6 Year Old Killed By Service Dog

[selzer]

Originally Posted by Mrs.K

Who makes sure that those that "legitimately " train their dogs have trained them to the full extend? Who makes sure that, while they are honest people and try to do the right thing, have picked the right dog and really know what they are doing?

Just look into Therapy and SAR how many dogs are weeded out in the certification process. All those people have legitimately been on a team, have trained and put a lot of work into it, yet it just wasn't enough and they failed, even though they are experienced handlers.

Service Dogs are supposed to help in life threatening situations, help their owners to get through everyday tasks, and most of these people have never even had a dog before and now, all of a sudden are supposed to HOT a dog?

Look at what kind of questions we look here every single day and we are supposed to trust these people to pick an train the dog right?

Yes, there are a few experienced handlers on here that have Service Dogs but the majority and the general public simply doesn't have that kind of experience. And because of that, accidents will keep happening and those fraudulent creatures will only make it worse FOR Service Dog Access.

Put a certification process into place and protect Service Dogs and their Handlers, make it harder for fraud.

I think the problem is that being a service dog is so varied that it would be hard to get the dog tested/certified for whatever they need to do, and it may be very difficult to a truly disabled person.

[Mrs.K]

Originally Posted by selzer

I think the problem is that being a service dog is so varied that it would be hard to get the dog tested/certified for whatever they need to do, and it may be very difficult to a truly disabled person.

AbbyK9 actually had a very good idea. It doesn't have to be the medical task.

I have said this previously but it probably bears repeating.

I don't think it would be overly difficult to set up a basic Public Access test standard that all Service Dogs would need to pass. Actually, I think the ADI Public Access Test would be an excellent template for this.

What we then need are experienced trainers to test people. Just like there's a list of CGC testers that you can get from the AKC and contact in your area, there could be a list for Public Access Testers that you can get via a website and that you could then contact to schedule a public access test. As many disabled persons wouldn't be able to travel to take the test, the testers would be required to travel to them, so there would probably need to be a fee for this.

But I don't see why this couldn't be done. Also, this would not in any way require the testers to ask about the person's disability or about the dog's actual tasks, it would just ensure that the dog is safe in public and has mastered basic public access tasks.

I also agree with Carole that dogs on public transportation, especially aircraft, should probably be muzzled. Even the safest dog may be freaked out or stressed by airplane travel and that's really not something you can train for unless you have a lot of money and frequent access to planes.
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[OriginalWacky]

Actually, I think the ADI Public Access Test would be an excellent template for this.

What we then need are experienced trainers to test people. Just like there's a list of CGC testers that you can get from the AKC and contact in your area, there could be a list for Public Access Testers that you can get via a website and that you could then contact to schedule a public access test. As many disabled persons wouldn't be able to travel to take the test, the testers would be required to travel to them, so there would probably need to be a fee for this.

But I don't see why this couldn't be done. Also, this would not in any way require the testers to ask about the person's disability or about the dog's actual tasks, it would just ensure that the dog is safe in public and has mastered basic public access tasks.

I would be SO thrilled if this were to come to pass... that you can self-train your dogs and have a test that could show that our dog(s) have mastered the public access part of the test. If we weren't self-training, we'd have to spend thousands, and not even get to pick out our own dog. And even then, we could get bilked out of our money, and wind up with a dog that won't do the jobs we need or will be unreliable.

[selzer]

My problem with that, is for outlying areas, like where I live or worse than where I live. We don't have cable or internet down my street, we don't have a pet store in this county, we do not have a dog park or a beach open to dogs in my county, we do not have a government run shelter in the county. So, I think that a disabled person might have to drive their dog for hours to get them near a tester.

In NY or Los Angeles, a service dog might be required to ride escalators -- there are none in this county, subways -- none, be in heavily crowded areas -- non-existent, ride a bus -- we do not have any bus service here.

I do not know how a disabled person would manage to get their dog used to riding on a subway or a bus, or an escalator here.

So I think to require a public access test for those of us in remote areas would be a hardship on disabled people.

[Vandagriff]

The trainer that was interviewed, is a nice person, who was nervous, felt pressured to explain the situation. She has 4a GSDs, works with animal control and several rescue groups. She regrets doing the interview and understands that she came off poorly. I do know her personally, I buy my dog food from her and we both take our dogs to the same herding trainer. Again, she has GSDs, she's kind and caring, she had nothing to do with training the dog in question.

[AbbyK9]

My problem with that, is for outlying areas, like where I live or worse than where I live. We don't have cable or internet down my street, we don't have a pet store in this county, we do not have a dog park or a beach open to dogs in my county, we do not have a government run shelter in the county. So, I think that a disabled person might have to drive their dog for hours to get them near a tester.

This could be solved by having the tester come to them for a nominal (travel) fee to do the test.

In NY or Los Angeles, a service dog might be required to ride escalators -- there are none in this county, subways -- none, be in heavily crowded areas -- non-existent, ride a bus -- we do not have any bus service here.

If those aren't a requirement where you live and where you'll be with your dog, it would make sense not to test those. For example, if a person with a disability lives in a rural area and doesn't have public transportation, it's probably safe to say the dog won't be ON public transportation. There are other tasks they could test for this dog/handler team - like entering and exiting a vehicle in a controlled way, for example - since they probably will drive (or be driven) places if there's no public transportation.

[Chicagocanine]

In case anyone doesn't know what is meant by public access test, here is one of the public access tests that is often recommended(but not required):

Public Access Test - Assistance Dogs International