Make My Dog a “Real” Service Dog? Service Dog Testing and Training Path Explained

So you want to own or train your own service dog. Awesome! But you start doing research and you can't figure out how to make your dog a legal service dog. You know that service dog registries are a scam, but if your dog doesn't need to be registered or pass any tests, how can you prove that your dog is actually a service dog? I want to start this video by being very clear that while the testing and outline of skills that I talk about here is publicly available, the information on service dog law is about U.S. service dogs only. And in the United States, a service dog is not required to be registered to any governing body outside your local general dog licensing laws. And they don't have to pass any type of test to be recognized as a legally defined service dog under the ADA. Period. There is no test. That being said, I work with a lot of owner trainers and many of them come to me wanting to know what standard their dog should be trained to and how they can make sure that their dog is a legitimate service dog. They also come to me with Look, when I first started out, I had all of those same feelings too. But the thing is, it's simply not true. Owner training your service dog is legal and the right fit for many people in need of a service dog. So then the question is, why test if it's not required? Look, if you're like me, I like to have a plan and benchmark and goals to hit to make sure my dog is measuring up to industry standards as far as their public access work and behavior in public is concerned. I want to have targets to hit and goalposts to help me progress my training throughout the process. And I want to have a dog that's a good example of what a service dog should act like out in public. Having service dogs that are trained to a high standard makes access easier for everyone. And while dogs can always have off days, just like humans, generally, I want my dog's behavior to reflect the seriousness of the job they're doing and to not leave any question as to whether or not this is a legitimate service dog. And there are objective ways for you to help measure this. So today I'm going to bring you through the standards and tests I use to help get objective measures and hold myself to a high standard, both with my clients and my own service dog. Hi, I'm Laura from DoggyU and I'm a certified guide dog trainer instructor, service dog trainer, and trick trainer. I've been evaluating training and placing working guide dogs and service dogs for my entire career, 14 years in the industry. So let's talk about the tests you can use to help ensure that your dog is meeting and exceeding public access standards as you work through your service dog training together. To start, besides more objective measures of your training's progress, preparing for a test like this has other benefits as well. First, it gives you a structured list of items to train for. And if creating structure isn't your strong suit, this can be really helpful. Also, the act of preparing for these tests can be a great addition to your training. Often training facilities will run classes specifically geared towards these tests, which gives you an opportunity to train around distractions. Having a captive audience of dogs and humans as distractions can be invaluable as you progress through your service dog training. Finally, preparing for these tests just adds a little bit of pressure. Pressure that can be good practice for the real-world situations and encounters that you'll have with the public. The more situations you train in under a small amount of stress, the better you and your dog will be at handling it. Okay, so before we get started on the tests I use, I just want to service dog is defined as a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. There is no test. However, I use the American Kennel Club series of tests to help guide and objectively measure my training progress, as well as help me evaluate whether or not my dog is ready for non-pet friendly stores. If you want to learn more about the amazing opportunities there are for training in pet friendly stores before your dog is ready for true public access work, I'll link that video up here. I even talk about where I wouldn't take my service dog in training, even if it is dog friendly. So let's talk first about going from pet friendly stores to non-pet friendly stores and when I start making that switch. I like to use the AKC Canine Good Citizen test to judge my dog's readiness to start training in non-pet friendly locations. Please note that these tests do not make your dog a service dog. They are tests available to the general public and pet dogs as well. These tests are simply indicators and benchmarks that you can use to track your training progress. It's typically pretty easy to find a training facility or evaluator to perform these tests for you, which is one of the reasons that I use them. And you can search for evaluators at their website, which I'll link down in the description. Just as an example, there's almost 200 evaluators in Connecticut alone, which is a pretty tiny state. Any CGC evaluator is also able to evaluate the CGCA and the UCGC, as well as trick dog titles. More on those tests and why I use them later on. The CGC must be performed in person and it is a 10-item exam. No food can be used and the dog must perform on a flat buckle collar, a slip collar, or harness. The exam includes accepting a friendly stranger, sitting politely for petting, appearance and grooming, walking on leash, walking through a crowd, sit down and stay on cue, coming when called, a neutral reaction to another dog, reaction to distraction, and a three minute supervised separation. If all 10 test items are completed, you'll receive your