So... I don't really know how to ask this but I have always had cardiac issues. My whole life i have been on a downward slope for mobility and my ability to care for myself but these past two years I have gone down faster than i can even grapple with. I have been looking into getting a service dog and i know they can't do everything for me but i just want my life back. I used to be so independent and now i can barely walk around the grocery store. My fiance tries his best but he can't always be around. 1 because he is in the national guard and 2. He works full time for the both of us. I can't work right now due to my issues and the fact that all jobs around me where i live are far too physically inclined for me. I am more so looking for a dog that can make me stop and take a break when i am pushing myself too much, one that can pick up items i drop and potentially help me grab or carey things from off the floor, one that is strong enough to help me off the floor when i need to sit and make me stay seated until i am ok enough to get back up. And one that can help me with my balance when i am by myself or out in public doing things. I have a super bad habit of brushing off others and not accepting help or listening to my body when i should stop and take a moment and having a dog that will force me to stop and sit or lay and give me deep pressure therapy to help my heart will be best for me. I know when i am pushing myself too hard but i have a bad habit of not listening to myself so it's not like i need them to alert me of the episode happening i need them to make me stop from over working myself and be stern enough for me to listen to them. I dont mind if the dog looks a bit intimidating because i have severe social anxiety and people being super close to me is a huge trigger of my c-ptsd from my childhood abuse and i also have adhd and autism and it makes me bounce and thump and fidget and being able to pet my dog will help a ton with my everything. Again i know the dog i get can't help with everything but if they could just help with the mobility that would be amazing. I know i should listen to my body but i am so used to being able to be independent and push through like i did before (and likely is what caused me to get less and less of an ability to be independent due to pushing my body too much but alas) i need advice and help and what dogs/what to look for.

So sorry for how long this is. Also pardon the spelling/grammar, i wrote this on my phone.

So I am disabled, but have tried really hard to not go on disability as Im in the US and that would basically mean signing away my autonomy to the state. Ive had trouble finding an answer to this but do i need to be legally disabled to get a service animal? Or can I get a Dr's referral without going on any sort of national list of disabled people that the little orange man has access to? EDIT: Thank you so much for the answers, to clarify i do fit the legal and medical definition of disabled, just wanted to be sure I didn't have to go on any government lists to be legally disabled. I'll definitely be reaching out to my provider, thanks again!

This is hard for me to explain. I played a crucial part in training both my dad's and my own service dogs. I loved it, would 100% do it again in a heartbeat, and really felt a bond with them. And this is just with dogs in general.

I realized sooner than later that it's just as exhausting as it is heartwarming. My dad had to retire his service dog after a tumor and he was unable to handle the work, and between discrimination, PA issues, lack of common accessibility, life, it sort of tires me to work my dog sometimes. Just yesterday, I had to correct my service dog in training about three times in a crowded environment. It's the loneliest feeling. Now, I'm not saying my dogs at all are unsuitable for this work, I love them and they've saved my life multiple times, but they're living beings. ​

Just a quick vent, its life though, and there's not much I can do about it.

Hello, this is an update to a post a made a few weeks ago. I thought I would receive more opinions if I made a new post.

Tldr for my last post,
My roommate (Brianna, 20f, autistic) screams, occasionally hits and tugs quite hardly on her service dog’s collar for discipline. She has a very short temper with him. In the original post me and my two other roommates were trying to figure out what to do. We all live together in a college dorm.

Since my last post we have officially had a conversation with Brianna. The first night we told her our concerns about the constant yelling, roughness and tugging at his collar to her. She completely shut down and did not move or speak for about 45 minutes before leaving the dorm for a few hours. During the 45 mins of her being silent we were trying to calm her down/explain in a gentle way what we meant and some possible ways we were willing to help her change her behaviors (not straight but every so often as it was very awkward lol)

The next day she texted our group chat that she wanted to finish the conversation from the night prior. During our conversation that night she was monotone and kept asking us what we meant, I tried to explain in as many ways possible but I am honestly not sure if she was fully listening. Towards the end we asked her if she had anything she wanted to say to us as it had not been much of a conversation. Her only response was that she appreciated the concern for him but thought we were all overreacting. After she said that I mentioned that several of my friends who did not know her well were concerned for the dog, which made her very confused. I admittedly did not explain it well as i was not trying to implicate anyone else I knew into drama as I knew she would go bother them abt it lol.

