Service Dog Training Guide – The Basics
Service dogs can be of great help to people with disabilities. However, in order to get the most from these loyal companions, they need to go through extensive service dog training.
Just to give you an overview of the requirements, the dog needs to be able to perform a disability-related task for their handler/owner. In addition, you must be familiar with acceptable training techniques and be educated about canine care and health. Furthermore, understanding local public access laws and proper behavior is a must.
Other than just being your living medical device, these dogs will also become your best pals. They will take care of you, but they will also depend on you to provide food and shelter. You can build an incredible bond with your service dog and make both your lives better.
Basic Rules About Service Dogs
Service dogs are recognized by the law as trained working dogs that perform tasks for persons with disabilities. Disabilities can include both physical and mental impairment. It’s critical that the dog can perform specific tasks that directly relate to the owner’s disability. This can include anything from opening doors for people in wheelchairs to warning the owner of an impending seizure.
They are not considered pets and must be desensitized to distractions. Service dogs need to focus solely on their owners and ignore all distractions such as traffic, children, etc.
Although training is essential for service dogs, that doesn’t mean that you can’t train the dog yourself. Many people choose to train their service dog themselves because professional service dog training can be a long and expensive process. And in the end, even professional trainers can’t guarantee that your dog will be able to become your service dog.
Service dog training can take up to two years, and these dogs usually wear a vest in public for easy identification. Any dog can enter service dog training, regardless of breed or age. However, unless they have a certain set of characteristics, they might not do well.
Service dogs need to be:
- Willing to please
- Ready to follow owners everywhere
- Calm and friendly
- Alert
- Socialized
- Nonreactive to public and strangers
- Quick to learn
- Able to retain information
Guide Dogs
Guide dogs go through specific service dog training to help people with a visual impairment. These dogs bring a new sense of freedom and safety to their owners by:
- Helping avoid obstacles and moving vehicles
- Signaling changes in elevation levels
- Locating persons or objects on command
- Retrieving and carrying objects
Hearing Dogs
Hearing dogs assist people with hearing impairments by:
- Alerting to sounds or presence of other people
- Retrieving dropped objects
- Carrying messages
- Warning people to approaching vehicles
Service Dogs
As stated before, service dog training enables these loyal animals to perform a variety of tasks. Depending on the owner’s disability and needs, service dogs can undergo training for mobility assistance and medical assistance. Medical assistance can also include autism assistance and psychiatric assistance.
What these superhero canines can do for their owners is amazing, and it’s all achievable through training.
Check out a list of service dog tasks and services below:
- Open and close doors, drawers, and cabinets
- Turn lights on and off
- Help people get dressed or undressed
- Assist persons to an upright position
- Move feet and arms onto wheelchair footrests and armrests
- Prevent falls and provide stability
- Call 911 in case of emergency
- Identify and alert to symptoms
- Bark or find help on command
- Find places, vehicles, or their owner when disoriented and bring to safety
- Assess owner’s safety and guide away from stressful situations
- Help with insomnia and interrupt nightmares
- Interrupt flashbacks and prevent self-harming behaviors using tactile stimulation
- Detect allergens, low and high blood sugar levels
- Provide deep pressure therapy
General Service Dog Training
As you can see, some of these behaviors are pretty complex for a canine (such as calling 911 in case of emergency). And some of these behaviors are something that even humans couldn’t do (sense and alert owner to seizure or diabetes attack).
For those reasons, service dogs require extensive and complex training. Even then, there’s no guarantee that a dog will be able to become a full-time service animal.
As for the US, there are no specific regulations regarding service dog training. However, international standards prescribe at least 120 hours of training over six months. Out of this quota, a minimum of 30 hours should include public access skills. Sometimes, service dog training can last up to two years, as all dogs are different. Some canines need more time to learn to heel, while some have a problem with handling distractions. In addition, learning specific complex tasks can be extremely time-consuming.
If you want to train the animal yourself, an ideal service dog training guide would include a few things.
First, you should assess whether your dog is fit for the position. Secondly, it’s important to establish a sequence for training. Less complex tasks and commands should be taught first.
This means the fundamentals include standard Service Dog commands such as “come“, “sit“, “stay“, “lie down“ and “heel“. Then, you should test the dog’s obedience in different environments and ensure that he follows commands no matter where you are and what’s going on around you. Finally, you can start teaching the dog specific tasks you want him to perform.
Arm yourself with lots of patience if you decide to go down this path rather than getting a trained service dog. If you get stuck, ask a professional trainer for help.
