• What is a service dog?
A service dog is a dog who is trained to help a disabled individual by preforming a task or tasks. This individual can have any disability as long as they fall under the ADA definition of disabled.
A task is a "job" meant to help mitigate the disability of the handler. For example, a service dog for a deaf individual may alert when the phone is ringing as a task.The ADA defines a service dog as "a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability" and states that "The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability".
Source 1 Source 2 Source 3• Is a service dog the same as an emotional support animal and/or therapy dog?
No, a service dog is not the same as an emotional support animal or a therapy dog.
ESAs do not preform tasks, can be any animal, and need to be "prescribed" by a professional. Service dogs are trained to preform tasks, must be dogs with the rare exception of miniature horses, and do not need to be "prescribed" by anyone. ESAs are typically not trained for public access and do not have the same protections as service dogs.
Therapy dogs are dogs who are trained to behave in public so that they can be taken to places such as hospitals, retirement homes, and areas recovering from disasters to help provide comfort to many people. Therapy dogs are also taken to places such as libraries and schools to provide comfort to children. Therapy dogs are not trained to do tasks.
Here is a chart that helps explain the differences between SDs, ESAs, and therapy dogs!
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• Can any breed of dog be a service dog?
Yes, any breed of dog can be a service dog, including mutts!
Source• Can sheleter dogs/adopted dogs be service dogs?
Yes, dogs adopted from shelters can be trained to be service dogs!
Source 1 Source 2• Do service dogs need to be spayed or neutered?
No, service dogs do not need to be spayed or neutered.
Source 1 Source 2 Source 3• Do service dogs need to wear a vest that says service dog on it?
No, service dogs are not required to wear any form of identification in the USA.
Source• Do service dogs need to be certified?
Not in the USA.
Other countries may require service dogs to be certified. Please do your research before traveling internationally with a service dog!
Source 1 Source 2• Can someone have more than one service dog?
Yes, it is possible to have more than one service dog,
and it is legal to bring multiple service dogs in public.
Some people may have multiple service dogs for different tasks.
But that isn't always the case, some people may have multiple service dogs all to preform the same tasks.
Many people have their current SD keep working while training their next service dog, and may occasionally bring both dogs in public with them!
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•What kinds of tasks can service dogs do?
Service dogs can be trained to do all types of tasks!
There are many kinds of service dogs including guide dogs, hearing dogs, psychiatric service dogs, medical alert dogs, mobility assistance dogs, allergen detection dogs, and even multipurpose service dogs!Guide dogs assist visually impaired individuals and may preform tasks such as:
- preventing their handler from walking into dangerous situations, such as oncoming traffic
- locating places such as the correct bathroom or a building exit
- guiding their handler around obstacles
- retrieving items for their handlerHearing dogs assist deaf or hard of hearing individuals may preform tasks such as:
- alerting their handler when someone calls the handler's name
- bringing their handler to the person calling their handler's name
- alerting their handler when someone is at the door
- alerting their handler to the phone ringing
- alerting their handler to smoke alarmsMobility dogs assist physically disabled individuals and may preform tasks such as:
- providing forward momentum for their handler's wheelchair
- providing forward momentum to help their handler walk
- providing body stabilization
- opening doors
- carrying itemsPsychiatric service dogs assist individuals with psychiatric disabilities and may preform tasks such as:
- Deep Pressure Therapy (DPT) to calm their handler from anxiety, panic attacks, flashbacks, meltdowns, nightmares, etc.
- interrupting flashbacks by licking, nudging, or laying on their handler
- standing between the handler and other individuals as a "body block"
- preventing their handler from being able to hurt themself, such as preventing their handler from being able to scratch their own skin or hit themself
- waking their handler from nightmares
- reminding their handler to take medicationsMedical alert dogs assist multiple types of disabilities and can alert to things such as:
- oncoming seizures (seizure alert)
- allergens in food or air (allergy alert)
- drops in blood sugar (diabetic alert)
- drops in blood pressure (cardiac alert)
- panic attacks, anxiety, and meltdowns (psychiatric alert)Medical response dogs respond to help their handler during/after a medical episode by doing tasks such as:
- calling 911 on a dog-friendly phone
- breaking the handler's fall to prevent injury
- licking vomit out of handler's mouth to prevent choking
- laying down with the handler during a seizure to prevent injury
- doing crowd control (circling around their handler) to make sure the handler has enough spaceMany of these tasks can be used for multiple types of disabilities. For example, while some individuals use crowd control as a medical response, many psychiatric service dogs also do crowd control for their handler!Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Source 5

