# My Service Dog,



## Alex Moyer (Aug 16, 2014)

I have a wonderful Malinois, Casey, who is both a loving friend and helping service animal .
I'll be sure to update with pictures ! She is trained to accompany me everywhere in a calm and meaningful way . trained to indicate anxieties/stresses i'm unaware of and she does a great job !
surely has proven herself to be far better than any pharmaceutical drug or natural remedy . she's trained to comfort me or retrieve medicine in the instance of a panic attack , but it rarely comes to that as she's very aware and does a grade a job of preventing them !
I trained her myself . i'll be sure to have a friend take pictures of her in action to share


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Hi, Alex!

Please don't forget a post at "bio/intro" at http://www.WorkingDogForum.com/vBulletin/f20/


And welcome!


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## Wayne Scace (Jun 1, 2014)

*Hi! Welcome to the group! 
Nice to meet a fellow Service Dog Owner on here!!
Harley is my fourth SD! But my first Owner Trained SD....

Wayne And Harley
*


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## Alex Moyer (Aug 16, 2014)

Connie Sutherland said:


> Hi, Alex!
> 
> Please don't forget a post at "bio/intro" at http://www.workingdogforum.com/vBulletin/f20/
> 
> ...


 Thanks, postd my intro! Sorry for neglecting that.



Wayne Scace said:


> *Hi! Welcome to the group!
> Nice to meet a fellow Service Dog Owner on here!!
> Harley is my fourth SD! But my first Owner Trained SD....
> 
> ...


very cool! can i ask what breeds of SD you've owned, and what breed is Harley?
Let's make this sub-forum popular with awesome service dog stories/pics, 

thanks both for the greetings!


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## Wayne Scace (Jun 1, 2014)

Hello Alex, 
My first three SD's were programme trained, they were all black Labrador Retrievers.
I have Owner Trained three SD's, they are, respectively. 
Harley, my SD, American White Shepherd X Labrador cross. 
Storm, for a friend, GSD X Husky cross. 
Sky, for a friend, GSD.
I have been a SD Owner for fourteen years and an Owner Trainer for four of those fourteen years. 
Please note...
Under the ADA, in the U.S.A., no SD can be trained in protection, or bitework as part of the tasks it performs to mitigate it's owner's disability. 

Wayne And Harley


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## Alex Moyer (Aug 16, 2014)

Wayne Scace said:


> Hello Alex,
> My first three SD's were programme trained, they were all black Labrador Retrievers.
> I have Owner Trained three SD's, they are, respectively.
> Harley, my SD, American White Shepherd X Labrador cross.
> ...


not sure how one could justify bite work as helpful for anything outlined in the ADA. they can , of course , be trained in protection and as a service animal. 

the ADA does not protect protection trained dogs, acting in their training for protection. it doesn't however exclude them. and, unless they are found to be a "deadly weapon or instrument," the training they've had as a service animal is protected.
it's private groups that exclude protection trained dogs. 

there have been many cases where this subject comes up. they go either way, depending on circumstances in each case, and ofc w/e else influences a legal proceeding.

there seems to be a big misconception about protection dogs, that they're unapproachable and at all times a loaded weapon. this is not at all true, what use is a dog like that for most instances?

or maybe i'm wrong. doesn't matter, protection trained dogs make fine service animals and i can personally vouch this. simply won't advertise that fact


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## Catherine Gervin (Mar 12, 2012)

of the two dogs on this planet that my GSD will actively tolerate/enjoy playing with, one is a Black Labrador who failed out of the pilot dog program for being "overly protective" of her handler. the training handler--whose proper name i don't know, please excuse--accidentally fell and re-injured an injured hip. this rendered them unable to rise without assistance. Susie, her pup-in-training was eight months old at the time, and had been acing everything she'd come up against until that exact incident, when she felt too protective of her hurt, downed person to risk letting anyone come to their aid. the dog straddled her person and glowered--no teeth, no growling, just a very inhospitable stare-down at those trying to touch either of them. she failed out of the program on the spot.
while i understand that medical treatment must be made accessible, and that someone relying on this dog would need to be helped whether they were conscious to control/direct the dog or not, i still thought this was a strange reaction to a dog who was taking her responsibility seriously and trying to keep her person safe.
this was a dog being trained by "NEEDS" and she was not the property of a private individual but man, they are strict!