Disability-Related Service Dog Training
If your dog behaves well, is eager to please, and is intelligent, he’s a good candidate for service dog training. Focusing on their handler at all times and performing disability-related tasks is not all service dogs do. Other than these, they need to perform a number of other tasks on command. In order for the dog to pass a test, he must respond to the handler’s first command 90% of the time, regardless of the environment.
This even includes potty on command. Yes, you heard that right. Instead of staying outside forever, when you give the order to go, the dog must do his deed. Sounds like every owner’s dream, right?
A public access test is another requisite and you need to train the dog in a variety of different settings. This part of training is called desensitization. It’s basically teaching your dog to ignore all distractions and to focus on his handler and tasks.
As for the specific disabilities that can benefit from service dogs, they include a number of conditions. These conditions can be either physical or mental, obvious or not obvious.
Here’s a list of common tasks service dogs perform for their handlers:
- Guiding the blind
- Alerting the deaf to noises
- Pulling a wheelchair
- Retrieving items
- Alerting to seizures or diabetes attacks
- Reminding persons to take prescribed medication
- Calming people with PTSD during anxiety attacks
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Keep in mind that if you have a service dog, you can access all public areas with your companion. In addition, people can’t ask you about specifics regarding your disability. All they can ask you is whether your dog is a service animal and what tasks he can perform for you. You don’t need to answer any other questions or show them what the dog does for you.
Self-Training Your Service Dog
Benefits of Self-Training
Self-training your service dog creates a unique partnership from day one. When you get a fully trained service dog from a program, there’s often a transition period where both handler and dog need to learn to work together — imagine trying to learn a dance with a skilled partner who’s used to dancing with someone else. The dog needs to adjust to your specific movement patterns, verbal cues, and daily routines, while you need to learn all their trained commands and behaviors. It can take weeks or months to truly sync up.
In contrast, when you train your service dog, you learn to dance together from the first step. Every command and every task is built around your specific needs, voice, and way of moving. You’ll shape their training around what works best for both of you, and there’s a special bond that comes from being both trainer and handler. Plus, there are no lengthy waiting lists to endure — you can start building that relationship right away, and many states, like Texas, even support your journey by granting service-dog-in-training access rights. The ADA also allows you to self-train a service dog without third-party help.
Common Challenges and Considerations
The sheer time commitment of service dog training often catches owner-trainers off guard. Needing 120 hours over six months is not common, and the reality can be more intense. What starts as teaching basic retrieval can take months to develop into reliable service work — first, your dog learns to pick up a specific item at home, then different objects, then in new locations, and finally amid real-world distractions. Every task must be broken down into these small steps and mastered before moving forward, and progress isn’t linear. You might spend weeks perfecting a task at home only to start almost from scratch when you begin practicing in public.
Your service dog also has to master public access. Your service dog in training needs to remain focused on you and their job while navigating a world of challenging distractions. They must maintain composure when other dogs bark at them in stores, stay calm when strangers try to pet them without asking and resist the temptation of food at nose level in restaurants. Even after months of solid training, some dogs begin showing stress signals or develop unexpected fears of everyday situations like automatic doors or crowds. No matter how well they perform their tasks, you must always watch for signs that the work might be too stressful for them to monitor whether your dog is emotionally equipped for the demanding life of a service dog.
Setting Yourself Up for Success
Start small and be patient — your first training sessions should happen in the quietest, most boring spot in your house. Master the basics there before moving anywhere else. When your dog can focus on you and follow commands in your living room, try the backyard. Once that’s solid, practice in front of your house, then during quiet times at your local park. Many new trainers rush into busy places too soon and end up frustrated when their dog can’t focus.
Finding a mentor can save you months of trial and error. Reach out to service dog handlers in your area or join online training communities – watching someone demonstrate proper technique beats reading about it every time. Keep notes on your phone after training sessions. What time of day was your dog most focused? Which treats worked best for hard tasks? Which environments proved too challenging? These specific details help you spot patterns and adjust your approach. And when you get stuck (everyone does), you’ll have experienced handlers to turn to who can watch a video of your training and offer specific advice to get you back on track.
About the Author: The writing team at Service Dog Certifications is made up of folks who really know their stuff when it comes to disability laws and assistance animals. Many of our writers and editors have service dogs themselves and share insights from their own experiences. All of us have a passion for disability rights and animals.
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Looking for a grant to make my dog a service dog and an Emotional support dog. So I can take it into nursing homes and hospitals to help kids and other patients with supports
These are completely different types of dogs. To be a Service dog, he must be concentrated on his handler. A Therapy dog (what you’d want to take to nursing homes since emotional support dogs too are concentrated on their handler) is trained to focus on others, NOT its handler. You must decide which type of dog you want to train your dog to be; it can not be expected to be two or three different kinds of dogs depending on the day. It wouldn’t be fair.
