Service Dog Training in Boone, NC
I offer private Service Dog Training on a case-by-case basis. If you are interested in training your dog to become a service dog, please read over the following information and compile a list of tasks you need your dog to perform to mitigate your disability before reaching out.
What is a service dog?
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. 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. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
This definition does not affect or limit the broader definition of “assistance animal” under the Fair Housing Act or the broader definition of “service animal” under the Air Carrier Access Act.
Some State and local laws also define service animal more broadly than the ADA does. Information about such laws can be obtained from the relevant State attorney general’s office.
Who is able to have a service dog?
Under the ADA, a person must have a disability in order for them to be able to make use of a service dog.
The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity.
This includes people who have a record of such an impairment, even if they do not currently have a disability. It also includes individuals who do not have a disability but are regarded as having a disability.
The ADA also makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person based on that person’s association with a person with a disability.
Regardless of age, I am here to support you and your dog through your owner trained service dog journey! It’s never too early to start.
If you are raising a puppy, I firmly believe that the first year of your puppy’s life should be spent making sure they’re just a well socialized and well behaved dog, without the pressure of service dog tasks and expectations.
Fast is slow. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
The more time you spend on the basics, proper socialization, and foundational skills, the faster your later stages of training will go! But, if you rush the process, all your hard work can quickly fall apart. Many owner trained Service Dogs in Training (SDIT) FAIL training because their owners push too hard too quickly. My goal is to help you progress smoothly through all your training goals, while eliminating any set-backs from making things too hard too quickly.
You need your service dog in your life. Don’t ruin your training by pushing too hard too quickly.
Training Level Goals:
Puppyhood & Adolesence: Service Dog Prospect (Under 1 year old)
- Socialization with people, places things
- Training for groomer and vet
- Basic puppy behaviors & problem prevention
- Resource guarding prevention
- Foundation Skills: Eye contact, sit, down, settle, come, stay, Loose Leash Walking foundations
Young Adult: Service Dog in Training (1 to 2 years old)
- Continued socialization to people, places, things
- Basic and Advanced Obedience Skills with distractions
- Heel, Tuck, advanced leash walking with distractions
- Task Training
- Canine Good Citizen Testing
Adult Dog: Service Dog in Training, and Task Trained Service Dog (2 and Up)
- Continued training of basic and advanced obedience and leash skills in new environments
- Public Access Training (training in locations that are NOT pet friendly)
- Further Task Training in real world environments
- Public Access Testing, Community/Urban Canine Testing
Other Important Information
Where are service dogs allowed?
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 allowed to go.
For example, in a hospital it usually would be inappropriate to exclude a service animal from areas such as patient rooms, clinics, cafeterias, or examination rooms.
However, it may be appropriate to exclude a service animal from operating rooms or burn units where the animal’s presence may compromise a sterile environment
Service Dogs Must Be Under Control
A service animal must be under the control of its handler. Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless the individual’s disability prevents using these devices or these devices interfere with the service animal’s safe, effective performance of tasks. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.
Inquiries, Exclusions, Charges, and Other Specific Rules Related to Service Animals
- When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.
- Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people using service animals. When a person who is allergic to dog dander and a person who uses a service animal must spend time in the same room or facility, for example, in a school classroom or at a homeless shelter, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.
- A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken. When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.
- Establishments that sell or prepare food must generally allow service animals in public areas even if state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises.
- People with disabilities who use service animals cannot be isolated from other patrons, treated less favorably than other patrons, or charged fees that are not charged to other patrons without animals. In addition, if a business requires a deposit or fee to be paid by patrons with pets, it must waive the charge for service animals.
- If a business such as a hotel normally charges guests for damage that they cause, a customer with a disability may also be charged for damage caused by himself or his service animal.
- Staff are not required to provide care for or supervision of a service animal.