification. (Perhaps referring to such dogs as “verified” versus “certified” would lessen the confusion?)
“We at ADI call a dog who has passed our public access test a ‘certified dog,’ but it’s not a certification that’s required by law,” Jeanine Konopelski explains. “It’s sort of like, if you work in finance and you have an MBA; you’re not legally required to have that certification. The certification is something we do to make sure that the dog can abide by and adhere to the different guidelines for public access,” she adds, pointing out that the certification is for the dog/handler pair as a team and not the individual dog.
Why isn’t there a national certification for service dogs?
Experts cite two major challenges of implementing a national certification process for service dogs: Who would be responsible for testing, and how would such a program be funded?
“The disabled are statistically in the lowest economic bracket,” Rudek says. “To have a test become mandatory, you’d have to make it super accessible to a bunch of people, many of whom don’t drive and who have no money. How do you make that work? Many people say, ‘Well, what about making it like a driver’s license?’ and the problem with that is that driving is a privilege, not a right. If you’re disabled, having your service dog with you is a civil right.”
Currently, a Canadian province is exploring new regulations that will potentially limit access to “no pets” areas to only those teams trained by professional ADI partners and the International Guide Dog Federation. Such a move, while likely initiated in an effort to raise the training standards, could severely limit the disabled community’s access to service dogs. Karpinski estimates that in the United States, only 1 to 5 percent of all service dogs are trained through a professional training organization.
Can states pass different laws to protect or prohibit the use of service dogs or ESAs?
Service-dog law is complicated by the fact that there are two levels of legislation to be considered – state and federal, says Karpinski. While the ADA provides federal protection for the public access of service-dog teams that meet its qualifications, individual counties and states have the option of drafting additional laws that extend ADA accommodations. For example, many states have their own laws that prohibit denying access to a service-dog team, making it a state crime that carries a hefty fine. States may not, however, pass legislation that limits the disabled person’s protections to less than what the ADA provides.
The difference between state versus federal protection is most relevant when addressing public access violations. If a team is denied access where it is against state law to do so, the police can be called and the issue is likely to be promptly resolved. In states without that enhanced protection, the team’s only recourse is to file a complaint with the Department of Justice – a much longer process.
Can states require that service dogs be certified, or require that handlers show proof that the dog has been vaccinated?
Remember, state laws cannot be more restrictive than federal law. Therefore, states can’t require any special certification in order for the team to be granted the public access rights that are outlined in the ADA. However, individual states can designate certain requirements in order for the team to receive state-specific enhanced protections.
For example, let’s say the law in a handler’s state specifies that service dogs must be identified via orange vests. The handler may choose not to follow this rule, since state laws cannot be more restrictive than federal laws, and the ADA does not require service dogs to work in vests. However, should an issue arise – say, a local business owner denies the team access – the handler will not have state law on his side. It’s still a crime to deny the team access, but the denial must be dealt with through the Department of Justice as a federal rights violation as opposed to a state law violation.
Regarding proof of vaccination, Rudek says it’s likely that states assert that service-dog handlers must be ready to show proof of vaccination for rabies by virtue of the numerous jurisdictional laws that say all dogs must have current rabies vaccinations. “In many cases, courts have found that the presence of a current rabies tag on the service dogs’ collar is sufficient proof that the dog is up to date on vaccinations,” she says.
Are service dogs in training protected by the ADA?
No. ADA’s public access protection is extended only to service dogs who have been successfully task-trained to mitigate the handler’s disability.
That said, individual state laws may address service dogs in training. Where they do, the laws are as varied as the states’ topography. For example, in Montana, handlers with service dogs in training are granted public access provided that the dogs are clearly identified as such. Georgia and Virginia specify that dogs in training must be with professional trainers. Michigan also specifies that dogs in training must be with professional trainers, and the state’s Department of Labor even maintains a list of approved trainers. The trainers must show photo ID stating they are representatives of an approved organization, if requested.
We all love dogs, and anytime we bring a dog out in public – anywhere that dog is legally allowed to join us – we have a responsibility to ensure that the dog can behave appropriately. Ill-behaved dogs are seen as a nuisance and can indirectly create additional challenges for people who rely on service dogs. Handlers of service and emotional-support dogs have enough challenges, without having to face discrimination or hostility over the use of their canine aids.