Fantastic response! 100% agreed! I would like to just add too, that if you try to train a dog to do long, emotionally exhaustive days being a therapy dog and then a kind of part time sorta out and about the town service dog, you will burn your dog out. Please be careful not to overwork your dog. They are strong, resilient, loyal and ready to please friends and workers. They have emotions, wills, desires too, and they need time to be a dog.
Can i use my bully pit he’s already been. Around me when i have my seizures and p.t.s.d. Anixity and panic attacks and around a crowd of people
This is not entirely true. My daughters dog supports her at home and during tough social situations but she is my classrooms therapy dog and does fantastic.
What you describe sounds more like a therapy dog, rather than a service dog. There are several organizations that you can test your dog with to become a therapy dog – TDI – Therapy Dogs International, Pat Partners, etc.
I adore my SD. He is always with me and helps with my balance, anxiety and pain. We used to train for periods of fifteen minutes and then a happy break! His job is to protect me and mine is to train him, feed him,shelter him and keep him healthy and happy.
Is it necessary to have a certificate for legal purposes? How do I find out about a testing, etc.? Thanks so much
That would be a therapy dog. My puppet is training for this and I would recommend training at places like PetSmart. I take mine there for training sessions, and after our session of walking through the store using treats to reinforce behavior, she gets to pick out a toy if she’s been good. You might also want to teach your dog things like jumping on the bed when commanding and (s)he should be able to be pet by a toddler waving a candy bar around without any issues.
that is a therapy dog not a service dog or emotinal support dog. they need training by a trainer. service dogs are the only ones allowed in stores and do not need to be certified or registered but must be trainer to assist your disability. an emotinal support dog is only their for your omtions and only needs a doctor note. but they can only go into housing for free. compfort is also not a task for a service dog
That is a Therapy dog. Service dogs work for one person only. ESA is an animal that stays at home to give their owner/s happiness. Therapy dogs also do not have public access, so you have to set up times to go to places. They can’t go into stores or places that are not dog friendly. Most of the information you find online is crap. You can find great TD groups on Facebook.
I have had two brain surgeries and trigeminal neuralgia attacks.. I had a 14 year old goldendoodle who suffered right along with me when I had attacks she would simultaneously pant and circle me, she recently passed, and I have a new puppy a goldendoodle who is intelligence. How do I find a training so she can alert me?
You can either find a local trainer that has service dog training experience or you can train the animal yourself.
Find a group on Facebook. There are lots of handlers on there that will be happy to help. DO NOT get any papers online. They hold no value and are not needed. I hope you can find a group that can help. Thanks a Service dog handler.
Scent training. When you get an attack, suck on a cotton ball and put it in a container and into the freezer. Then when training, let the dog smell it and give a a preferred alert command (paw, nudge, jump) the dog will then associate that command with the scent. Make sure to change the sample frequently
So on here it gives a list of tasks. If my dog is for ptsd anxiety and cognitive disorders what are things he would need to be trained on. I guess I’m confused.
What signs do I look for in selecting a puppy, bernedoodle.?
Get on Poodles and Doodles on Facebook. There you can get lots of help. I’m on it because I’m a SD handler. You can write my name down then page me if you want .
Hi, I am considering adding a dog to my physical therapy clinic and training him to assist with treatment in specific ways, for example playing tug or fetch with them to work on balance, or helping them with gait training and fall prevention. Would he be considered a therapy dog or a service dog? Thank you.
Are they any places in UK that I could get in touch with I live in Devon thank you
That is a Therapy dog. Service dogs work for one person only. ESA is an animal that stays at home to give their owner/s happiness. Therapy dogs also do not have public access, so you have to set up times to go to places. They can’t go into stores or places that are not dog friendly. Most of the information you find online is crap. You can find great TD groups on Facebook.
That would be Therapy dog. They go through lots and lots if training. I would find a TD Facebook page and have them help you. Most it not all( I haven’t found any yet) the stuff you find online for TD’s ESA’S abd SD’s are a scam. Please research and find the right way to DI this.
This would be a therapy dog
Hesper Fang, he would be considered a Facility dog which is a type of therapy dog as he would be concentrating on your patients instead of you. Therapy animals can still receive specialty training to assist other people.
I have a question. I have been told that clicker training your dog is a fairly quick and easily learned way to train your dog. Is this true?
that’s a therapy dog i think because it’s helping multiple people right
When is legal for a service dog in training to run off leash? A neighbor says he training German Shepherds to be service dogs. His training is to ride his bike with the dog running along side, no leash.
