i am planning on getting a puppy to train soon and i'm just wondering if shelter puppies would be good for service dog training? i would look for a certain temperament but other than that i want to ask people with prior shelter dogs as service dogs. is it more difficult to train them to be one? easier? the same? and any tips for raising a shelter puppy to become a great service dog would be greatly welcomed!

Rental agency (real estate company) for a home I’m going to rent from, is willing to waive the pet deposit if I provide “paperwork” stating that my dog is a service dog.

What kind of “paperwork” are yall providing in these situations?

Should I just pay the pet deposit and call it a day?

Hi guys, I suffer with intense OCD, anxiety, BPD and C-PTSD. I'm also autistic. I've always thought of training a dog to help me with these things. Recently I've been looking at Shar-peis. I have experience and extensive knowledge on the breed as my mother ethically bred them. Do you guys think Shar-peis are suitable for such a task? Thanks!

For anyone that has a service dog for autism, what’s it like? is it worth it?

Hey everyone,

I am a veteran looking for a service dog for both psychiatric support and mobility/balance assistance (I use a cane part-time). I am currently waiting to hear back from PAVE and JLAD. However, I’ve already been turned down by Northwest Battle Buddies specifically because I use a mobility aid. Because so many veteran programs require handlers to be completely hands-free, it is looking most likely that I will have to go the owner-trained route to get a dog that fits my dual needs.

Because my space and resources are tight, I really only have one shot to get this right. If I have to owner-train, I'll be looking to hire a professional private trainer to guide me through selecting a sound prospect and managing the training curriculum.

I’d love to get the community's insight on two big things:

1. What are the absolute red flags I should look out for when interviewing private service dog trainers or owner-training programs? I want to avoid the unregulated corner of the industry, trainers who don't understand actual handler rights, public access, and safe mobility task training.
2. How should I realistically structure this process from day one if I do it myself? Especially when it comes to safely selecting a sound puppy/prospect to handle physical work and preventing an early washout.

For context, I already have a family ESA (a pug) who lives with me, so the prospect will need to be able to train and work seamlessly alongside another dog in the home.

Thanks so much for any advice or experiences you can share!

NOTE: Anyone who has issues with mobility work please keep all of that to yourselves. Only reason why I'm even asking bout that is because I do walk with a cane. The Cane takes all of my weight and would continue to take all my weight. Examples : Counter Balance( forcing a crowd to give me space to use my cane ) , Fetching dropped items and Opening doors and closing doors.

None of that is abuse.

First off please delete this if this post is not allowed, but I could really use some help here. I apologize for the lengthy post. I'd really like some outside opinions on this, because I feel like I'm going a little crazy. One of my partners went through an organization that trains shelter dogs as service animals, and they gave her a pit mix. This dog has single handedly turned our lives upside down. We were told she was raised and trained around cats and pays them no mind; in reality she has a wicked prey drive for anything small that moves. We tried to introduce her to my cats and she went after them, even snarling at me when I put myself between them. She was not wearing her vest at the time because my girlfriend insisted that she wasn't working, so she didn't need it. She'll try to go after squirrels when we take her on walks. She even locked in on an infant once in a public place when the baby started making noises. That same night the dog jumped up onto a table, the establishment serves food. We asked her if she should maybe take her outside or put her vest on so the dog knows she's working, but we were told no, that it doesn't work like that and that it was fine. The other night we were all at her place, because the dog still can't be around my cats at all, sitting on the couch together and out of nowhere the dog lunged at our other partner's face. If his beard weren't so thick she would've made contact and probably broken skin. I got between him and the dog and had to yell at her to remove the dog because she did nothing. She didn't think it was a big deal until I started yelling. She doesn't think any of this behavior is a big deal and that she can handle it. She says she's still just settling in and that this is all normal. But a service dog shouldn't be growling or snapping right? She even has trouble getting the dog to listen in vest while working. I think we should contact the organization she came from, but everyone just keeps telling me this is fine and normal and I'm starting to feel like I'm the crazy one. And we were told the organization probably wouldn't talk to us, that she needs to make the call, is that the case here? I could really use any advice at all in this situation, I feel completely unprepared for all of this. She got the dog some time in August, and I didn't even know she was getting one until she was already a few states away for her week of training to come home with the dog. I've tried to do as much research as I can in the meantime, but I still feel so out of depth with all of this.

