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In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
trained to aid or assist an individual with a
disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, dev ...
. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a professional trainer.


Terminology

'Assistance dog' is the internationally established term for a dog that provides assistance to a disabled person, and is task-trained to help mitigate the handler's disability. Assistance Dogs International, an international network of assistance dog providers across the globe, notes that there is some variability of terminology in different states, particularly within the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. They are working to establish consistent global terminology, and note that 'assistance dog' is the term adopted by organizations who train and provide assistance dogs, and the disabled people who partner with assistance dogs.


Distinctive features

For a dog to be considered an assistance dog, they must meet the following criteria: # The dog's partner must be disabled and meet the legal definition of disability in the specific country or region. # The dog must be specifically trained to mitigate the partner's disability in some way, e.g. opening doors, detecting
high blood sugar Hyperglycemia is a condition in which an excessive amount of glucose circulates in the blood plasma. This is generally a blood sugar level higher than 11.1 mmol/L (200  mg/dL), but symptoms may not start to become noticeable until even ...
or
allergens An allergen is a type of antigen that produces an abnormally vigorous immune response in which the immune system fights off a perceived threat that would otherwise be harmless to the body. Such reactions are called allergies. In technical terms ...
and notifying of such, alerting to a ringing phone, leading those who are visually or mobility impaired. # The dog must be trained to a high level not to be a nuisance in public, to be safe with members of the public and well-behaved, as well as being healthy and not posing a hygiene threat. # Some assistance dogs wear
harness A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types: * Bondage harness * Child harness * Climbing harness * Dog harness * Pet harness * Five-point harness * Horse harness * Parrot harness * ...
es that signify such in bold letters, but this is not required by law. # Assistance dogs in America are not required by the ADA law to have an ID card or be registered. Individual countries and regions will have specific laws and regulations, with these international criteria having broad recognition across the globe.


Training process

Assistance dogs have traditionally been trained by charities and other organizations who then partner a disabled person with a trained dog when the dog has completed its training program at approximately the age of 2. Increasingly, more disabled people are self-training their own assistance dogs, whereby the disabled person selects their own dog (often referred to as a 'prospect') and the dog is trained by the disabled person who also becomes their eventual handler. There is great variability between the length and type of training that any future assistance dog receives; however, all assistance dog candidates will go through certain stages.


Selection

Assistance dog candidates are generally selected with care for appropriate health, temperament and characteristics. Large established organizations such as The Guide Dogs for the Blind select and maintain their own breeding stock to ensure healthy pups with desirable traits. Someone may carefully select prospect puppies from reputable breeders, or they may choose to commence training with a dog who was already part of the family. The reality TV show ''Rescue Dog to Super Dog'' featured the process of carefully selecting rescue dogs from shelters to train as assistance dogs.


Socialization

The first period of a puppy prospect's life is normally spent in socialization rather than formal training. Large formal organizations often use puppy foster parents during the pups first year and the pup grows up in a normal family environment surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of the type of environment they will later work in, learning to be clean and toilet trained, confident and happy. Owner Trainers raise their pups themselves, so the dog lives with the same person who will later be their handler, but will also focus on giving the puppy confidence, play experiences and socialisation in the environments they will later work in.


Task training

Once a puppy is old enough they will commence their specialist training which will include training in work and/or tasks. It is these tasks which will make them distinct and specialised assistance dogs. In the US, an assistance dog handler may be asked if they have a disability, and what tasks the dog does to mitigate that disability as the only two legal questions to ascertain that a dog is indeed an assistance dog. The tasks that an assistance dog prospect will learn depend on the disabilities that their current or future handler has and there is therefore almost no limit on the types of tasks a dog can be trained to. These may vary from picking up dropped items and taking laundry out of a washing machine to interrupting self-harming behaviors to providing deep pressure therapy for an autistic person.


