Have you seen "service dogs" working in public off-leash?
Have you seen demos of "service dogs" being worked off-leash in public?
Has a trainer told you that you are allowed to work your dog off-leash because said dog passed their Public Access training with flying colors?
A SD trainer/user friend of mine wrote the following:
Regardless of how well trained you think your dog is, the ADA requires service dogs to be on leash unless one of two conditions are met:
1. the handler is physically incapable of handling a leash
2. the specific task the dog is performing at that moment cannot be performed while on leash
At all other times, the dog must be on leash by law.
Example: A hearing dog can signal his handler about the occurrence of a sound and lead the handler to the source of that sound, all while on lead, but he might not be able to physically pull open a door and hold it open while a handler in a wheel chair maneuvers past him and through the open door while on lead without risk that the lead becomes entangled in the wheels as the chair passes the dog.
Quote from 28 CFF 36.302(c)(4): Animal under handler's control. A service animal shall be under the control of its handler. A service animal shall have a harness, leash, or other tether, unless either the handler is unable because of a disability to use a harness, leash, or other tether, or the use of a harness, leash, or other tether would interfere with the service animal's safe, effective performance of work or tasks, in which case the service animal must be otherwise under the handler's control ( e.g., voice control, signals, or other effective means).
Have you seen demos of "service dogs" being worked off-leash in public?
Has a trainer told you that you are allowed to work your dog off-leash because said dog passed their Public Access training with flying colors?
A SD trainer/user friend of mine wrote the following:
Regardless of how well trained you think your dog is, the ADA requires service dogs to be on leash unless one of two conditions are met:
1. the handler is physically incapable of handling a leash
2. the specific task the dog is performing at that moment cannot be performed while on leash
At all other times, the dog must be on leash by law.
Example: A hearing dog can signal his handler about the occurrence of a sound and lead the handler to the source of that sound, all while on lead, but he might not be able to physically pull open a door and hold it open while a handler in a wheel chair maneuvers past him and through the open door while on lead without risk that the lead becomes entangled in the wheels as the chair passes the dog.
Quote from 28 CFF 36.302(c)(4): Animal under handler's control. A service animal shall be under the control of its handler. A service animal shall have a harness, leash, or other tether, unless either the handler is unable because of a disability to use a harness, leash, or other tether, or the use of a harness, leash, or other tether would interfere with the service animal's safe, effective performance of work or tasks, in which case the service animal must be otherwise under the handler's control ( e.g., voice control, signals, or other effective means).