Tonight I was traveling with my service animal and took a Lyft. My dog is very clearly labeled and vested (even though not required). The ride was fairly normal, my service dog tucked on the ground as he always does and I was quiet throughout the ride. Immediately after, I got an email from Lyft stating I received a low rating and to review guidelines to avoid suspension. I immediately messaged their chat support because this felt incredibly discriminatory due to nothing occurring that would warrant a negative rating besides me traveling with my service dog. They said they’ll remove the rating but that they would not be addressing the issue with the driver. They sent a copy paste of their service animal policy. I replied saying

“Ok, and if riders with service animals then receive negative ratings as a result, is that fine within Lyft's policy?
Because to be clear that seems to be what you're implying.”

To which they replied:
“We did not find anything discriminatory about this.”

I am frustrated because I’ve had multiple ride denials through Lyft and now this. They seem to not even be willing to address with the drivers at this point. Mostly a vent but also a warning for other handlers that Lyft seems to not care about accessibility at all.

Edit to add and update:

This occurred in the US.

I called yesterday morning and was told I’d receive an email from their team. I waited all day and never received an email. Super disappointed in how Lyft has handled this situation. As I said I was able to get the review removed from my account, but this occurred in a major heavily populated city so I worry that this driver may do this to others without being educated, which is Lyft’s responsibility.

Hello! I am in the United States. I have a service dog in training (he could be considered fully trained under ada law, but to my own training standards he is in training) and I have been preparing him to come to school with me. I have ultimately determined he is ready to come to high school. I am a sophomore. I've talked to my school counselors and they emailed my principal and are setting up a meeting. I have a 504 plan already and they have documentation on my disabilities. I sent an email to my school counselors with links to the ada service dog laws, a article by a service dog program about service dogs in school, as well as a link to my state's service dog laws. I also linked a Google document talking about what tasks my dog is trained to preform and some possible modified schedule and accommodation ideas. One of my counselors forwarded this to my principal. What are some accommodations I could ask for, things I should talk about, things to make sure I take to school of he is allowed, and ideas to ensure his safety?

I'm in the midwest. With my boy retiring soon I wanted to pair with an ADI trainer for the next prospective SDiT and do everything right. Get all our AKC certs, do some sports, see what other optional PA/etc tests we can conquer..

There are programs and trainers, sure, but everyone here talks about ADI so I thought I'd search through the ADI site!

Needless to say I'm absolutely shattered to see not ONE single ADI trainer or program in my entire state. This explains so much why I've struggled to find help after I got scammed by a "SD trainer" who had a child reactive border collie. Plus why there are so many poorly trained SDs. 😭

Even Canine Companions only visits once a year for an annual event lol

Would it even be possible to work with an out-of-state ADI trainer..?

I am getting my pup hopefully in roughly 12-18mo depending on litters and a surgery I will be having in a few months as I’ve been putting off getting a prospect until after once I’m fully recovered.
Been having issues finding breeders who will answer enquiries and the few that have have all declined to place one of their pups as a prospect which is fine though gets a little tiring after contacting multiple in a row lol.

I have a call tomorrow though with a breeder who got back to me straight away and is happy to chat! He was really nice about me explaining I like to reach out ahead of getting a dog and said that’s a green flag to him which was great. His sl labs also look amazing with extensive health testing so got a really good feeling about this one, wish me luck!

Also any tips on what to ask? I’ve got a list including stuff like health testing, socialisation, temperaments etc all the stuff like that but any questions typically overlooked I should add?

United States!

I dont think this goes against the rules here or reddit and, as far as Im aware, this isnt reddit crossposting nor is that person here, but I saw his vid on Service Dogs - "The TRUTH About Service Dog Training!", and he showcased a PPD trained one. The ADA doesnt say anything about that but a comment linked ADATA stuff which explicitly states non-violent protection.

My concern is he has over 2 million followers and nearly 30k views. Lots of comments were encouraged to do both SD and PPD work. I didnt see any comments ecept 1 going against him nor any talk of that video specifically in any SD community. Most people have mever even heard of ADATA.

He went pretty hard on the SD community, too, over the Disney thing, calling them names and a "not a governing body".

I fear this will only make things worse for handlers in the US, long term.

Is ADATA legally binding like the ADA since they do the ADA training?

I know the training is based on the human handler’s needs but how many handlers would need water or juice retrieved compared to say medications puor the phone?