Obedience and public access

At the same time as learning their unique tasks to support their handler, an assistance dog candidate also learns how to be well behaved, polite and to present acceptably in public. Large organizations who train assistance dogs will use their own in house training processes. Owner trainers may also approach this in a variety of ways. Many owner-trainer support groups recommend following established dog obedience schemes such as the Kennel Club Bronze, Silver and Gold obedience training programme to gain a high and dependable recognized standard of obedience and behavior followed by the Public Access Test. Public Access tests evaluate a dog's ability to behave appropriately in public, and in places not normally deemed pet friendly where a person may enter with an assistance dog, such as a supermarket or restaurant.


Classification

In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, assistance dogs fall into two broad categories: service dogs and facility dogs. Service dogs are defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. State and local governments, businesses, and
nonprofit organizations A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is normally allowed to go. Facility dogs are used by working professionals to aid multiple people. Common examples of assistance dogs include: *
Guide dogs A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Ex ...
assist the blind and the
visually impaired Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment†...
. *
Hearing dogs Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive Sound, sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting Vibration, vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with he ...
, or signal dogs, help the
deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...
and
hard of hearing Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken l ...
. *
Mobility assistance dogs A mobility assistance dog or mobility service dog is a dog trained to assist a physically disabled person who has mobility issues, such as poor balance or being a non-ambulatory wheelchair user. Roles include "providing balance and stability" pi ...
*
Medical response dogs Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
**
Seizure response dog A seizure response dog (SRD) (also known as seizure dog) is a dog demonstrating specific assisting behaviour during or immediately after a person's epileptic seizure or other seizure. When reliably trained such dogs can serve as service dogs fo ...
s *
Psychiatric service dogs A psychiatric assistance dog or psychiatric service dog is a sub-category of assistance dog trained to assist their handler with a psychiatric disability or a mental disability, such as Obsessive–compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disord ...
* Autism Assistance dogs Common examples of facility dogs include: *
Courthouse facility dog In the United States, a courthouse facility dog is a professionally trained facility dog that has graduated from an accredited assistance dog organization that is a member of Assistance Dogs International. Such dogs assist crime victims, witnesses ...
s are typically handled by professionals working in the legal system. They are often used to assist crime victims, witnesses, and others during the investigation and prosecution of crimes as well as other legal proceedings. *Facility dogs in educational settings are usually handled by special education teachers to facilitate interaction with the students. * Facility dogs in healthcare environments are typically handled by physical therapists, psychologists, and other healthcare professionals to facilitate recovery and symptom management for patients.


Similarities and differences between facility dogs and therapy dogs

Because both may aid people in similar settings such as healthcare environments, facility dogs are often mistakenly called therapy dogs; however, there are several important distinctions between them. Facility dogs are trained by accredited assistance dog organizations and therapy dogs are trained by their owners. Facility dogs may be handled by a wide variety of working professionals, while therapy dogs must be handled by their owners. Facility dogs are trained by canine professionals or by their owner for a period of 18 to 24 months, and must pass very rigorous tests before graduating from an assistance dog organization. In contrast, registration for therapy dogs by a therapy dog organization does not require enrollment in obedience classes or therapy dog classes, meaning that therapy dogs often undergo a much less rigorous training process. Furthermore, the tests that therapy dogs must pass are less complicated and challenging than those taken by facility dogs. A person with either a therapy dog or a facility dog must have permission from the facilities they visit before they can enter with their animal. They do not have the right to demand access to places where pets are not generally permitted, or to have fees associated with their pets waived.


See also

* * * * *
Dogs for Good Dogs for Good is a UK-based charity training dogs to help adults and children with physical disabilities and learning disabilities, children with autism and adults with dementia. Until October 2015 it was called Dogs for the Disabled. History T ...
(in the UK) *
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a UK charity which trains dogs to alert deaf people to a variety of sounds. The Charity's dogs provide emotional support through companionship, and practical support by alerting deaf people to life-saving sounds ...
(in the UK) * Hounds for Heroes * * * * *


References


External links

*
Delta Society's National Service Animal Resource Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Assistance Dog Assistance dog Dog roles