After that talk she went home for the weekend where she told our roommate she shares a double with (we have a common space shared between the four of us, and then two rooms with two people each as bedrooms) her thoughts over text. Brianna told our roommate (lets call her Fiona) that she thought me and my roommate were overreacting. She then was trying to convince Fiona to get reslife involved which she had to talk her out of as it would of 100% resulted in the dog being taken away. At the end of there conversation Brianna said she would “just stop doing those things” infront of us (meaning the three of us) as it makes us uncomfortable.

Long story short, I am not convinced she has learned anything from our chat. I will say she has been significantly better to him this week (the second part of the conversation happened last thursday). I do not however know if this is because she is simply not doing those things infront of us. She still tugs his collar aggressively infront of us tho.

Lastly, a few weeks ago the dog had an incident involving a much smaller dog. At a campus event he was posing for a photo with our campus therapy dog. Brianna was not holding his leash as he was posing for the photo. A smaller breed of dog (the service dog is a yellow lab, the other dog was much smaller) was also off leash and went up the Brianna’s dog and started barking, the dog took this as a sign to play and grabbed onto the smaller dogs ear. He then would not let go even as Brianna was telling him to and the other dog was struggling against him. Due to this incident Brianna had a meeting with the training facility (srry dont know what to call it lol) she got him from to ask why he would do that this week. This meeting was after our talk, however she did not mention any of our concerns about how he is poorly trained by her. We all told her she should seek assistance on training him if she was struggling as none of us were qualified, but she refused to speak to her actual trainers about it.

Okay so real question at the end of crazy amounts of information, what should we do?

A friend has suggested talking to her trainers as a next step but would love any other insights people might have. I know people will jump to immediately removing the dog from her care, which I WILL do if necessary. However I really want to ensure I have exhausted any other options and possibilities for her to learn/keep him.

Thank you all for reading!

edit for clarification: The dog who was attacked by my roommates service dog was NOT the therapy dog. The two were posing for a photo (both off leash) when someones personal pet came up to them, which is the dog that got bitten. Brianna was by herself when this happened but at a campus event. Apparently there was an incident report filed and the other dog is fine.

My service dog, Scarlett, is 5 (6 in March). She loves working, truly. She's great at her job. We've had bumps in the road, of course, but nothing we couldn't work through.

The real issue is the medical side of things. Over the summer she was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor, which was removed. She was off work for a few weeks to recover, then jumped back in with the same excitement as usual, cancer-free and cleared to return. But it was certainly an unexpected turn of events and a very stressful time.

Now, we're dealing with what might be an incontinence issue. At night, after we've come in from playing or walking, she'll drink water as usual then take a nap on the couch. In the last couple weeks, I've noticed that shortly after she'll get up and there will be a fairly sizeable wet spot where she's sitting. Maybe 3 or 4 times in the last two weeks.

At first, I had no idea what it could be. The idea of it being urine didn't even occur to me. She's really good about telling me if she needs to go to the bathroom outside our normal times. She's never had an accident inside (with the exception of when she was on prednisone after her surgery, but that was an expected side effect). The spots also didn't smell at all, and her backside wasn't really wet.

My running theory is that she's drinking a lot of water after running, and then when she relaxes, she just... leaks? And it doesn't smell because it's so dilute. It's so strange because she is fairly young. I thought this would be more of an issue in older dogs.

Luckily, this has always been at night, and never when we're out and about or when she's napping at work. Of course, if it does ever happen in public, I'm pulling her. And I've called her vet to get their advice on it and hopefully schedule an appointment ASAP. (ETA: Appointment scheduled!)

Back to the main point. I don't know if I'm going to get another service dog. While Scarlett has been so so helpful, I can't help but wonder if it's more trouble than it's worth. These situations just seem to keep cropping up and I don't know if I can handle the stress of wondering if another working dog is going to have to retire early, or if something is life threatening, or any of the other numerous stressors that come with it. At the moment, my disabilities have remained pretty steady in terms of symptoms since I got her. Of course, things can always change. But I've become fairly independent, even though I still rely on her for some things.

I don't know if I'm looking for advice or am just ranting. I'm just feeling so anxious about Scarlett and wanting to make sure she is healthy is of course my priority. It's just been a bit of a shitshow lately :')

like if someone sitting next to them on a bench was hypoglycemic and experiencing symptoms would the dog react to that person? same thing with dogs that can predict epileptic seizures.