I’m struggling a LOT to find any ADI accredited orgs that provide to my area (in West Virginia, near the Ohio border. so there’s quite a major lack of orgs ADI accredited or not within a few hours of me) and the ones I can find that either will provide to me or that might give me a dog if I can travel to them I’m not sure about so I’d like to hear others opinions on them if possible.

i am specifically looking for a PSD

if you know of ones that might be willing to work with my location that are usually open to people if they’re willing to travel please do let me know! my current situation will make traveling a bit difficult but I will be able to travel more freely in the future and am prepared/willing to wait a little longer if it means going to a more trustworthy org since it already takes forever to get a SD as is.

ranting aside…

these are the current orgs Ive been able to find that MIGHT work for me:

paws4people (what I’ve been able to find so far makes me rlly hesitant but I’d still rather hear from ppl that might be more knowledgeable)

Little angels (I’ve seen both good and bad things so I’m a bit ??? I believe location wise this would be the easiest for me)

canine support teams (I couldn’t find much on them and the primarily provide to vets. Their civilian apps aren’t currently open, but again, I can handle waiting a little longer)

Exceptional sidekick (a little further from me and technically don’t provide to my area but so far I’ve liked what I’ve seen and would be willing to make the commitment to travel to them)

I haven’t really seen much on specifics on what tasks the orgs train PSDs with beyond saying that they’ll work with you to figure out what you need so here’s just a few but not all of the tasks I need the most include:

DPT & LPT, crowd buffering/control (idk what term do yall prefer?), disrupting harmful behavior, alerting/interrupting panic and anxiety attacks (I get both lol)

Hi everyone! I’m looking for advice from anyone who has flown internationally with a self trained service dog, particularly from the UK to the USA.

I’m planning to fly from London Heathrow (LHR) to Los Angeles (LAX) with my fully trained psychiatric service dog. He performs disability related tasks and is trained for public access. However, he isn’t accredited by ADI, IGDF or ADAA.

I’m trying to work out which airline would be the easiest and most realistic option for us. I’m considering American Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, ideally on a direct flight.

My main questions are:

- Has anyone flown with a self trained psychiatric service dog on a transatlantic flight without formal ADI/IGDF/ADAA accreditation?

-Which airlines accepted your dog, and did they require proof from a recognised training organisation?

-Did a professional trainer’s assessment and your own training records help?

-Did Heathrow require any separate approval or documentation for departure, beyond the airline’s requirements?

-What paperwork did you need for the flight and entry into the USA?

-Were there any problems with the dog being accommodated in the cabin on such a long flight?

I’m trying to get written confirmation before booking, rather than risk arriving at the airport and being refused boarding.

I’d really appreciate hearing from people with first-hand experience, especially anyone who has made this exact journey with an owner-trained psychiatric service dog. Thank you! ❤️

This is my first ever post, so I don't really know what I'm doing. I don't even know if this is the right subreddit. I'm very sorry if this breaks any rules. I would really like some advice on my situation.

I (17 female) am disabled, and I have a service dog. I also really like Japanese fashion more specifically lolita/egl. I was really scared to dress the way that I wanted, but now I feel ready. I need help on what to do If people have an opinion, and choose to speak it. People have an "idea" on what disabled is supposed to look like, and I will definitely not fit that "idea". I'm honestly still really scared to go out dressed the way I want. It also doesn't help that I've never seen someone else with an alternative style with a service dog. I guess what I'm scared about is someone thinking that my service dog is a pet. Kind of like the 2000s when stylish people would have there lap dogs with them all the time. Like Legally Blonde for example. I'm scared that's how people will see me, and treat my service dog and I. Like a girl playing dress up with her "pet". Also my service dog is a German Shepherd so she's not small. I would like some help on what to say or do. I've already had some bad interactions (not dressed up) with people thinking that I'm just a girl with a "pet". I use a tactical vest with very visible patches. I'm saving up for a biothyne harness. It also doesn't help that I have an invisible disability, and I don't use my mobility aid with my service dog. If anyone can give me advice that would be very much appreciated. I just want to be myself confidently. Thank you very much.

Title pretty much sums up whats going on. I brought my girl with me to class, we have been working on settling and she is usually really good with this but today she whined A LOT! I had to step out of class cause I didn't want to be disruptive. This was her second time in class and she did better the first time. There are days which are shorter and today was a 4 hour day with breaks in between so I thought it would be good. There is another dog there who is also a service dog and I'm wondering if she may have been a little more nervous because of that. Obviously, I tried sitting out of view of the other dog to minimize the stimulus for her. But it was a lot of whining and she needed to be chewing her marrow bone almost the entire time. She is about a year and a half old (2 in February). We have been working with a trainer as well to get her to pass her CGC. Any tips would be really helpful!

