When you are training a service dog from scratch, what percentage (estimates of course and dog dependent) are spent on public access/obedience vs task training?

I’m specifically interested in allergen alert, but would be interested in other types of service dogs too.

Thanks!

While walking down the stairs at my college today, a girl and her service dog were walking up them. I stepped to the side to give them space, but the dog stopped and licked my hand. Does that mean something?

I’ve been alerted by someone else’s service dog before. I do not know this girl or her dog. I don’t know what the dog is trained for, but I found it strange as don’t service dogs typically only focus their owner.

Side note, this interaction whether it meant something or not strengthened my hope I’ll get a service dog eventually for my medical issues.

I recently had my therapist recommend looking into getting a service dog for severe PTSD along with mobility issues due to frequent joint dislocations. I use a wheelchair part time, mostly for long days.

I’m currently trying to figure out what is going to be the best breed, as the current plan is to find a reputable breeder and then work with a trainer.

I deal with a lot of anxiety and paranoia from the PTSD, along with flashbacks and dissociation, and would be looking for a breed that’s able to help with calming me down, refocusing, guiding me out of situations, pressure therapy and positioning to provide a barrier in crowds. In terms of mobility, mainly the tasks would be related to item retrieval and occasional balance help.

I love Bernese mountain dogs, but have heard about the issues of an XL dog when it comes to travel and public access.

Any specific breeds you all would recommend looking into?

The title basically explains the general idea around the post. I'm getting married next year (eeeeeeek!) and i'm wondering how everyone handled getting married while still making sure their service dog is settled and taken care of. Obviously it's going to be a high stress day and very chaotic day for me, so i'm considering having our pet sitter (for our cats but also knows him and stepped in to take care of him when I was having surgery) come to help me with him for photos, the ceremony, and the reception since things will be at peak chaos at that point. I also might have the pet sitter bring him home after our ceremony since our day will be starting around 8am and the ceremony will be ending around 6. The reception will go until 11 and I feel like that's too much to ask of him.

Our venue is fantastic and we'll have a room to ourselves to get ready. My fiancé will as well so if needed he'll be able to go take a nap undisturbed. The staff has also been made aware that he'll be there and will be reminded again closer to our date to not interfere with him. The same will be asked of guests. My MOH is a badass too and will have no problem telling people to leave him alone.

I just want him to be comfortable and not overworked at the end of the day.

To preface, I know not all facilities are like this, but this is unacceptable behavior, especially for working dogs who are supposed to be trained for interactions.

Yesterday, a friend of mine had an issue with a security officer and their dog in a mall. They explained that she and her goldador were walking to a toiletry shop inside of a mall they frequently visit. No big deal. She noticed a belgian malinois with a security officer standing at the door. The dog showed no signs of reactivity as they were walking up to the store, so they assumed it was safe to pass. However, as they went up to the entrance, the security dog was on a prong and tethered to a pole, barking at and trying to get a reaction out of my friend's service dog, unsuccessfully. The security guard did nothing, standing nearby on their phone. She stated the dog seemed more reactive and excited than aggressive, but she was disgusted by the behavior and entire setup. She left the store, afraid of an injury breaking out, and tried to explain the situation to staff, which was dismissed by the security dog being "in training". As she continued to explain that the dog was working and a medical tool, they completely ignored her. She now says she sent a letter out to the mall office explaining the incident and is waiting for a reply.

Security dogs need to be held to a higher standard than this, real-world interactions and social media posts blatantly prove that.

I have debilitating OCD and panic attacks and I am looking to train my dog in specific task works like compulsion interruption and grounding work. I originally went to a trainer but the price tag was so large I could not afford it and found you can self train legally. I’ve trained her in the basics so far but when I remember when to a trainer she said I also need a SD need letter from my psychiatrist. My psychiatrist will not give me a letter without a training organization name. I have told him I am pursuing self training and thought this letter is something I would need regardless. Do I need to switch doctors or do psychiatrists not write these in general??? I only requested I have a condition that could benefit from a service dog not to have him certify the dog. I thought I need this letter to continue?

I have a service dog in training just wondering if any of you have like a holder on your phone or anything that would make it easier for a dog to retrieve it?

Hi!! I’m getting a service dog for my anxiety and autism. My special interest are dogs and horses. I’m so excited! I have everything planned out down to the date. I work in a kennel so I know what to expect. I know all of the care and education. I’m just really scared of not being able to succeed and being a bad handler.