CGC title and have the option of adding it as an official title if your dog is registered with the AKC. In my own service dog program, the CGC is a minimum indicator to see if a dog is suitable to progress as a service dog. If they're not able to pass the test, they're likely either not a good candidate or not yet ready to move on to non-pet friendly public access work. One alternative to the CGC is another standardized test offered by the organization Psychiatric Service Dog Partners. Their service dog and training manners evaluation test has a lot of similar components to the CGC and I'll drop a link down below. Even if you're unable to locate an evaluator or you don't have the financial ability to officially take the CGC, I highly recommend that you get a friend or relative to practice administering one of those tests to you on a specific day at a specific time. This will help you get a better objective measure of your dog's skills and give you something to prepare for with your dog. And before we move on to the next milestone you're going to want to train towards, if you found this video helpful so far, be sure to take a second and head on down and boop that like button. Doing that helps me know that you've gotten value from this video and want me to make more. While you're down there, hit that subscribe button and click that little bell so you get notified when my next service dog video comes out. Okay, so once your dog has passed their CGC, the next goal post I start training for is the CGCA or the AKC Community Canine. To officially take this test, you must have a CGC on record. This test is an elevated version or the next step from the CGC. While I won't go over the test line by line, I will link it down below so that you can check it out. In general, the test has items such as more structured loose leash walking including turns, pace changes and stops, walking past distraction dogs, small group sit stays, leave it, and a recall with distractions. Once my dog passes the CGCA, I then move on to preparing for the AKC Urban Canine Good Citizen. This 10-item test is much more like a public access test in that it's conducted out in public in a busier environment. It's a great way to prep for public access testing and to simulate what it might feel like to do a public access test. I'll link the full description down below but this test includes activities like walking on a sidewalk where people are going to come within one foot of you and the dog which is very similar to what you're going to experience out in real public. It also includes reactions to distractions like horns, construction, skateboards, bikes, as well as the ability to walk over surfaces you may encounter like grates or tarps or concrete. It looks at controlled entrance and exit of buildings and transportation as well as the ability to pause before crossing the street. The dog must also ignore dropped food or trash on the sidewalk as well as sit for petting by someone who's carrying something like a bag. The dog must also navigate a building including stairs or an elevator. So this test is definitely a good approximation towards your preparedness for public access suitability. Once your dog has passed this test, you'll know that you're prepared to take a true public access test. You may need to do a bit more training and refining especially around distractions and proofing your tasks out in public but you're well on your way. And before we get to public access testing, if you're feeling like you need some additional support on your service dog training journey, head on over to the DoggyU community at patreon.com slash doggyu where I do a monthly live Q&A to get your questions answered. You'll also gain access to more than 100 Patreon exclusive videos including my unedited training sessions so you can see how I handle training when things don't go as planned. Okay so we're finally at public access testing. Most reputable service dog organizations require some type of formal public access testing before handing the dog over to their new handler. When I worked in guide dog training, there were actually three official tests and about five more unofficial ones. And most owner trainers want a test that definitively says their dog is ready and trained to service dog standards. The thing is there is no official public access test but that shouldn't stop you from having a trainer, a friend, or a family member administer one for you. Assistance Dog International is the gold standard in service dog training throughout the world. But unfortunately you have to be an ADI certified organization to administer an ADI public access test and individual trainers don't qualify to be certified at this time. While many trainers will administer their own version of the ADI public access test, the Psychiatric Service Dog Partners organization offers a test that's free for you to use for your own evaluation. It covers everything from navigating stores to use of the public restrooms to restaurant behavior and more. I'm going to link that resource for you down below. If your dog can pass this test, you should be really comfortable and also so proud of yourself for all the hard work you've put into training your own service dog. But remember, training never ends. You'll always be maintaining and training new behaviors with your service dog. Now again, none of these testing measures are required but most people enjoy having milestones to reach and it allows you to feel confident that your dog's training is progressing as it should be. And earning a ribbon for your hard work can be a lot of fun too. And if you found this video helpful on your service dog training journey, I'm going to put the next one you need to watch right here so be sure to click on it. You all have an awesome day and happy training!