Service dogs

.. because I didn't want to hijack the Iditarod thread anymore I thought I'd post this here.

Lin .. you commented over in the other thread about your service dog and all the time, effort and financial expense and then my friend (a professional dog trainer who also helps raise pups for service dogs) posted this link on her facebook page.

I thought I'd post it here to raise a little more awareness.

http://notesfromadogwalker.com/2012/01/04/off-leash-dogs/

People are freaking idiots. There are many days of my life when I would be much happier to be surrounded by dogs than people.

I agree that regular pet owners with off leash dogs can be a major problem for service dogs. But to be perfectly honest.... In this case, the way its been told, it very much sounds like the dog was not a good choice for service dog work. It also sounds like they did all the correct things in training and raising the dog, but that really isn't enough. The most important thing for a service dog is to have whats called solid nerves. One of the reasons for this is because the dog is then confident, and gains confidence from its handler, and so doesn't have a problem with trying any sort of new or strange situation that may be required of a service dog. The other reason for this, is to be able to shake off bad experiences. Again, being perfectly honest here, a strong nerved dog would not have had the same reaction in this experience where it then cost the owner 2 years to fix. Temperament in an animal is very much based on genetics and does not change through the lifespan, behavior does being a combination of the temperament and life experiences. This is why its SO important to have a dog with a temperament suited for service work. Most dogs honestly just do not have what it takes to be service dogs. Thats one of the reasons why its so expensive to acquire a service dog, all of the washouts. For example the organization Fidelco places its wash outs for the adoption fee of $10,000 to help offset the money lost in training of these dogs.

In the US, the federal law allows for owner trained service dogs. It also does not restrict what defines a service dog training organization, and there are more organizations out there that are NOT reputable than ones that are. I am fully for the reason the laws were written the way they are, which is to give the maximum protection and support to the person with a disability. But the downside is the huge amount of dogs out there working as service dogs that should not be. In extreme cases, these dogs may (and have) been aggressive themselves and bitten their handlers, family members, and strangers. In other extreme cases some people put their lives in the hands of a service dog (not a good idea. They help, but cannot be responsible for a human life. They're still a dog. Even with guide dogs its the handler making the decisions based on the information they receive from the dog, the dog is not making decisions) that has been promised to have abilities that it does not.

In this case, it was the handler who had to pay and I'm very sorry for that. I know what its like to suddenly not have your service dog there to perform their job, for me during periods of illness and now death. But as someone active in service dog education and advocacy I have to admit that this situation could have been prevented by the handler or one of the dog's trainers, if they had enough experience to say that this dog didn't have the temperament to be a service dog. And the way temperament works, I'm sure there were small signs along the way. I also know how crushing it is to admit that your dog doesn't have what it takes to be a service dog, and AFTER putting years of effort and loads of money into training. It was crushing when I had to wash-out Emma and admit she just didn't have what it took and would not be Tessa's successor.

Temperament is incredibly hard to determine in a puppy. Even the best breeders are only making guesses from experience in their pups. Temperament is not solid until adulthood, and in many cases a year may have already been spent in training by then. And in cases like the one in the blog, an attachment formed with the handler. Thats the downside of being involved in raising and training of your own service dog. And it gets even more complicated with the fact that most reputable organizations will not place a SD in a home with another dog. There are valid reasons for this, but I wish more places would/could consider this on a case by case basis. So if you have a washout, not only are you starting from scratch but have some very big decisions to make about the washed out dog and where your future SD will come from.

Lin
Assistance Dog Advocacy Project

Lin, thanks for your detailed and interesting response. Do you know what percentage of dogs wash out of service dog training programs? I'm curious after reading what you have to say.

Regarding dog temperament, I think you are exactly correct when it comes to the difficulties in assessing it. It makes the dogs who are capable of doing service work that much more amazing.

Glad this topic continues. Lin, I get what you're saying about the SD's non-stellar recovery from the incident. But what do you think is an appropriate response from a dog being sought & attacked? This dog apparently wasn't defensive enough, but would that even be a trait you'd expect from a SD?

In all my years of working with dogs; grooming dogs, shelter dogs, greyhound rescue, dog training and my own dogs .. all rescue. I have handled hundreds, probably close to a thousand dogs and I have not met one dog that recovers well from a serious attack. The response varies from fearful to aggressive but none have reverted back to their previous trusting, happy-go-lucky selves and I can't say I blame them.

I myself have been bitten on more occasions than I can count but the one, very serious attack that affected me the most and left me psychologically scarred did not even result in a contact bite.

To expect a SD to recover from an attack with no after effects is pretty tough and if that is what's demanded it's no wonder there are so many wash-outs.

Having a strong and stable temperament is extremely important in a service dog to be able to perform its job well, and perform its job well consistently. In this case we see an example where the dog was not able to perform its job well consistently. An attack is an extreme example, but in a dog without strong nerves there can be less extreme examples. Most if not all working dogs require strong nerves, while a dog with weak nerves can still be an excellent pet. The subject of strong nerves and temperament is a huge one in and of itself, if anyone wants to understand it deeper there are some working dog specific forums as well as dog forums that have working breeders and trainers. One I'm personally a member of (but the membership has changed in recent years since it was sold) is germanshepherds.com

I've also had experience hundreds of rescue dogs, and unfortunately most of them do not have solid nerves. Much of this is due to poor breeding, which again is its own topic. This is why its incredibly rare to find a service dog prospect in a rescue dog. Most organizations that sprung up wanting to solely focus on retraining rescue dogs to be service dogs have gone under as a result. I really wish poor breeding would stop for the sake of ALL dogs. Even in an excellently bred litter with the best genetics, only a few are likely to be working dog prospects and more will wash out along the line.