Has anybody received this notification before when submitting their SD’s paperwork to fly? I’m flying JetBlue out of Florida and have never seen this before… the FL dept of transportation approved of my SD’s paperwork but then I got this email just now. Are they going to test her at the gate?

JetBlue advises that your dog is conditionally approved to travel. You will need to see a Complaints Resolution Official, or CRO, in the airport for assessment of your dog’s behavior.

Keep in mind JetBlue does not delay a flight for the airport assessment so it is recommended that you arrive with sufficient time.

I am a young writer who wants to write a story where the main character has a service dog. I want the service dog to help with mobility and other assistance, such as grabbing things off the floor when needed. If there are any specific things about owning a service dog that I should know or add to my story to properly portray it, I would love to know. Also, if I, as someone who does not have a service animal, should not be writing about it, let me know.

This is hard for me to explain. I played a crucial part in training both my dad's and my own service dogs. I loved it, would 100% do it again in a heartbeat, and really felt a bond with them. And this is just with dogs in general.

I realized sooner than later that it's just as exhausting as it is heartwarming. My dad had to retire his service dog after a tumor and he was unable to handle the work, and between discrimination, PA issues, lack of common accessibility, life, it sort of tires me to work my dog sometimes. Just yesterday, I had to correct my service dog in training about three times in a crowded environment. It's the loneliest feeling. Now, I'm not saying my dogs at all are unsuitable for this work, I love them and they've saved my life multiple times, but they're living beings. ​

Just a quick vent, its life though, and there's not much I can do about it.

So I am disabled, but have tried really hard to not go on disability as Im in the US and that would basically mean signing away my autonomy to the state. Ive had trouble finding an answer to this but do i need to be legally disabled to get a service animal? Or can I get a Dr's referral without going on any sort of national list of disabled people that the little orange man has access to? EDIT: Thank you so much for the answers, to clarify i do fit the legal and medical definition of disabled, just wanted to be sure I didn't have to go on any government lists to be legally disabled. I'll definitely be reaching out to my provider, thanks again!

Hello, this is an update to a post a made a few weeks ago. I thought I would receive more opinions if I made a new post.

Tldr for my last post,
My roommate (Brianna, 20f, autistic) screams, occasionally hits and tugs quite hardly on her service dog’s collar for discipline. She has a very short temper with him. In the original post me and my two other roommates were trying to figure out what to do. We all live together in a college dorm.

Since my last post we have officially had a conversation with Brianna. The first night we told her our concerns about the constant yelling, roughness and tugging at his collar to her. She completely shut down and did not move or speak for about 45 minutes before leaving the dorm for a few hours. During the 45 mins of her being silent we were trying to calm her down/explain in a gentle way what we meant and some possible ways we were willing to help her change her behaviors (not straight but every so often as it was very awkward lol)

The next day she texted our group chat that she wanted to finish the conversation from the night prior. During our conversation that night she was monotone and kept asking us what we meant, I tried to explain in as many ways possible but I am honestly not sure if she was fully listening. Towards the end we asked her if she had anything she wanted to say to us as it had not been much of a conversation. Her only response was that she appreciated the concern for him but thought we were all overreacting. After she said that I mentioned that several of my friends who did not know her well were concerned for the dog, which made her very confused. I admittedly did not explain it well as i was not trying to implicate anyone else I knew into drama as I knew she would go bother them abt it lol.

After that talk she went home for the weekend where she told our roommate she shares a double with (we have a common space shared between the four of us, and then two rooms with two people each as bedrooms) her thoughts over text. Brianna told our roommate (lets call her Fiona) that she thought me and my roommate were overreacting. She then was trying to convince Fiona to get reslife involved which she had to talk her out of as it would of 100% resulted in the dog being taken away. At the end of there conversation Brianna said she would “just stop doing those things” infront of us (meaning the three of us) as it makes us uncomfortable.

Long story short, I am not convinced she has learned anything from our chat. I will say she has been significantly better to him this week (the second part of the conversation happened last thursday). I do not however know if this is because she is simply not doing those things infront of us. She still tugs his collar aggressively infront of us tho.

