Raising a potential service dog is a daunting task. Puppy raisers receive an eight-week-old puppy from an organization like Canine Companions for Independence and then commit to more than a year of raising the dog.
I did this a few times and also cared for a breeder who gave birth to puppies for CCI, so full disclosure here. My commitment to the organization sparked my later interest in dog training.
Zip forward more years than I care to admit and people are asking if I will train their shelter dog to be a service dog. At first the question threw me.
My definition of a service dog was of an animal bred, trained and then trained some more before being paired with a person, who in turn had been trained to care for the dog.
But increasingly I was coming across people who had just adopted a dog and went directly to the licensing counter to get a service dog tag.
That was a service dog? No way. But wait! Shouldn’t you train the dog first?
Were people really just looking for a way to get around restrictions on dogs in public places? Probably.
But then as I mellowed and became less judgmental, it struck me that not all dogs of service fit into little tight categories nor do needs fit into prescribed guidelines set by a large organization.
These canardly dogs (can hardly tell what they are) are often wonderful companions and yes, of service to their people.
Yes, people should train the dog to sit on command, settle quietly and be well groomed before entering public places. Why ruin it for everyone else?
Service dog tags from Sonoma County Animal Care and Control should not be just for the elite of service dogs, but whether from CCI or trained by yourself, do it right for the greater good of all.
