If you have decided to make a dog your faithful companion and a part of your family, you need to know how to train your dog to be a service dog. Service dogs are people that are specially trained to assist handlers with disabilities or with the elderly. To qualify as a service dog, a dog must meet specific requirements that are in theiform of a handler. This article will give you some handy tips to know how to train your dog to be a service dog.
Train Your Dog to Be a Service Dog Before Commercial Flights: Most airports already have rules governing what dogs can be carried by passengers on their planes. Some of these rules include not allowing passengers on board to keep dogs on board as long as they are under the control of the handler. Service dogs must also be allowed on board through the provision of a carrier for their transport. If your dog is not allowed on a plane because it broke one of these rules, start thinking about training your dog to be a service dog prior to taking him on a plane.
Obtain a Studbook: Ask the airline you’re flying out of if they have a Studbook for dogs. The studbook is basically a record of your dog’s temperament, history, and training. Train your dog through a Studbook, not by stuffing him into a dog crate. As previously mentioned, temperament plays a large role in how your dog acts and responds around other people and animals. A Studbook will also tell you how many generations your dog has lived, and if he’s been exposed to any harmful things during his life.
Train your dog through specific action: There are some tasks that your dog can complete in the name of helping people. One such task is the ringing of a bell. This is known as the service dog’s ‘bark’. A dog may be trained to bark at a specific sound, like the buzz of a buzzer, or a doorbell. Training your dog to bark at these specific things is known as teaching them specific dog training, or dog behavior.
Train your dog to use hand signals: Hand signals are used in the same way that they are used with spoken words. They are used to help people who are hearing or visually impaired. There are many training aids available to teach your dog how to perform service dog tasks.
Train your dog to help with the handicapped: There are many disabilities that dogs can be trained to help with. A dog that is trained to assist the physically or medically challenged can be a wonderful asset. To train your dog for these specific tasks you need to find a qualified trainer. If your dog has any kind of physical disability, it may be necessary for you and the person that are caring for your dog to take extra training courses to ensure that your dog is being trained to the highest standards.
Temperament training: There are some personality traits and characteristics that your dog may possess that could make them more suitable to training than others. Service and therapy dogs have unique personalities and drives. Some dog breeds may be more aggressive than others or less likely to develop aggression. You need to understand what temperament is and then look at your dog the same way you would if you were considering adopting a dog. Training your dog will involve identifying their unique personality traits and then incorporating them into the training process.
Service and therapy dogs must meet certain behavioral requirements. They must be calm, well behaved, clean and harnessed. Your dog must be under control and on a leash. They must have no tendency to be overprotective of people or animals. They are only permitted to perform specific tasks and you must keep those tasks within the rules and guidelines that have been agreed upon. Any deviation from the rules could result in fines or charges.