•Do service dogs in training have the same rights as fully trained service dogs?
No.
In the USA, the rights of SDITs depend on the state. SDITs are not protected under the ADA but are protected under some state laws.
Some states allow full public access to SDITs, while others allow no public access.
Source 1 Source 2• How are service dogs trained?
There are two ways service dogs can be trained.Service dogs can be trained by professional organizations. Getting a service dog from an organization can cost anywhere from $15,000-$30,000 or sometimes even more! This option is best for people who are physically or mentally unable to train their own dog!Service dogs can also be owned-trained by the disabled individual who will become the dog's handler, often with the help of a professional dog trainer. This option is better for individuals who don't have the money for a dog from a professional organization!Whether the dog is trained by an organization or owner-trained, training a service dog takes years. Service dogs need to be taught the tasks that their handler needs as well as the skills needed to behave in public. Socializing and training a dog to be a service dog is hard work!Source 1 Source 2•Do service dogs need to start training before 2 years old?
No, service dogs can start training at any age.
Many people and organizations start training dogs as puppies because of how long it takes to socialize and train a service dog.Source 1 Source 2

• Who can have a service dog? Do I need a diagnosis?
To have a service dog in the USA, you must be considered disabled under the ADA. The ADA defines a person with a disability as someone who has/is any one or multiple of the following:
"has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities"
and/or
"has a history or record of such an impairment (such as cancer that is in remission)"
and/or
"is perceived by others as having such an impairment (such as a person who has scars from a severe burn)"If you meet any of those 3 definitions you are considered disabled by the ADA and are eligible to have a service dog.Source 1 Source 2•Would a service dog benefit my life?
Before you consider if a service dog would benefit you, consider whether or not you are currently able to handle having a dog.
Are you able to financially handle food, toys, collars, and vet visits for the dog?
Will you or someone in your life be able to handle feeding, bathing, and exercising the dog?On top of the regular expenses of owning a dog, a service dog must either be gotten from an organization or trained by the owner. If you are unable to train a service dog completely by yourself, you'll have to consider if you can afford the cost of an organization or afford the cost of working with a professional trainer.Getting a dog from an organization can be very expensive and can take years of waiting on waiting lists.
A few pros of getting a SD from an organization are that the dog will likely be health and temperment tested, the dog will be trained for you, and the organization will likely provide classes to help you learn how to handle the dog!
A few cons are that you are often unable to choose your breed of dog, the organization may not train all of the tasks you want/need, and you may get stuck with a bad organization!Owner-training a dog takes years of hard work and can become expensive when paying to work with a professional trainer.
A few pros of owner-training a SD are that you will be able to choose your own dog, you will be able to choose what tasks the dog is trained to do, and you don't have to worry about the cost of an organization!
A few cons of owner-training a SD are that it takes years of learning how to train your dog, you may end up with a dog with a difficult temperment, and that many people end up giving up because they don't realize how hard it will be to owner-train a service dog.•How do I get a service dog?
To get a service dog, first decide if you'd like to owner-train your dog or if you'd like a dog from an organization.If you'd like a dog from an organization, do your research into service dog organizations in your country/area! The organization's website will likely have instructions on how to apply for a service dog. Getting a service dog from an organization may mean waiting many months or even many years on a waiting list.If you'd prefer to owner-train your dog, decide on whether you'd like to work with a professional dog trainer or if you're confident in your ability to be able to train a service dog on your own! Consider whether you'd prefer to purchase a dog or adopt a dog and whether you'd prefer to work with a puppy or an adult dog.Source

•Was the service dog I saw a fake?
Maybe!
There is always a chance that you genuinely encountered a fake service dog.
But I personally believe that a large percentage of service dogs you see are real! Even the ones misbehaving!Under the ADA, a service dog team can only be asked to leave if the dog is out of control and the handler is unable to regain control or if the dog is not housebroken. This means that a service dog could be pulling on a leash or sniffing around and still legally be allowed!I used to believe any service dog I saw who pulled at the leash or whined at my dog was fake, until I was personally able to speak to multiple people who had gotten service dogs from a legitimate organization. The dogs from this organization are poorly trained, and yet are being given to older/elderly disabled people as service dogs. These people aren't faking service dogs by any means, but often don't have the ability to help their dogs with skills like loose leash walking.Service dogs from bad organizations also aren't the only service dogs who make mistakes! Sometimes even fully trained teams make mistakes. Service dogs are still dogs.
There is also always the chance that you saw a team in training! In my state, service dogs in training are allowed public access as long as they are not out of control and are housebroken. My SDIT has made mistakes before!Before you decide to do something like record a service dog team and post them all over the internet as a fake, consider the things above. Consider that the handler may be a legitimately disabled individual who needs help refreshing their dog's ability to walk on a leash. Consider that the dog may be in training and still learning how to ignore distractions. Unless the dog is out of control and/or causing a problem for another service dog team, in my opinion there really isn't a good reason to assume a service dog is fake!
The legal definition of a service dog only requires the dog to be task trained for an individual. While service dogs do have public access rights as long as they are not out of control, there are no laws that require service dogs to walk on a loose leash or ignore distractions.(this does not mean I believe service dogs should behave this way, I am only trying to educate on the fact that sometimes people with "misbehaving" SDs are legitimately disabled people with legally real service dogs who need dog training help!)
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