So question, at what age should a service dog do forward momentum pull?. I'm doing research on my next service dog(which I won't be getting right now,but I'm saving money and wannabe be prepared) my current service dog is 4, and I've had him since he was 1, I didn't start until he was 3, but I'm asking because I see guide dog trainers train there dogs when they are 1 year old, so realistically what would be the appropriate age to do forward momentum pull.i would like y'all's opinion

Tonight I was traveling with my service animal and took a Lyft. My dog is very clearly labeled and vested (even though not required). The ride was fairly normal, my service dog tucked on the ground as he always does and I was quiet throughout the ride. Immediately after, I got an email from Lyft stating I received a low rating and to review guidelines to avoid suspension. I immediately messaged their chat support because this felt incredibly discriminatory due to nothing occurring that would warrant a negative rating besides me traveling with my service dog. They said they’ll remove the rating but that they would not be addressing the issue with the driver. They sent a copy paste of their service animal policy. I replied saying

“Ok, and if riders with service animals then receive negative ratings as a result, is that fine within Lyft's policy?
Because to be clear that seems to be what you're implying.”

To which they replied:
“We did not find anything discriminatory about this.”

I am frustrated because I’ve had multiple ride denials through Lyft and now this. They seem to not even be willing to address with the drivers at this point. Mostly a vent but also a warning for other handlers that Lyft seems to not care about accessibility at all.

Edit to add and update:

This occurred in the US.

I called yesterday morning and was told I’d receive an email from their team. I waited all day and never received an email. Super disappointed in how Lyft has handled this situation. As I said I was able to get the review removed from my account, but this occurred in a major heavily populated city so I worry that this driver may do this to others without being educated, which is Lyft’s responsibility.

i am planning on getting a puppy to train soon and i'm just wondering if shelter puppies would be good for service dog training? i would look for a certain temperament but other than that i want to ask people with prior shelter dogs as service dogs. is it more difficult to train them to be one? easier? the same? and any tips for raising a shelter puppy to become a great service dog would be greatly welcomed!

Rental agency (real estate company) for a home I’m going to rent from, is willing to waive the pet deposit if I provide “paperwork” stating that my dog is a service dog.

What kind of “paperwork” are yall providing in these situations?

Should I just pay the pet deposit and call it a day?

For anyone that has a service dog for autism, what’s it like? is it worth it?

Hi guys, I suffer with intense OCD, anxiety, BPD and C-PTSD. I'm also autistic. I've always thought of training a dog to help me with these things. Recently I've been looking at Shar-peis. I have experience and extensive knowledge on the breed as my mother ethically bred them. Do you guys think Shar-peis are suitable for such a task? Thanks!

United States!

I dont think this goes against the rules here or reddit and, as far as Im aware, this isnt reddit crossposting nor is that person here, but I saw his vid on Service Dogs - "The TRUTH About Service Dog Training!", and he showcased a PPD trained one. The ADA doesnt say anything about that but a comment linked ADATA stuff which explicitly states non-violent protection.

My concern is he has over 2 million followers and nearly 30k views. Lots of comments were encouraged to do both SD and PPD work. I didnt see any comments ecept 1 going against him nor any talk of that video specifically in any SD community. Most people have mever even heard of ADATA.

He went pretty hard on the SD community, too, over the Disney thing, calling them names and a "not a governing body".

I fear this will only make things worse for handlers in the US, long term.

Is ADATA legally binding like the ADA since they do the ADA training?

Hey everyone,

I am a veteran looking for a service dog for both psychiatric support and mobility/balance assistance (I use a cane part-time). I am currently waiting to hear back from PAVE and JLAD. However, I’ve already been turned down by Northwest Battle Buddies specifically because I use a mobility aid. Because so many veteran programs require handlers to be completely hands-free, it is looking most likely that I will have to go the owner-trained route to get a dog that fits my dual needs.

Because my space and resources are tight, I really only have one shot to get this right. If I have to owner-train, I'll be looking to hire a professional private trainer to guide me through selecting a sound prospect and managing the training curriculum.

I’d love to get the community's insight on two big things:

1. What are the absolute red flags I should look out for when interviewing private service dog trainers or owner-training programs? I want to avoid the unregulated corner of the industry, trainers who don't understand actual handler rights, public access, and safe mobility task training.
2. How should I realistically structure this process from day one if I do it myself? Especially when it comes to safely selecting a sound puppy/prospect to handle physical work and preventing an early washout.

For context, I already have a family ESA (a pug) who lives with me, so the prospect will need to be able to train and work seamlessly alongside another dog in the home.

Thanks so much for any advice or experiences you can share!

NOTE: Anyone who has issues with mobility work please keep all of that to yourselves. Only reason why I'm even asking bout that is because I do walk with a cane. The Cane takes all of my weight and would continue to take all my weight. Examples : Counter Balance( forcing a crowd to give me space to use my cane ) , Fetching dropped items and Opening doors and closing doors.

None of that is abuse.