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## Noel Long (Mar 13, 2013)

Wayne Scace said:


> Please note...
> Under the ADA, in the U.S.A., no SD can be trained in protection, or bitework as part of the tasks it performs to mitigate it's owner's disability.
> 
> Wayne And Harley





Alex Moyer said:


> not sure how one could justify bite work as helpful for anything outlined in the ADA. they can , of course , be trained in protection and as a service animal.


So a service dog _can_ have protection training? I thought they couldn't.

Alex, is your dog a SD or ESA?


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## Alex Moyer (Aug 16, 2014)

I think things need clarification, Noel and Wayne. The ADA gives the service dog handler very specific rights; a service dog handler only needs to have answers to two questions; "is your dog your service animal?" and "what task or tasks does your dog perform." What qualifies a dog as a service dog is that it performs some task, or tasks, which aid its handler's disability.

Yes, a service dog can be trained in protection. A lot of organizations to not permit protection training if you want them to register you and your dog as a service dog; these organization are also unnecessary for a service dog/handle team. The law requires no such registration. The service dog's task cannot be to protect it's owner, however.

Catherine, there is no evaluation or test a service dog needs to complete to legally be able to accompany it's handler. I for one see no reason to send some agency $200+ for an ID (which it is not permissible for anyone to ask a service dog handler to have) and an evaluation for my service dog. 

Whatever program you are referring to is only protecting the interests of it's clients and itself; when an entity approves of a service dog who then, while working in that capacity, is aggressive or causes harm, obvious consequences manifest; a client would be legally held responsible. 

In the scenario you describe, Catherine, it seems to me the handler would have been better assisted by the humans trying to help her, so ideally the dog should have let them. While that dog may have failed the program, the handler is still allowed to have that dog as her service dog, under the law, as the program is a superfluous pre-requisite. 

please see this document
http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm



> Alex, is your dog a SD or ESA?


 she is a service dog, what is an ESA? .. answered my own question; I suppose she is also emotional support animal, but so are almost all well cared for dogs, right?


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## Howard Knauf (May 10, 2008)

Alex,
Welcome to the forum. I for one enjoy your candidness in regards to service dogs and the legalities involved. So far you are right on the money and the info is good. Just to add....you don't need any special certifications to train a SD and, as a trainer I believe you enjoy the same liberties that an actual SD owner has....unless the rules have changed since the last time I checked. 

Personally....I wish the feds would have actual clear cut guidelines regarding SD's instead of vague lagal-eze and permission by omission. The rules are too subjective except for a very narrow scope in reference to what questions can be asked of the owner/dog. My main reason is that there is a huge window for abuse by non afflicted people under the ADA protection umbrella.

Had an in-depth conversation with an ADA rep a few years ago while investigating said SD abuses. The lady wasn't real happy with me. Apparently my common sense and hard questions weren't appreciated. At least she did agree with me that there is plenty of room to manipulate the system because of the vague, liberal rules. Anyway...welcome again. Looking forward to learning something new in the dog training world.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint, there is NO such definition of "service" dogs here in Japan, except for guide dogs (and a few other categories that are strictly defined) who have passed a rigorous training program, and ARE tested and certified.
- NO WAY they can be trained by the owner 

not trying to start a flame war, and Howard has said it well
- but imo the rules DO need to be tightened up or some people will always take advantage of the ambiguities ,,,, and the deserving people will usually be the ones who suffer :-(

by current ADA legislation, almost every dog i've ever owned could have been a service dog....all i would need is a disability to match up with the dog, and i could probably do that too //lol//

curious about one thing ....
does a service dog have to have passed a CGC test, or something equivalent ??


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

o.k. Here's my question.

I just got a phone call about the change in a Lab service dog for a down's syndrome child. This mid-teen is as large as most men however is going through the raging hormone stage. The dog has sensed the changes and has morphed into a PPD when they go out together. The normally street friendly dog is now intolerant and vocally aggressive to people on the street.
For those who have trained your service dog to be a PP dog how would you now deal with this situation? What advice could you give control the emerging PP aspects of this situation.


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

Meanwhile, north of the border...

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dai...many-calgary-ottawa-businesses-233106288.html

The video at the end of the article, and the comments were interesting.


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## Howard Knauf (May 10, 2008)

rick smith;647450
curious about one thing ....
does a service dog have to have passed a CGC test said:


> To the best of my knowledge...no. All they say is that the dog cannot be at large or aggressive. They also have to be up to date on vaccinations. Being as there is no true certification required, a CGC cert is not required.


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