Thanks or pointing out that because some of the tasks required of service dogs are complex service dogs require extensive and complex training. My sister is thinking about getting a service dog for her daughter because she thinks it could help her with getting in and out of her wheelchair among other things. I think it would be smart to look into people that could train a service dog for her so that she could know the dog would be ready to take on those tasks.
Therapy dog. A service dog’s main focus and attention is on the handler and his/her disability. A therapy dog is trained to assist others besides the handler
I have a 11month choc Lab, I we have started training together, she picked me, she stays with me all the time, how would I get or apply for a grant to help us with this new chapter in our lives.
Can you refer me to a service dog trainer in Nevada? I just can’t seem to find one.
Good Luck to you, I’m having same problem in SC.
I am a Vet with anxiety due to PTSD. I have a 9 month old boxer who I would like to have trained to be my service dog. There is a trainer who can do it, however, it is very expensive. Do any of you know of grants or scholarships that can help me pay? The only thing I’ve found is monetary aid for dogs who are already trained.
I posted this on someone else’s as a reply, sorry! I have a question on service dogs:
I have a 9 month old Goldendoodle who I Am training as my stability service dog. I wanted to know, is she allowed to travel with me on a plane while in training? The airline has only asked me her breed and weight and what service she is providing. However, I want to do everything the right way.
I have already trained her to help me when I walk to keep my balance and prevents me from walking in a zigzag pattern. She is NOT completely trained, but helps me more than my cane does and allows me independence.
Thank you in advance for your prompt response.
I think it depends. Some states have different laws and policies regarding service dogs in training.
We have one that is 15 months and is having a hard time wondering if you have any suggestions?
We also would like it to be used as a walking assistance, but still has issues with the basic.
Perhaps a service mobility trainer in Illinois
Can you recommend an online Service dog mobility training Course. Thank you
Make sure you have had your dog tested and cleared for mobility by an orthopedic vet! Mobility work can cause harm to dogs if they haven’t been cleared for it.
When you need assistance in training your dog or puppy to be obident, we are the experts that you need. We also provide service dog programs as well!
Where are you located?
Soooo, after reading this, which was eye-opening, I have some ideas on what questions I need to ask when I purchase my psych service dog. After this article, I have absolutely no clue where to start?
I know the beginning of getting a service dog can be daunting, but once you’ve gone thru the process, it’s positively life-changing. You may find this article on how to qualify for a service dog interesting. There’s a quick run-down of the initial steps to take https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/service-dog-anxiety-depression/ Good luck!
How do we find a VA trainer?
At what age should training start?
One thing I would suggest that worked well for my daughter and I when we trained her Service Dog was muzzling the first … I believe it was 6 or 8 times we took him into any public situation. Now, before people start saying ‘what a horrible way to treat a dog’, let me explain why it was done. One, Bentley is an American Bulldog and he was already a year old when my daughter called about him. The man she spoke with said he wanted to sell Bentley because he had bred his dogs for weight pulling competitions but Bentley blew his ACL and the guy didn’t want to’dump money’ into a “yard dog”. (Yeah the dude was a piece of work.) Anyway, I have zero things against young/juvenile pups as pets, but I also know that they are animals who, like human beings can be negatively affected if they are mistreated. If people don’t know who the dog comes from, they can’t know how it would’ve been treated. A muzzle, to my way of thinking, is NOT punishment for the dog, but protection. I’ve found that in public places, it works a couple of ways.
1) people see a dog in a muzzle, the majority immediately assume the animal is aggressive or has gotten before, this keeps the ones who aren’t aware that it is not acceptable to run up and pet a working animal from actually doing it. Yay!
2) Just like they have to get used to the idea of a crate as a space to unwind and not a ‘bad’ place, dogs begin after a few attempts to find comfort in wearing a muzzle, especially if the pup had never been intentionally socialized. People often mistake nervousness in a dog as aggression but it isn’t. They might snap at an excited young child who runs up and grab’s an ear because the parent couldn’t catch them or has never taught proper behavior toward animals. With a muzzle, the sound is still a warning, but there won’t be any scars.
We went to get our Bentley and by the time we left, I was positive Bent got very lucky and that man was actually fighting dogs. Yes, I called the police Dept and told them about it. Anyway, Bentley turned out to be amazing across the board but until we were sure if his temperament, he wore a muzzle in public and around my grand babies. He is now an awesome seizure alert dog. He can tell when my daughter is about to have one and will stick his nose to her leg to nudge backwards telling her to sit. If he does this twice and she won’t sit, he stands on his hind legs paws on her chest, barks 2 sharp barks and will literally force her to sit. He then gets beside and behind her like, and has taken the abuse of her banging head.
