Is it this easy for your dog to become a service dog?

The website you have referred to is a scam and unfortunately I know of at least 4 other such sites. The Department of Justice is currenlty investigating at least one of these sites, and possibly all of them. Courts are also very aware of such scams. No decent person or program would certify a dog unseen, which is what this site is saying. If you say so, and pay us money, we will give you things worth about $10, a $240 profit for them!! While the basic test they describe is not too bad, they are not in any way verifying that a person and their dog can actually pass that test. Further they state that you say that your dog can do most of it, but do not define what most of it is!! YOU DO NOT CERTIFY DOGS UNSEEN AND ANYONE WHO SAYS THEY WILL SHOULD BE REPORTED, AND YOU SHOULD STEER CLEAR OF THEM!

Service Dog is a legal term used to define animals which are individually trained to perform tasks which assist with activities of daily living. A doctors note, certificate and the like does not make a dog a service dog, and the only person who can really legally say someone is disabled is a judge. In order to qualify to use a service dog accorinding to the law, which is written by the Department of Justice a person must be so disabled as to be unable to complete activities of daily living on their own. The dog must be trained to assist with these actitivites of daily living. The Department of Justice has said that businesses have a right to ask if a person is disabled and what tasks the dog performs, but they cannot ask for proof of training, certification, etc. Asking for such things is breaking the law. Programs usually do provide their dogs with ID cards along with vest, jackets, harnesses or the like but you cannot demand a dog have some form of identification on and you cannot ask to see ID. Dogs can be legally excluded if they are not housetrained, are not under control, are not on lead or some way restrained, and if they are causing a disruption, ie. barking, pulling things off shelves, jumping on people and the like. No ID cards and the like can force a business to allow a dog in which is ill controlled.

Many people mistakenly believe that emotional support animals have the same rights as service dogs. This is not the case. Emotional Support animals have a right to live in no pets housing on the advice of a doctor, usually because a person is mentally ill, and/or elderly. At present they do have a right to travel in the passenger cabin of aircraft on domestic flights within the US, but they do have a write to ask for written verifcation from a doctor. These dogs do not have public access rights like service dogs and cannot go into no pets places, like a grocery store. Again the Department of Justice has specifically stated that dogs who provide emotional support, therapy, companionship and the like are not service dogs. Anyone can verify this by ringing the ADA Department of Justice hotline.

If a case did ever end up in court the judge would demand to see proof of training and showing an ID card from a site unseen business is not going to stand up in court. All service dogs whether owner trained or program trained should be independently evaulated, and have been tested to standarised tests, like a temperament test, obedience titles, etc. as this is the only thing that will ever stand up in court. If an individual honestly believes that they can walk into a court room and say the dog is trained becase I said so, and I have a card, which I paid $250 for and which they have not even seen the dog, and they say it is trained, this is very very niave thinking.

Research has shown that less than 1% of dogs have the temperament necessary to be a service dog and this is when they are being trained by highly experienced and qualified professional trainers. The average person could not train a dog to the real standards requried, and even the best programs, like the seeing eye, which have their own breeding and training programs are lucky to have 50% of the dogs make the grade. The dogs are not failed for not being able to do guide dog tasks, as like all service dog work, it is the task training that is the easiest - it is the temperament, proofing and public access training which is the hard part.

Service Dogs in training do not usually have public access rights. While it is true that about half of all states have legislation pertaining to dogs in training, this is usualy only for dogs accompanied by certifed trainers, dogs from certain programs, dogs for certain disability types and may only apply to state owned buildings, not businesses and the like. It is general practice for a person training a dog to ask permission each and everytime the dog is taken into a public no pet place and to remember that dogs should rarely if ever be taken to such places before 6 months of age, and only if they have good basic obedience and the person handling the dog can foucs on the dog !00%, whcih they cannot do if they are grocery shopping and the like.

Most states have severe penalities in place for people who fake service dogs, and include fines of up to $10,000 and/or jail time of up to 2 years. Generally speaking dogs which are of banned breeds are not allowed to be in certain places just because they are service dogs. If you live in an area with breed spefic regulations you cannot have an exemption from that ban or regulations just because the dog concerned is a service dog. This is something which people using service dogs of specific breeds need to consider if they are planning on ever travelling, even domestically with their service dog.

In terms of therapy dog programs the main reason for certifying with such a program is that for a small annual fee of about $25 you are covered with public liability insurance for the small chance that something does go wrong, or someone wrongly accuses you of something. I personally would never take a dog out in public, whether for therapy dog visiting, and/or service dog work, unless I knew I was covered for public liability insurance. The basic testing of these three programs is based on the CGC, along with other temperament tests to ensure the dog is comfortable around medical equipment and the like. The top three therapy dog certification programs are:

http://www.therapydogs.com/

http://www.tdi-dog.org/

http://www.deltasociety.org/

IMHO, that is a scam. And secondly, these dogs would fit more into the category of therapy dogs, not service dogs.

A fee, vest and patches doesn't not qualify you or your dog for either service or therapy dog ability.

