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From Shelter Dog to Service Dog Dr. Maria Karunungan sets out some guidelines to help with the selection of rescue dogs to set them up for success in training to be service dogs
© Can Stock Photo/Belish
© Can Stock Photo/AntonioGravante
It can be challenging to come up with onesizefitsall guidelines for selecting a service dog from rescue candidates because characteristics that may be deal breakers in one area may be desired or required qualities for another situation
Much of the debate surrounding service animals in public spaces has to do with how wellbehaved the animal is and whether the animal is experiencing an undue level of stress
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vironments, but for those who do, the United State Department of Jus tice (USDOJ) (2011) mandates the standard of required behavior as being “under the owner’s control.” Examples of being under control might include remaining calm on leash, not sniffing merchandise or jumping on passersby, and confidently tolerating “strange sights, sounds and odors in a wide variety of public settings.” (International Association of Assistance Dog Partners, 1997). Working in public means the dog should be able to respond to a handler’s needs and move nimbly through spaces not designed for both a human and a dog, while remaining unfazed by the many distractions that may be present in public situations. Some of these requirements mean that not every dog will be naturally suited to service dog work.
he idea of two lives saving each other – one a homeless animal and the other a human being in need of the kind of help only an animal can provide – tugs at heartstrings and makes the work we do as animal training professionals feel extra worthwhile. The history of service dogs potentially dates back to medieval times in Western Eu rope, based on manuscripts that have survived from as early as the 13th century (Murchison, 2018). Indeed, many biologists agree that the do mesticated dog began its companionship with people to varying degrees doing types of work that humans found useful (Coppinger & Coppinger, 2004). In the United States, a service animal is defined as a dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities (United States Department of Justice, 2011). The words “service” and “task” are used here because they signify the legal basis on which dogs are granted access to enable their human partners to operate independ ently as they go about their day in public settings. There are many dif ferent types of service dogs – from dogs who pull wheelchairs and open doors, to dogs who alert their handlers to an oncoming seizure or to a dangerous obstacle in their path. Not all service dogs work in public en
Behavior evaluations conducted in many shelters and rescues usually don’t give the whole story needed for service dog selection. These evaluations provide a limited snapshot of behavior in one moment of time in a particular context (often the highly artificial context of an animal shelter).
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BARKS from the Guild/March 2020
Behavior and Welfare Much of the debate surrounding service animals in public spaces has to do with how wellbehaved the animal is and whether the animal is ex periencing an undue level of stress. While many behaviors can be trained, some natural ability and inclination for the task expected of them is also required. For example, a 10lb Chihuahua would not be ex pected to pull a wheelchair; and a dog uninterested in environmental noises could find it challenging to rouse from a deep sleep to alert a hearingimpaired or deaf person when indicated. Forcing a square peg into a round hole is as much a welfare issue as it is a questionable in vestment of time, money and effort. A fearful dog, as another example, might be immediately ruled out for most types of service dog work. Fear can result in a dog planting his feet and not being able to move across a threshold or up a flight of stairs, barking suddenly in a library or workplace when startled by