Lastly, a few weeks ago the dog had an incident involving a much smaller dog. At a campus event he was posing for a photo with our campus therapy dog. Brianna was not holding his leash as he was posing for the photo. A smaller breed of dog (the service dog is a yellow lab, the other dog was much smaller) was also off leash and went up the Brianna’s dog and started barking, the dog took this as a sign to play and grabbed onto the smaller dogs ear. He then would not let go even as Brianna was telling him to and the other dog was struggling against him. Due to this incident Brianna had a meeting with the training facility (srry dont know what to call it lol) she got him from to ask why he would do that this week. This meeting was after our talk, however she did not mention any of our concerns about how he is poorly trained by her. We all told her she should seek assistance on training him if she was struggling as none of us were qualified, but she refused to speak to her actual trainers about it.

Okay so real question at the end of crazy amounts of information, what should we do?

A friend has suggested talking to her trainers as a next step but would love any other insights people might have. I know people will jump to immediately removing the dog from her care, which I WILL do if necessary. However I really want to ensure I have exhausted any other options and possibilities for her to learn/keep him.

Thank you all for reading!

edit for clarification: The dog who was attacked by my roommates service dog was NOT the therapy dog. The two were posing for a photo (both off leash) when someones personal pet came up to them, which is the dog that got bitten. Brianna was by herself when this happened but at a campus event. Apparently there was an incident report filed and the other dog is fine.

My service dog, Scarlett, is 5 (6 in March). She loves working, truly. She's great at her job. We've had bumps in the road, of course, but nothing we couldn't work through.

The real issue is the medical side of things. Over the summer she was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor, which was removed. She was off work for a few weeks to recover, then jumped back in with the same excitement as usual, cancer-free and cleared to return. But it was certainly an unexpected turn of events and a very stressful time.

Now, we're dealing with what might be an incontinence issue. At night, after we've come in from playing or walking, she'll drink water as usual then take a nap on the couch. In the last couple weeks, I've noticed that shortly after she'll get up and there will be a fairly sizeable wet spot where she's sitting. Maybe 3 or 4 times in the last two weeks.

At first, I had no idea what it could be. The idea of it being urine didn't even occur to me. She's really good about telling me if she needs to go to the bathroom outside our normal times. She's never had an accident inside (with the exception of when she was on prednisone after her surgery, but that was an expected side effect). The spots also didn't smell at all, and her backside wasn't really wet.

My running theory is that she's drinking a lot of water after running, and then when she relaxes, she just... leaks? And it doesn't smell because it's so dilute. It's so strange because she is fairly young. I thought this would be more of an issue in older dogs.

Luckily, this has always been at night, and never when we're out and about or when she's napping at work. Of course, if it does ever happen in public, I'm pulling her. And I've called her vet to get their advice on it and hopefully schedule an appointment ASAP. (ETA: Appointment scheduled!)

Back to the main point. I don't know if I'm going to get another service dog. While Scarlett has been so so helpful, I can't help but wonder if it's more trouble than it's worth. These situations just seem to keep cropping up and I don't know if I can handle the stress of wondering if another working dog is going to have to retire early, or if something is life threatening, or any of the other numerous stressors that come with it. At the moment, my disabilities have remained pretty steady in terms of symptoms since I got her. Of course, things can always change. But I've become fairly independent, even though I still rely on her for some things.

I don't know if I'm looking for advice or am just ranting. I'm just feeling so anxious about Scarlett and wanting to make sure she is healthy is of course my priority. It's just been a bit of a shitshow lately :')

like if someone sitting next to them on a bench was hypoglycemic and experiencing symptoms would the dog react to that person? same thing with dogs that can predict epileptic seizures.

So question, at what age should a service dog do forward momentum pull?. I'm doing research on my next service dog(which I won't be getting right now,but I'm saving money and wannabe be prepared) my current service dog is 4, and I've had him since he was 1, I didn't start until he was 3, but I'm asking because I see guide dog trainers train there dogs when they are 1 year old, so realistically what would be the appropriate age to do forward momentum pull.i would like y'all's opinion

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.

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?

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

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!

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?

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.

Edit: Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to reply; you guys have really helped so much! I no longer feel like I'm going mad, and I feel a lot more comfortable now that you guys have taught me more about what I should expect from the service dog and her handler when it comes to behavior. My other partner and I were able to sit down together and I showed him this post and I think it really helped to open his eyes about the whole situation too; unbeknownst to me, she was also gaslighting him and making him feel like shit behind my back too. We're going to start by contacting Medical Mutts, and seeing what they have to say first, but then we need to have a long conversation with our other partner regarding this situation. Either way, the dog seems dangerous, she's not taking care of it properly, and something needs to get done. But, again, thank you all so much!