Jeanine Konopelski is a spokesperson for Assistance Dogs International (ADI), a non-profit coalition of more than 100 organizations working together to promote assistance dogs and the benefits they provide to people with disabilities. Konopelski recommends the phrase “assistance dog” as an umbrella term that covers a variety of working dogs who are specially trained to aid people in different ways.
ADI further refers to “guide dogs” (those that are specifically trained to assist handlers who are visually impaired), “hearing dogs” (those who are specifically trained to assist handlers who are deaf or hard of hearing), and “service dogs.” The latter is a broad category that can include dogs with skills such as alerting to impending seizures, recovering dropped items, assisting with mobility, retrieving medication or emergency equipment, or interrupting self-mutilation caused by obsessive-compulsive disorder.
These are just a few ways in which a service dog can be trained to assist his or her handler. The common denominator is the specific task or tasks for which the dog has been trained to assist a disabled handler.
Lori Weltz is a disabled veteran whose Doge de Bordeaux service dog, Diesel, helps her by bracing (so she can balance and get up), pulling her out of chairs or up small stairs, and picking up items that she drops. Diesel and Weltz, shown here after Weltz’s spinal surgery, trained together at the All American Dog Training Academy in Clearwater, Florida.
What about “therapy dogs”?
Many people confuse therapy dogs with service dogs, but they are very different. Therapy dog teams are volunteers with pet dogs who have been trained to a standard that deems them safe and appropriate for interactions that provide emotional comfort to others. These volunteer teams are routinely found in hospitals, assisted living facilities, and other care centers, but can also be found on college campuses during finals week, alongside children while in family court, or as part of literacy programs in public libraries.
Therapy dog teams are usually registered with a therapy dog organization. To become registered, the dog and handler are evaluated to ensure that the dog is of a sound temperament and that the dog and handler work well together as a team. Therapy dog teams are not guaranteed public access; whether or not they are welcomed in any facility that doesn’t ordinarily allow dogs is entirely up to the individual establishment.
Whether it’s the most common violation of these three Acts (ADA, Fair Housing, and Air Carrier Access) or the one that makes advocates for the disabled the angriest is a matter of debate, but the most talked-about abuse of legislation that protects the rights of disabled people has to do with “fake service dogs.”
In some cases, this is a matter of people who are not disabled trying to pass off their dogs as service dogs in order to bring their dogs with them into places dogs are not ordinarily allowed. In others, it’s people taking emotional-support dogs into places where only service dogs are allowed, such as restaurants, grocery stores, and public transportation.
The perpetrators of these violations may themselves be ignorant of the laws they are breaking, or knowingly taking advantage of the ignorance (or resignation) of the business owners or operators who could – theoretically – lawfully turn them away or even (in some states) summon law enforcement officials to enforce the health codes or other state laws that restrict non-service dogs.
Individual state laws vary. In the case of misrepresenting a pet dog as a service dog, the relevant laws often deal with the misrepresentation of the person, not the dog – meaning, it is a crime to falsely present oneself as being disabled and therefore in need of a service dog.
There is no federal law against representing a pet dog as a service dog. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights act designed to protect the rights of people with disabilities, including those who use service dogs. The ADA does not address individuals without disabilities, such as anyone who might falsely claim that a pet is a service animal.
“Because this issue does not address the civil rights of people with disabilities, it is not in our regulating authority under the ADA to issue regulations to penalize false claims that a pet is a service animal. However, we note that state civil or criminal law may already penalize such claims in some circumstances,” a Department of Justice spokesperson told us.
That’s the law, but what’s morally and ethically right? We think it’s important to keep the people that the laws are in place to protect – the disabled – foremost in consideration. When in “mixed” company, dogs who are less than perfectly behaved make it more difficult for actual service dogs to perform their own important work. Also, poorly behaved dogs may increase the slow-burning resentment of business operators toward all dogs, leading to an atmosphere of suspicion and a distinct lack of welcome.
Dailyah Rudek and her service dog, Riley, enjoy a break. A passionate supporter of service dogs, Rudek started The ProBoneO Program, a nonprofit organization that provides legal resources to people who use service dogs.