Wearing that muzzle kept HIM safe from the people who like to provoke and cause issue with dogs, especially with dogs who are of the Bully breed. When public training, it’s just a good way to protect the one you will depend when it’s important. We took care of Bentley by letting him wear a muzzle ( which he actually tried to wear sometimes!) And now his awesome self projects my baby.
***Also, I wanted to say Bravo to the people responsible for this site and the information on it. The advice given and the resources were correct and clearly explained. A lot of the websites spread misinformation. Thanks for being good guys!
I had a terrible episode last week. I need a dog to tell me when to sit down. Some say they can tell before they have a seizure, I find out afterwards. I can be in a middle of a task, like riding a bus, and change direction. I walk out my home with a T-shirt and socks in the snow, and cannot get back in my home. Last week I bruised my neck, back, and foot. It’s bad enough I have sleep seizures, I could not get comfortable to lay down.
I was reading that some dogs make better service dogs than others, like Labrador retrievers? Is this true? Oh yeah, I also have diabetes. I have a lot of medicine to take, and remember to take.
There are Seizure Alert Dogs — service dogs that are specifically trained to help with seizures. You may want to look if there’s a provider in your area. I’m sure they could also be trained to help you remember your meds. And Labradors are all-around great service dogs, but with the right temperament and skill level, almost any breed can be a perfect service dog. Good luck!
If someone wanted to become a trainer and devote their lives to learning how to work with service dogs and owners
is there a way to make a living doing this? I am asking for a young friend who loves dogs and people and is a
wonderful young person who lives in South Carolina.
I still don’t understand who to take my dog to for training or where to go?
I’am interested in getting certification for serviced dog .I would enjoy knowing how to get started, and where to take classes
Thank you.
The service dog’s training is the certification. You may choose to get the dog trained by a trainer or train it yourself. Since each person has unique needs for a service dog, there are no official classes you can take. Once your dog can perform all the tasks needed and has passed a public access test, your dog is considered a certified service dog. A certificate or registration is not required by the ADA, however many service dog owners find the registration and issued ID help when bringing your service dog to public places. You may find this article on how to certify your service dog interesting https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/how-to-certify-a-service-dog/
I recently saw a completely intact male service dog. It was a bulldog mix and wearing what said was a “service dog – training “, this make no sense to me. Can a service dog be un-neutered/spayed?
ADA rules are silent on whether a dog has to be neutered/spayed, but all service dogs must be well-behaved at all times and not pose a threat to the health and safety of others.
My Doberman service dog is intact and operates flawlessly . He is appropriate in all scenarios. When he was early in training , people who were wearing .asks and head apparel together would put him on a defense alert. This guy performs more tasks than any dog I have ever seen.
YES.
My dog is strictly for emotional support . I have depression and anxiety .
My name is Peggy I have a border collie and she’s three and I’m 80 she picks up everything I ask that I drop she takes my socks off she find my shoes she picks up all her toys she helps me undress find my shoes picked them up she does anything I ask her to do I love her dearly I would like to get a service dog collar for her I’d like to take her out with me what do you suggest I do thank you
We’re happy to hear your dog is able to help you with these daily tasks. To qualify for a service dog however, it is not enough to have a task trained dog. The owner must also have an ADA qualifying disability. If you’re unsure whether you meet this criteria, you may want to speak with your healthcare provider.
Considering it is healthier for a dog to wait to be neutered until they are completely grown, yet a puppy needs to start their training before that, it makes perfect sense for an unaltered dog to be in training. I currently have a five month old that is unaltered and he is out and about getting trained several times a week. If I waited until he was past his growth window, he could have developed some fears/insecurities that took a lot more time to work out of him.
Exactly what Kelly said….
In general, it takes about two years to train a service dog and the current health recommendations recommend waiting until a dog is almost 2 years old before spay/nueter. So yes, a service dog in training could very well be un-neutered/spayed.
I do believe so. My service dog In training is not neutered yet. However it would probably help with their aggression and it will make them calmer
Yes they can. There is no mandate that they have to be spayed or neutered. Some breeds are not neutered until there growth plates have closed and they research maturity. Since the dog you saw was a sdit. Service dog in training that could be the case. Most of us spay or neuter our dogs because it makes it easier to focus on their job and handler, instead of other dogs they run across. In heat females are out of service for about 4 weeks.