It does sound like a way to lie your way into a situation in which the dog would not typically be welcome or allowed.

From my own experience I can tell you that teaching your dog to be a therapy dog is not a difficult task. AKC provides tests, you can then be certified AFTER you've successfully passed the tests, dog is required to be current on vaccines (titers are accepted in some situations) and then you simply need to find a place where they are looking for a therapy dog -hospital, schools, nursing homes, assisted care living facilities, etc.

Depending on who you certify through (AKC, TDInc, other) you see the rewards following hours of _volunteer_ service.

No if you're thinking about going the route of service dog you have a lot more work to do before your dog could (legitimately) qualify.

C'mon, you must have heard this by now -

If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

It's too good to be true. Getting a dog to a level to be certified as a service dog takes A LOT of work and training. Then after the work and training, you have to go through testing. If it's something you want to do, try it. But don't get upset if it doesn't work out.

Yes, you can buy many things online. You can become a minister online even. Only takes about 15 minutes of your time. Is it worthwhile? No. Most want the certification that comes with proper service dog testing. Before many will allow you in the door, they will follow up on your service dog and see what they went through to get it.

I think it's terrible that places like that get away with selling lies. But, what can we do about it?

well, as far as i know, you can get the service dog vest on ebay... lol... and then you can take your dog anywhere with you... however, if you are ever asked by a company employee of the place you have taken your dog, to furnish them papers on the spot of the dogs actual service training and graduation, and you dont have them, you can be removed from the store... people with service dogs need to carry the papers stating that they are just that, on them at all times...

and, i also know that people who do train service dogs, start these dogs out when they are very yound puppies.... it takes lots of time, its not just a few tricks and wow - you can lead the blind..

You know I think this is a scam a friend of mines dog had to go through months of training hes is a seizure alert pit and he had to go through a lot of training sit stay on command. and ignore people on the street which is really hard for him but he is a great dog and he passed with flying colors he now goes everywhere with her and has helped her twice once stopping her before she got behind the wheel. I am so glad he was with her and I think this is wrong them just selling this on line. I wouldn't fall for this.

No, its not "easy" for a dog to become a legitimate service dog. It takes months if not years for the dog to become fully trained.

Just like everywhere else, there are SCAMMERS attempting to make money and circumvent the rules... which, due to the skepticism it causes, jeopardizes the rights of those who have actual disabilities using their TRAINED service dogs.

Edit: If you have a documented disability AND your dog is trained to assist you with activities related to that disability - feel free to use him as a service dog. If you are not disabled, using your dog as a phony service dog may get you arrested/fined/thrown in jail.

Did you actually read all the requirements in order for a dog to qualify? They are hard to achieve and WILL take months of training for them to perform perfectly and that's if they start training as puppies. Go to youtube.com and look up "service dogs" watch some of the videos for the different service dog training facilities.

The website seems legitimate to me.

Dogs are surely man's best friend. This animal is the most loyal and protective animal that you can ever take care of. Read here http://onlinedogtraining.enle.info/?0F5y

Once you have become a master of a dog, you are sure to be protected by your pet especially if you have treated your dog very right. Aside from providing what the dog needs, you should also train your pet dog. This is to give your pet the right behavior and habits so that it will become disciplined and well mannered. You will not have a difficult time taking care of your pet dog once it has undergone dog training. Training your dog is easy and fun especially if you have the right information to use. Here are some of the most basic advices to follow when you are training your dog.

Advice #1: Be the boss at all times. It is a known fact that dogs can sometimes be bossy. These animals are born leaders. But keep in mind that you are the master and should always be followed by your pet.

Advice #2: Show what is right through your actions. If you say that your dog should not hurt other people, and then show it through your actions. Do not show any sign of anger or violence. Dogs have the tendency to become violent especially when it sees it in its environment.

Advice #3: Treat your dog as a dog and not as a kid. Do not expect your dog to understand each and every single thing you say. These are still animals that have different ways of communicating. You are actually training your dog according to their personality and behavior. One needs to be very patient in order to successfully carry out the dog training.

Advice #4: Be consistent with your commands. You should not change mind every now and then. If you are teaching a specific lesson, stay with it until your dog learns to follow it completely. Inconsistency will have your dog confused with the commands that you are calling out. Be firm with what you are teaching. But be sure to reward your dog once it has followed your command successfully.

Advice #5: Commit to daily dog training. Make sure that you train everyday. Skipping days will make your dog be lazy in following you. You need to make sure that you can allot time for your dog so that it can learn something new everyday.

Advice #6: Be positive and appreciative. Dogs like to impress their boss. So if you are impressed with what your dog has done, show happiness. Give encouraging words to your dog. It will also help if you give out rewards like food or toys.

Training your dog to be well mannered and well disciplined means that you are accepting the pet to be a member of your family. Dog training will prevent you from experiencing unlikely incidents because of your pet's misbehavior. Having a pet at home is enjoyable especially if your pet does know how to communicate with you through their behaviors.

I am starring this for animal art works...she knows more about service dogs and their training and legal issues than I do!!

Hopefully she will see it!