How to catch a fake service dog
This is a trick; the fact is, you can’t always identify a fake service dog, just like you often can’t always visually detect a person’s disability. As dog lovers, we can’t help but notice other dogs, especially in places that don’t welcome all dogs. And when we see dogs with people who appear perfectly abled, it can be easy to wonder why the person has a service dog and if it’s legitimate.
“Society has a lot of issues with invisible disabilities – the whole ‘you don’t look disabled’ thing,” says Matthew Karpinski, chief legal officer for The ProBoneO Program. “Just because a person doesn’t look disabled doesn’t mean he’s not. I don’t know anybody with a disabled parking placard who isn’t in a wheelchair who hasn’t been confronted by some self-efficacious person challenging them. What somebody looks like gives you no information about their disability status.”
Even assessing the dog’s behavior isn’t 100 percent accurate when it comes to spotting what you might think is a “fake” service dog. Often, the dog suspected to be a “fake” is owned by a disabled person who is doing the best she can to train her dog for public access, but whose dog might be struggling with that facet of the job.
“There are people who take a pet dog they already have and try to turn it into a service dog because they can’t afford to get or keep two dogs,” says ProBoneO’s executive director, Dailyah Rudek. “Some people will wash out a dog with problems, but many won’t; they’ll try and work through the issue because they don’t feel like they have any other options.”
“I have met several task-trained service dogs who aren’t dogs you’d want to take with you for public access because they aren’t comfortable in public,” Karpinski says. “That doesn’t mean they aren’t true service dogs, but it might mean that they are useful to their partners only at home.”
Bottom line: Whether the dog is a legitimate task-trained service dog or dog-in-training, or belongs to a pet owner trying to get away with cruising the coffee shop with his Cockapoo, if the dog is ill behaved, the problem should be immediately addressed by the business establishment.
Responsible service-dog handlers aim to keep their dogs as inconspicuous as possible, and are quick to take corrective action if the dog’s behavior becomes problematic. When they don’t, businesses are legally allowed to ask the handler to remove the dog. While many business owners are afraid to exercise this right, not doing so has created significant problems for the disability community.
“Many businesses aren’t asking handlers to remove their dogs because they are afraid of being sued and just think the problem will go away in an hour or so,” says Dailyah Rudek, executive director of The ProBoneO Program. “Then, unfortunately, they go and talk to their lawmakers.” This has led to attempts to draft tighter state service-dog laws. While states cannot enact service-dog laws that are narrower in scope than the federal law, they can draft laws that retract state-specific enhanced protections, such as removing access that had previously been granted to service dogs in training. Additionally, the increased public attention to proposed regulation changes often means that all service-dog teams are more harshly scrutinized. “Handlers have fought so hard over the years to get higher protections, and now we’re seeing more language that would potentially pull back some of those extra protections,” Rudek says.
To help combat this problem, The ProBoneO Program is launching a campaign targeting business owners with the goal of educating them about their rights and the responsibilities of service-dog handlers. When a dog is behaving inappropriately in public, Rudek says it’s important that business owners exercise their right to ask the handler to remove the dog. Doing so encourages legitimate service-dog handlers to maintain minimum public access standards for their dogs, while discouraging pet owners from attempting to “fake it” by bringing ill-mannered pet dogs into establishments that don’t ordinarily permit pets.
Rudek has the following recommendations for business owners who are concerned about risks to their establishments or other customers posed by ill-behaved real or “fake” service dogs:
– Know the legally allowable questions that can be asked: 1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? 2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform? Business owners should understand that the questions must be answered in a credible fashion.
– Consider compromising with the handler. Acknowledge that the team is struggling, and perhaps invite them to return on a less busy day when the business could offer a bit more leeway with the dog’s behavior. This is especially helpful for handlers who are trying to train through an issue while in public.
– Offer an alternate means of accommodation that does not involve the dog. For example, an employee can gather the items on the handler’s shopping list or otherwise assist the person in the absence of the dog.
– Seek out a witness or two who can attest to the dog’s inappropriate behavior; this could go a long way toward preventing a lawsuit.
– If the establishment utilizes surveillance video, keep any related footage for at least two years.
– Proactively call the Department of Justice ADA Hotline to report having to require that a dog be removed, and why.
I’ve had a number of older owners book lessons with me lately—more than half a dozen individuals and couples in their 70s and even 80s, all wanting some training help with their new dogs or puppies.