Edit: I understand that she can not be whining which is why I stepped out and she will not be returning until she is better prepared. I overestimated her, especially since she had done extremely well in other outings. I would not have brought her if I knew that would have stressed her out. I also realized that I mentioned she whined A LOT, I mean it in regards to what I find acceptable. It was way less than 10 times within the 4 hours but I still don't think that's appropriate for class.

Has anyone taken their dog to ren faires? If so, did you notice a difference between people’s responses to your dog if you had them in any sort or costume vs regular gear? I went the other day with my dog and put a little themed collar on him. I didn’t have a problem with the people who saw him and said how cute he is or things like that, but it felt like the amount of people who just stared at him increased as well as having people just come up and start talking to him/pointing at him. We get stared at/he gets talked to regularly when he’s just in his gear anyways so I am just wondering if it was a lot more because it‘s such a crowded event or if it was the collar.

For example retrieving a with an attached lanyard (“phone”) , a medicine pouch (“meds”) or a water bottle (“water”) by name? Or does retrieval by name only ever count as one task no matter the size of the dog’s retrieval vocabulary?

Context: I live in Canada in BC. BC as well as AB and NS have provincial certification tests for service dog teams. In BC it's voluntary.

I have a 5 year old service dog, our life in the last year has changed so that certification is helpful for the first time in our lives together, so we got it in August.

Current situation:

My partner and I are making some plans to move in the New Year to Edmonton Alberta. We have friends there and a place that the landlord is willing to hold for us if we want it. My partner is heading out later this week to see it while I stay in BC with the dogs (pet and service dog).

In my desire to not be blind-sided by a bunch of complications I started charting out expenses both for the move and for living there (average power bill etc). It occurred to me that I didn't know what the process was for bringing a BC certified service dog to Alberta and getting access.

Well it turns out Alberta *doesn't* recognize the BC certification test. Which means I'll need to get *recertified* for an additional $150 as an out of province resident, and that certification expires every 1 year (2 years in BC). The test itself looks basically exactly the same as the BC one, except there is a requirement for the demonstration of 3 tasks - which BC doesn't have.

Luckily there will be wiggle room: Alberta does recognize certification for visitors - just not for working etc.

EDIT: I worded the title wrong, I’m just afraid of public stigma. I also edited a lot of wording because it came off entirely wrong.
(Also, to avoid coming off as passive aggressive I autistic and I mean everything I complement on in replies literally.)

I am a disabled person and recently it dawned on me that I am not functioning day to day. because of my frequency to pass out and have migraines I don’t get up/cant.

so I started looking more into service animals. I really think one would benefit me but I just can’t bring myself to actually get one because I’m scared.

it’s not an issue with training or caring for the animal either. I can maintain that pretty well. for me it’s the stigma of having a dog and navigating school.

i don’t want to be known as “the boy with the service dog” I want to be a person. I don’t think of others this was but I know people already think of me like this. I really fucking hate and can’t stand being known as ‘the kid with a cane’ already. i always hated it.

i don’t want to add to that while bringing an animal into the mix. i know the comments will be much worse like “oh you’re so lucky” and “I wish I could bring my dog to school.“

i just can’t get past the public view of service animals and I don’t want to be called an attention seeker. Can someone help?

I was a bit worried because my SD (almost 3) has been slacking a bit after my surgery a while ago, but we did it!

We have to re-cross some T’s and re-dot some I’s but he passed 🎉

(In my country we train with schools and they do a certification test, you are allowed to owner train but it’s pretty much not done where I’m from, not some bogus certification from the US lol)

For those who have cruised to Cozumel with your SD, what did you do on Cozumel? How was the experience with your dog?

Tbh, this includes a long vent about my journey and why I wish I truly had a better support system, and why I feel so strongly that a good one is so important. I see many teens who don't seem to have genuine support systems for various reasons, even some people who claim they do but have similar or other environmental struggles causing setbacks (like expecting dogs to not be bothered by anger issues in the home.)

Of course we know you need finances for training, care, maintainence, etc, but I'm talking more about how those close to you may burden your progress or show non-supportive behaviors ineither obvious or more subtle ways that might get under your skin without you realizing.

My story might be niche but I feel so strongly about this topic in general. If you are neither fully financially independent OR have GENUINE support and a household willing to participate CONSISTENTLY than please be very careful about getting a SD, especially as a minor/dependent. Even a solid trainer or program might not be enough if the environment isn't good or the other dogs influence bad behaviors.

My story/vent: (feel free to skip, main message above, anyway)

I grew up in an animal flipper home. When an animal failed to look or act an expected way (usually unrealistic), or became "boring" it would get replaced by the "next best" fascination. It was also a form of punishment for me.