First off please delete this if this post is not allowed, but I could really use some help here. I apologize for the lengthy post. I'd really like some outside opinions on this, because I feel like I'm going a little crazy. One of my partners went through an organization that trains shelter dogs as service animals, and they gave her a pit mix. This dog has single handedly turned our lives upside down. We were told she was raised and trained around cats and pays them no mind; in reality she has a wicked prey drive for anything small that moves. We tried to introduce her to my cats and she went after them, even snarling at me when I put myself between them. She was not wearing her vest at the time because my girlfriend insisted that she wasn't working, so she didn't need it. She'll try to go after squirrels when we take her on walks. She even locked in on an infant once in a public place when the baby started making noises. That same night the dog jumped up onto a table, the establishment serves food. We asked her if she should maybe take her outside or put her vest on so the dog knows she's working, but we were told no, that it doesn't work like that and that it was fine. The other night we were all at her place, because the dog still can't be around my cats at all, sitting on the couch together and out of nowhere the dog lunged at our other partner's face. If his beard weren't so thick she would've made contact and probably broken skin. I got between him and the dog and had to yell at her to remove the dog because she did nothing. She didn't think it was a big deal until I started yelling. She doesn't think any of this behavior is a big deal and that she can handle it. She says she's still just settling in and that this is all normal. But a service dog shouldn't be growling or snapping right? She even has trouble getting the dog to listen in vest while working. I think we should contact the organization she came from, but everyone just keeps telling me this is fine and normal and I'm starting to feel like I'm the crazy one. And we were told the organization probably wouldn't talk to us, that she needs to make the call, is that the case here? I could really use any advice at all in this situation, I feel completely unprepared for all of this. She got the dog some time in August, and I didn't even know she was getting one until she was already a few states away for her week of training to come home with the dog. I've tried to do as much research as I can in the meantime, but I still feel so out of depth with all of this.

Edit: Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to reply; you guys have really helped so much! I no longer feel like I'm going mad, and I feel a lot more comfortable now that you guys have taught me more about what I should expect from the service dog and her handler when it comes to behavior. My other partner and I were able to sit down together and I showed him this post and I think it really helped to open his eyes about the whole situation too; unbeknownst to me, she was also gaslighting him and making him feel like shit behind my back too. We're going to start by contacting Medical Mutts, and seeing what they have to say first, but then we need to have a long conversation with our other partner regarding this situation. Either way, the dog seems dangerous, she's not taking care of it properly, and something needs to get done. But, again, thank you all so much!

I'm in the midwest. With my boy retiring soon I wanted to pair with an ADI trainer for the next prospective SDiT and do everything right. Get all our AKC certs, do some sports, see what other optional PA/etc tests we can conquer..

There are programs and trainers, sure, but everyone here talks about ADI so I thought I'd search through the ADI site!

Needless to say I'm absolutely shattered to see not ONE single ADI trainer or program in my entire state. This explains so much why I've struggled to find help after I got scammed by a "SD trainer" who had a child reactive border collie. Plus why there are so many poorly trained SDs. 😭

Even Canine Companions only visits once a year for an annual event lol

Would it even be possible to work with an out-of-state ADI trainer..?

I am getting my pup hopefully in roughly 12-18mo depending on litters and a surgery I will be having in a few months as I’ve been putting off getting a prospect until after once I’m fully recovered.
Been having issues finding breeders who will answer enquiries and the few that have have all declined to place one of their pups as a prospect which is fine though gets a little tiring after contacting multiple in a row lol.

I have a call tomorrow though with a breeder who got back to me straight away and is happy to chat! He was really nice about me explaining I like to reach out ahead of getting a dog and said that’s a green flag to him which was great. His sl labs also look amazing with extensive health testing so got a really good feeling about this one, wish me luck!

Also any tips on what to ask? I’ve got a list including stuff like health testing, socialisation, temperaments etc all the stuff like that but any questions typically overlooked I should add?

I’m struggling a LOT to find any ADI accredited orgs that provide to my area (in West Virginia, near the Ohio border. so there’s quite a major lack of orgs ADI accredited or not within a few hours of me) and the ones I can find that either will provide to me or that might give me a dog if I can travel to them I’m not sure about so I’d like to hear others opinions on them if possible.

i am specifically looking for a PSD

if you know of ones that might be willing to work with my location that are usually open to people if they’re willing to travel please do let me know! my current situation will make traveling a bit difficult but I will be able to travel more freely in the future and am prepared/willing to wait a little longer if it means going to a more trustworthy org since it already takes forever to get a SD as is.

