Reference document
Service dog training standards.
What a working team has to be able to do, why each part of it is on the list, and how it gets assessed. Written down so you can hold us to it.
Where the standard comes from
Behavior, not paperwork.
There is no federal certification and no federal registry. Nothing you can buy proves a dog is a service animal and no document creates access where the behaviour is not there. which is why there are so many poorly trained dogs not mitigating disabilities and instead reinforcing them
Access rests on two things. The handler has a disability, and the dog is individually trained to do work or perform tasks to mitigate the effects, while behaving safely in public.
Everything below is our reading of what that second half requires in practice. It is a behavior standard, and every line of it describes something a stranger could watch happen.
Some local governments run voluntary registration programs, which exist for practical reasons such as a reduced licence fee or a note for first responders. They are optional and they grant no access rights.
Part one of two
Behavior in public.
This half is the same for every working team regardless of what the dog was trained to do. It is what a shop manager, a gate agent or a nurse is actually watching.
Goes down and stays down.
Settles under a table, beside a chair, or tucked at your feet, not sitting in grocery carts or in restaurant booths. Does not creep out into a walkway, disturb other dogs. Holds it for as long as you are there, not for as long as a treat lasts.
Leaves the world alone.
Ignores food on the floor, food at nose height, other dogs, children, trolleys and people who want to say hello. Does not solicit attention from strangers and does not respond to it when it arrives uninvited, which it will.
Silent unless the work requires sound.
No barking, no whining, no vocalising at people or dogs. The only exception is a trained alert that is supposed to make noise.
Stays with you.
Moves at your pace, through doorways, into lifts, onto elevators where they are safe, and around obstacles, without pulling and without wandering to the end of the leash. Does not leave your side to investigate anything.
Reliable, and on cue where possible.
No accidents indoors. A dog who cannot be relied on here is not ready for public access regardless of how good everything else looks.
Comes back down after a surprise.
Something will drop, bang or move suddenly. The standard is not that she never reacts. The standard is that she settles again quickly and without needing to leave.
Part two of two
The work she does.
This half is specific to you, and it is the half that makes her a service dog rather than a very well behaved dog.
A task is a trained response to something. It has a cue, whether that cue comes from you or from something the dog has learned to notice, and it has a job it does. Comfort from a dog's presence is real and it matters, but it is not a trained task, and a dog who provides only that is an emotional support animal, which carries different rights.
We train the tasks common to PTSD. Relief from fear, anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, hyper-vigilance and hyper-activity. Interruption and grounding in very practical ways.
A well behaved dog is not a service dog. Behavior is the entry requirement, not the work. Protection trained working dogs are not service dogs under the ADA.
How it is assessed
Both halves, on a bad day.
Assessment does not happen on a quiet Tuesday when everyone is rested. It happens in real conditions, because that is where the standard actually has to hold. The airport is full. The shop is loud. You are already struggling, which is the entire reason the dog is with you.
Assessment is also continuous rather than a single event at the end. A team is looked at throughout, so that a dog who is not suited is identified in month two rather than month fourteen.
Requirements before assessment
What has to be in place first.
Veterinary clearance
A full check within the last twelve months, and disclosure of any diagnosed condition, pain or medication. Pain changes behavior, and a dog working through it is being asked something unfair.
Temperament
No history of biting or snapping at people. Noise sensitivity, a genuine dislike of strangers or over excitement that does not settle, all rule a dog out.
The earlier parts
Loose leash walking and passing another dog calmly on a quiet street come first. A dog who cannot do that is not ready to be assessed by a stranger in a busy one.
When the standard is not met
A dog who does not pass has not failed.
Many dogs are not suited to public access work, and it is almost never about training. Temperament, health, sound sensitivity and sociability rule dogs out through no fault of the dog and none of the handler.
A dog who cannot do this work is going to have a better life not doing it, and often makes an excellent emotional support animal instead. Being told early is a kindness, and it is the part of this standard we take most seriously.
Equipment
What is never used to reach this standard.
No prong collars, no shock collars, no aversive equipment of any kind. Not as a preference and not as a philosophy, but because a dog trained with them does not meet a behavior standard in the first place. Suppressed behavior is not settled behavior, and it comes apart in exactly the conditions this standard exists to test.
The vest is not for sale and never will be. Teams earn it, which is the only reason it means anything when it goes on.
Ready to be assessed against this?
Service Dog Owner Training is by application, in person, for teams who have completed the earlier parts.
Read about the program Applications open by intake.