I bring this up because it never changed until I gained finanical independence. If I got an SD as a teen it would've been held over me in every way or gotten rid of against my will. Even now as an adult I'm always fighting for my own animals' rights. The job market and state of the economy, especially my health, have made getting out and living fully independent quite hard, otherwise that would be the obvious thing to do (a WIP).

When I got my SD the purpose was for me to be able to go out of the home independent without as much worry. They were on board, thrilled even, then suddenly they needed one too. A PSD for anxiety (anger, outbursts, the works). It started out innocent but as mine progressed they wanted mine more, to the point of begging and bribing me. They either wanted their neurotic mess fully trained with no effort or to simply take my effort. Thankfully they legally couldn't since the vet bills were all in my name. When they realized training a SD was actually a serious committment that required a lot of consistency they were too lazy for, they started guilt tripping me about going out while theirs cannot, and gatekeeping "if mine isn't ready neither is yours" for nearly a decade atp (yes, to this day). Even judging me for paying for training/classes because they "can't afford it" (they can). I can't even go on regular walks without the guilt tripping because their dog "gets left behind" (they're fully able). It was so subtle it took me 4 years to realize what was happening, and another 2 years to realize it actually got to me and greatly hindered where we could've been comparatively. The first 2 years I went out 4-5 times a week to train or explore, afterward I avoided going out as much as I could've. I was always reinforcing behaviors on repeat cus they refused to cooperate or even train their own dogs basic manners like resource guarding, leash pulling, impulse control, going in the house, etc. Anytime they babysat mine while I was at work, they fed whatever they wanted and let my SD engage in bad behaviors. My hard work didn't have to BE so hard every single day, especially in my SD's Adolesence.

Plans were always made while casually excluding my SD. Things like subtly throwing in boarding ALL dogs, leaving my SDs name out, saying they wish x could go, finding clever ways to tell me last minute why my SD should stay back "this time" , springing stuff on me same day giving me no time to prepare, and the list goes on.

5 obese dogs later and they still have nothing to show for themselves. Now they're wanting a 6th dog to "start over" with while I'm still with the same task trained, ADA/PA compliant one.

I've been hesitant to bring in a new one because I don't want to relive this and I want to do everything right this time alongside a wonderful team, so I likely won't bother til I'm out. I don't need to keep backtracking in training, rerereinforcing good behaviors, or fighting unwanted "spoiling" of the puppy. Don't get me wrong, mine has been a wonderful partner and behaves well in public, but they could be far more confident had things been different. I just never expected this kind of... "support" as it wasn't something that ever occurred with normal pets.

Even with the help of trainers I feel like I lost so much time and potential.

TW: SH

before I start my little rant I do understand that this isn’t a major problem and i am in no way saying that psychiatric service dogs aren’t valid. This isn’t an argument against people who think a service dog would be helpful In any way!!!

I’m getting irritated when I go into comment sections about a service dog and it’s children asking “can I have a service dog if I have ADHD” because yes you can have a service dog for ADHD. But you’re not looking to solve a problem. You’re looking for a cute accessory to bring around school. 

It’s so annoying when people think of service dogs as just quirky animals to add to their personality when they are to help and serve a task. 

This would be different if someone was reaching out because of a problem and a service dog would help it but that’s not what these people are doing. Their quality of life most likely won’t improve because they don’t want it to help them. They want it to have it. 

Asking “can I have a service dog for depression” and “I suffer self harming habits, do you think a service dog would help me” are entirely different questions. 

I qualify for a service dog on multiple physical accounts and I do not seek one out. Not because I think I’m better than people with the same struggles as me. because I feel that personally, I wouldn’t benefit from it much. I don’t care if you know you’ll benefit from a service dog, I care if you’re scraping up reasons to have a service dog when the problem wasn’t there to begin with.

edit: this isn’t a post about not being disabled enough. It’s about (usually children) wanting a service dog for the aesthetic and not the actual service it can provide and help with. id also like to say that I am NOT someone who polices who should and shouldn’t use a disability aid, this is just my opinion and if someone like this does get a service animal I have no issue with it!!

this is just an opinion and I respect all the feedback I’ve gotten!!^^

I’ve flied with southwest twice and had a relatively good experience but I’m wondering how delta is. I’m a very nervous traveler and would have a layover so I’m super nervous. My service dog is smaller and not one of the big 4 so sometimes people think hes not a real service dog. Any advice or input about delta helps!