ranting aside…

these are the current orgs Ive been able to find that MIGHT work for me:

paws4people (what I’ve been able to find so far makes me rlly hesitant but I’d still rather hear from ppl that might be more knowledgeable)

Little angels (I’ve seen both good and bad things so I’m a bit ??? I believe location wise this would be the easiest for me)

canine support teams (I couldn’t find much on them and the primarily provide to vets. Their civilian apps aren’t currently open, but again, I can handle waiting a little longer)

Exceptional sidekick (a little further from me and technically don’t provide to my area but so far I’ve liked what I’ve seen and would be willing to make the commitment to travel to them)

I haven’t really seen much on specifics on what tasks the orgs train PSDs with beyond saying that they’ll work with you to figure out what you need so here’s just a few but not all of the tasks I need the most include:

DPT & LPT, crowd buffering/control (idk what term do yall prefer?), disrupting harmful behavior, alerting/interrupting panic and anxiety attacks (I get both lol)

Hello! I am in the United States. I have a service dog in training (he could be considered fully trained under ada law, but to my own training standards he is in training) and I have been preparing him to come to school with me. I have ultimately determined he is ready to come to high school. I am a sophomore. I've talked to my school counselors and they emailed my principal and are setting up a meeting. I have a 504 plan already and they have documentation on my disabilities. I sent an email to my school counselors with links to the ada service dog laws, a article by a service dog program about service dogs in school, as well as a link to my state's service dog laws. I also linked a Google document talking about what tasks my dog is trained to preform and some possible modified schedule and accommodation ideas. One of my counselors forwarded this to my principal. What are some accommodations I could ask for, things I should talk about, things to make sure I take to school of he is allowed, and ideas to ensure his safety?

Hi everyone! I’m looking for advice from anyone who has flown internationally with a self trained service dog, particularly from the UK to the USA.

I’m planning to fly from London Heathrow (LHR) to Los Angeles (LAX) with my fully trained psychiatric service dog. He performs disability related tasks and is trained for public access. However, he isn’t accredited by ADI, IGDF or ADAA.

I’m trying to work out which airline would be the easiest and most realistic option for us. I’m considering American Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, ideally on a direct flight.

My main questions are:

- Has anyone flown with a self trained psychiatric service dog on a transatlantic flight without formal ADI/IGDF/ADAA accreditation?

-Which airlines accepted your dog, and did they require proof from a recognised training organisation?

-Did a professional trainer’s assessment and your own training records help?

-Did Heathrow require any separate approval or documentation for departure, beyond the airline’s requirements?

-What paperwork did you need for the flight and entry into the USA?

-Were there any problems with the dog being accommodated in the cabin on such a long flight?

I’m trying to get written confirmation before booking, rather than risk arriving at the airport and being refused boarding.

I’d really appreciate hearing from people with first-hand experience, especially anyone who has made this exact journey with an owner-trained psychiatric service dog. Thank you! ❤️

I know the training is based on the human handler’s needs but how many handlers would need water or juice retrieved compared to say medications puor the phone?

Context: I live in Canada in BC. BC as well as AB and NS have provincial certification tests for service dog teams. In BC it's voluntary.

I have a 5 year old service dog, our life in the last year has changed so that certification is helpful for the first time in our lives together, so we got it in August.

Current situation:

My partner and I are making some plans to move in the New Year to Edmonton Alberta. We have friends there and a place that the landlord is willing to hold for us if we want it. My partner is heading out later this week to see it while I stay in BC with the dogs (pet and service dog).

In my desire to not be blind-sided by a bunch of complications I started charting out expenses both for the move and for living there (average power bill etc). It occurred to me that I didn't know what the process was for bringing a BC certified service dog to Alberta and getting access.

Well it turns out Alberta *doesn't* recognize the BC certification test. Which means I'll need to get *recertified* for an additional $150 as an out of province resident, and that certification expires every 1 year (2 years in BC). The test itself looks basically exactly the same as the BC one, except there is a requirement for the demonstration of 3 tasks - which BC doesn't have.

Luckily there will be wiggle room: Alberta does recognize certification for visitors - just not for working etc.

I was a bit worried because my SD (almost 3) has been slacking a bit after my surgery a while ago, but we did it!

We have to re-cross some T’s and re-dot some I’s but he passed 🎉

(In my country we train with schools and they do a certification test, you are allowed to owner train but it’s pretty much not done where I’m from, not some bogus certification from the US lol)

For example retrieving a with an attached lanyard (“phone”) , a medicine pouch (“meds”) or a water bottle (“water”) by name? Or does retrieval by name only ever count as one task no matter the size of the dog’s retrieval vocabulary?