Unfortunately when it comes to a dog attack, thats something I've had personal experience with as well. It was years ago when I used to go to a dog park. Tessa was attacked, it was a multiple dog fight as tends to happen very quickly in that sort of situation. Blood and vet trips were involved with a large gaping gash on her face that was closed with surgical glue. Tessa was her usual happy self within probably 15 minutes of the dogs being pulled apart.

How a dog reacts IN a dog fight isn't so much about training or the dog itself, there is instinct and quite possibly the fear of life or death itself going on in a dog fight. During the fight, the important thing would be first to keep YOURSELF safe, second to try and keep your dog safe. This can be a problem with someone who is disabled, such as strength. The proper way to break up a dog fight is to pull them apart by the tail and keep moving in an arc so the dog is unable to turn against you. And to never stick your hand up in the face or go for collars since you can be bitten accidentally.

With a service dog, like I addressed it my post, its more about how the dog reacts AFTER thats important. Life is unpredictable, **** happens. The dog having strong nerves and a stable temperament to take all experiences in stride and continue to look to their handler for guidance is important. In this story, the handler mentions work was a problem for 2 years. I don't know many people who would still be working or have their job if such a scenario came up. Service dogs do not always accompany their handlers to work, it depends on the job and if the dog is actively working while the individual is at work. The laws regarding service dogs at work are separate from public access. If you're suddenly unable to perform your job because your dog is unable to perform its job... You're out of a job, its not like you have protection. Service dogs allow their handlers to have a kind of independence they wouldn't otherwise have. 2 years... Thats a big deal. I'm somewhat facing that myself right now. Since I have Emma I'll be able to have her fill in for the tasks at home that Tessa did, but its going to be a year to years for my next service dog (thats how the process works, and her unexpected death wiped out the plans in place to have the next SD ready in time). So I'm going to have to depend on human assistance when doing regular things such as errands, grocery shopping, etc.

If my wheelchair was to break, it would take a few months to get repaired with getting insurance coverage, then parts, then the work. I'd be really f-in screwed. Right now I'm not working outside the home, so Tessa's death doesn't affect a job of mine but lets compare Tessa to the wheelchair (when discussing service dog laws, SDs are akin to a piece of medical equipment. Like I mentioned in the other thread, its the individual who has the right to be accompanied by the SD and not the dog itself to be allowed where dogs are not allowed. So you cannot prevent a SD from access to a grocery store because its discrimination. You could not prevent someone from bringing a wheelchair into a grocery store, it would be discrimination.) If I was working right now, and I depend on my wheelchair to accomplish daily tasks, and my wheelchair broke and required time in the shop, I'm out of that job because I'm suddenly unable to perform that job. Most of the disabled population struggles financially due to difficulty working, the increased medical cost, and the increased cost of things required to perform daily tasks (anything from specialized vehicles, small pieces of equipment, to special accommodations to the house.) I couldn't afford to suddenly lose my income for 3 months, much less 2 years. Plus, the situation in the blog seems to be a partial owner trainer situation. Tessa was partially owner trained, so I've been through that. So now on top of being unable to work and not having that income, imagine having to suddenly come up with the extra money AND time, and sit at home fixing my wheelchair by myself. I am not married, I have no kids. Imagine the difficulty if we toss some of that in there, have me not only responsible for myself but a couple kids.

This is just a little look at why its so important to have a service dog who is BOTH of correct temperament and nerve AND correctly trained. I really feel for this individual having gone through this, and it sounds like they did everything right on the training route. Unfortunately thats not enough. They shouldn't have to deal with this sort of situation. Not everyone who has a dog with an incorrect (or you could even call it less than perfect, YES the demands are high, because the job is so important) temperament runs into problems like this, but getting by on luck isn't enough.

I hope I've made the analogies clear enough, I was knocked out the last 2 days with a horrible migraine and still have a bit of a headache left today. I'm having a medical procedure friday though and so I'm unable to take blood thinning meds like aspirin or NSAIDs!

eyeroll said:

Do you know what percentage of dogs wash out of service dog training programs? I'm curious after reading what you have to say.

Click to expand...

Thats going to depend on each individual program, and where their dogs are coming from. Like I mentioned before the ones who take in rescue dogs tend to struggle, its really unfortunate but the nature of the job. Even a well bred dog who has everything it takes to be a SD typically requires 2 years of training, so on top of the rarity of finding the dogs who have what it takes in rescue there is a possibility of longer training times, and the issue of the current age of the dog. Because of the length of time required for training and the cost as a result, its best to begin from puppyhood and place service dogs around 2 years of age for the longest possible working life.

Anyway, so a couple statistics to give you an idea. From the organization Guide Dogs for the Blind, in the fiscal year 2012 they had 912 puppies born into their breeding program, 878 puppies enter training, 302 graduating teams, and 183 adult wash outs. http://www.guidedogs.com/site/PageServer?pagename=about_stats_program
The estimates that are passed around in the service dog community are that between 30 and 70% of dogs are washed out, with the low end being the organizations with a long history of their own breeding programs. One individual who answered (I requested the statistics from an ADAP group) said that so far 23% of the dogs her organization has taken in graduated as service dogs.