Assistance Dog
Information
Many people have
seen Guide dogs in their daily lives, guiding their handlers expertly around obstacles and
across streets. There are, however, dogs that help someone who is deaf, in a wheelchair,
using crutches, and for many other disabilities.
Guide Dogs:
Probably the most familiar type of service dog is the guide dog that is trained to help blind or visually impaired people. These dogs serve as the eyes for their owner, navigating them through traffic, stairs and sidewalks while avoiding all obstacles that could cause injury.
Hearing Dogs:
Similar to guide dogs, "hearing" or "signal" dogs are specially trained to assist deaf people. They alert their owner to sounds, usually by approaching their owner and then by going back to the source of the sound. They signal such noises as doorbells, phones, smoke alarms, crying babies, microwave bells and even tea kettles whistling. These dogs have the same access privileges as guide dogs and are permitted in all public and private facilities.
Service Dogs: Service Dog is the
catch all term for any dog that helps a physically or mentally disabled person. You have
the following categories: |
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Laws Covering Assistance Dogs
There are laws that cover the right of a disabled person to be accompanied by an Assistance (or Service) dog. Please check out the Law page for information on the American's With Disabilities Act, and the Washington State laws that cover this topic. For other state laws, please check out Ed Kemper's page Workndog, where he has ALL the state laws for your information.
What to do when you meet an Assistance Dog
The role of the Assistance Dog is to assist the handler in a variety of ways. It is primarily a medical assistance aid and should be treated as such.
1. Do not pet,
make noises, or call to the Assistance Dog.
If the dog is wearing its harness/vest/backpacks, this means it is working and should
never be patted, or distracted by having its name called, be given excessive eye contact,
noises made at it, or made the center of attention. These may all cause the dog to take
its concentration off the job and put the handler’s safety at risk.
2. Do not feed
the dog.
The Assistance Dog is fed a balanced diet by its handler. Other people should never feed
the Assistance Dog. It may then learn to be on the lookout for tidbits, which will
distract the dog and place the handler’s safety at risk. It may also lead to obesity
and health problems, possibly causing the dog’s working life to be shortened.
When wanting to pat the Assistance Dog that is not working, always ask the handler first
for permission. If the handler agrees, always talk or pat the dog in a quiet and calm
manner.
3. Talk to the
handler, and not to the dog!
Remember to talk to the Assistance Dog handler and not only to the dog. It is very
frustrating for the Assistance Dog handler when people constantly talk to the dog and not
to the handler.
The Assistance Dog handler has been trained in the most appropriate techniques for working
or correcting the dog. Please only provide assistance if requested by the Assistance Dog
handler.
If there are any further queries regarding how to behave towards a Assistance dog please
do not hesitate to discuss it with the Assistance dog handler.
What a business can and can not ask an A-Dog Team
When an Assistance Dog team enters a business, a business owner may ask the following
questions if unsure the team is an Assistance Dog team.
1) Are you disabled?
You MAY NOT ask what
a person's particular disability is. Many disabilities are invisible, and the person
doesn't look disabled, or use any device (other than the dog), to indicate the person is
disabled.
2) Is that an Assistance Dog?
or Is that a Service Dog?
These questions are the ONLY questions you may ask a person entering a business with an
Assistance Dog. Note, both answers MUST be yes, because a dog is NOT considered an
Assistance Dog if they are with a non-disabled person.
Please be aware, however, that a disabled person is allowed to have someone bring their
dog to them as a reasonable accommodation. For example, if the disabled person is in the
hospital, and has a friend bring their dog to visit them, or bring the dog to them to stay
in the hospital once they are able to care for the animal, OR the disabled person has
enlisted the help of friends to care for the dog so that the dog may stay in the hospital
with them.
How to get an Assistance Dog?
There are many
programs out there that train dogs - either bred specifically by the program, or donated
by breeders, or taken from animal shelters. The programs all require that an application
be filled out, placing the person on a waiting list (which can be anywhere from 6 months
for a guide dog to 6 years for a Service Dog), and then once you are notified that you
have been selected, you go to the program facility, and spend anywhere from 2 weeks to a
month training with your dog.
The cost of a program provided dog can range from $100 to several thousand dollars
depending on the program.
There is an alternative to waiting years to get an Assistance Dog, and that is to train
your own. Please click here to see the advantages and disadvantages of training your own
dog, as well as some places that will help you.
There is an organization for those partnered with Assistance Dogs. They produce a
quarterly newsletter, with informative articles, hints, and help regarding the laws that
govern our rights to be partnered with an A-Dog. Please check out the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP)
web site.
Assistance Dogs International is an an
umbrella organization for programs that provide Guide, Hearing and Service Dogs. They have
strict qualifications for membership programs to follow, and they have a public access
test that is VERY good, and I highly recommend that if you have an Assistance Dog, that
you and your dog be able to pass this test. You do not have to go to an ADI member
organization to get this test. Take it informally, and if you and your dog don't pass, you
know what you need to work on.
If you have any questions about Assistance Dogs, please join in on our Discussion Forum. I welcome
questions from the public.
There is an alternative, to waiting many years to get a dog, and to getting a dog that may
not be trained to your needs. If you have the experience, or if you can get the help of a
professional dog trainer, you can train a dog yourself. Even if you've trained dogs
before, I STRONGLY suggest you get the help of a professional dog trainer, or a program
that helps you train your own dog. There are some programs out there, that allow you to
train a dog to meet your needs, either using a dog you provide, or providing a dog for
you. There are many advantages to this, as well as disadvantages.
Advantages include:
1. No waiting list. If you have your own dog, you can begin to train it immediately.
2. May be cheaper than getting a program trained dog. You won't have to pay for hotel,
meals, and plane fare to the facility to receive your dog.
3. Has the same access rights as any dog from a program.
Disadvantages:
1. The dog must be trained before it can be taken out into public. There is no such thing
as the "MAGIC" dog. You have to train the dog.
2. If you're training a puppy, you must wait for it to finish growing before teaching
tasks such as wheelchair pulling and bracing (Mobility Service (Assistance) Dogs
Only)
A fair word of warning. It isn't easy to train your own Service (Assistance) Dog. If you
never have trained a dog before, please look into a program trained dog, or the services
of a dog trainer to help you. If, however, you've trained dogs before, AND know of a good
dog trainer to help you, train your own dog and have fun doing it!
If you are going to
train your own dog, please visit the address below for a link to the appropriate place to
find information on that subject.
Dressing Your Dog
Now that you've made
the decision to train your own dog, you're going to need to "dress" your dog
appropriately. The ADA doesn't require a Service Dog to be dressed in any way, but
depending on what you use your dog for, you may need specific equipment on your dog to do
his job. Even if you don't need anything on the dog (your dog is a Hearing Dog for
example), you should dress your dog so that by just looking at your dog, someone will know
he/she is an Service (Assistance) Dog. This cuts down on confrontations, and does work.
Click here for a listing of
people that sell equipment for your Service (Assistance) Dog.
Also, check out the Assistance Dog Equipment page, where I give some ideas on what
equipment to use if you need your dog to do certain tasks, like pulling a wheelchair.
Places Where You Can Train Your
Own Dog:
NOTE: TOP DOG does not provide a dog for you, you will have to find your own dog, but they can and will help you pick out an appropriate dog.
Pets & People
Top Dog:
There is an organization for those partnered with Service (Assistance) Dogs. They produce a quarterly newsletter, with informative articles, hints, and help regarding the laws that govern our rights to be partnered with an A-Dog. Please visit the address below for the appropriate link for that information.
Any questions,
please contact me at dana.marshall@foxinternet.net
Service Dogs and More
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