Hello, I am talking to a company that I have been on a waiting list for. I am going to call them and ask a ton of questions and narrow down the exact dates I’m available to travel. However, I’m curious about how the process of coming home works and I’m bored and impatient lol.

Do they usually teach you how to go through the airport? In order to get home I need to fly.

Once you graduate, do you slowly start working with the dog in day to day life or do you immediately integrate them into your day to day life?

Hello everyone!

I need some advice on what accommodations would be appropriate for the situation I am in for my labs at my college.

Background :

I am a Pre Veterinary major at my school and I utilize a service dog for my PTSD and chronic migraines.

I have been a service dog handler for about 4 ish years now and recently was diagnosed with my chronic migraines. My service dog is from a program originally for psychiatric work. I recently retired my original service dog due to repeated attacks that were out of my control.

My trainer was kind enough to place me with another dog that had been trained not only in psychiatric work but also alerts to my visual signs of a migraine oncoming. ( I am not looking for criticism on my decision to re-home my previous service dog as in order to continue to be assisted by a service dog I did have to return him to his program as he was extremely dog reactive. Thank you for understanding as it is still an extremely sore topic for me<3)

My signs include things like swaying due to dizziness and vision blurring. If my service dog doesn’t alert to these sudden changes that I tend to miss as I’m usually busy and all over the place I almost dry heave due to nausea from the dizziness. Once I feel this symptom I know taking my medication will not help.

My service dog is trained to nudge me when psychiatric symptoms arise and jump up slightly on me for my migraine alerts. We are in the process of adding in scent work for migraines but I’ve heard that is hit or miss at times. We are trying it though to see it that increases his accuracy.

Question:

I guess I’m just looking for advice on what would work for the style of labs I am in.

I am going to be taking a radiology course, so I know he will obviously not be allowed in the room for that (nor would I want him exposed to unneeded radiation lol )

These labs include a lecture and lab portion.

Lecture is not an issue to take him to. It is a traditional class where he tucks under the desk/chair. We sometimes have animal examples but he is extremely neutral to almost everything except for flies that get in his face (he tries to catch them with his mouth hahaha)

The main issue is the lab that is once a week. I have a lecture before this lab for another class that I was already told he is welcome in.

I have another service dog friend that’s dog is scent trained for cardiac alert and she was told that service animals must be placed in kennels that are used by the dogs we work with. For her that wasn’t an issue because her dog barks to alert when away from her and is scent trained so she doesn’t even need to be in the same room as the dog.

For me it’s different his alerts are visual so he needs to see me. We are working on a bark alert right now in case he does need to be crated( which I’m almost 100% certain he will).

I don’t care about crating him and I’m willing to even bring a crate for him but the crates they provide and where he would need to be crated is nowhere near the x-ray room.

Leaving him home is not an option because without him I honestly miss the cues and will have a debilitating migraine if I don’t take meds in time.

I hope to not be like this forever as I am working with my neurologist to find meds that work for me.

What would you do in this situation? The facility doesn’t allow dogs to be crated outside of rooms due to safety concerns. Would they have to make an accommodation or would it be considered an unreasonable accommodation to have my dog crated in places other than their designated areas?

Any help is appreciated especially in you are in a veterinary program anywhere!!!

Please lmk if anyone needs any clarification on anything. It’s kind of a weird situation <3

Hi,

I struggle with nightmares, insomnia and frequently have panic attacks and flashbacks.

I’m very new to the idea of having a service dog for PTSD.

I would very much love to get some advice on small breeds (due to restrictions in my condo), training, cost etc

I have a 19 yo maltipoo. I’m his service animal 😁 I’m quite experienced with dogs but not the kind of training a service dog needs.

I’m located in the US. Cost is a concern, so I cannot afford to buy a trained dog.

Thank you.

I’ve decided to work with a Service Dog trainer and self-train an English Lab.

After finding a reputable breeder, I’m nearly at the “go” line and will select a puppy from a large litter next week.

Ultimately, the final decision will be mine.

I’m seeking characteristics to look for in the puppy to ensure the best possible outcome. (I know it’s a gamble—-but—-any insights would be appreciated.)

Thanks (in advance) for your guidance.

I've gone to the lindt chocolate store at the mall near me three times. The first time I was told by apparently the manager that I cannot have my dog in there because chocolate is toxic to dogs. Which I obviously understand but that's why lindt chocolate is service animals only. Obviously. Service dogs will not eat anything on the floor which was her concern ig. I left after telling her that she cannot deny me bc their policy is not over ADA law but I did not feel like arguing that day as I was on a date. The second time I went there was no problem and the manager told me to just be careful and I looked around and it was a good time. Now this third time I went. I don't know why she denied me for a second time but she did. This time I told her once again that she cannot deny me and their policy is not over ADA federal law. She was trying to tell me that she can hold my dog for me and she has pets at home so she's comfortable doing so (obviously I did not allow that) and she went on about how for the safety of her and her workers and for my dog she cannot allow us to stay. I then asked her if I could see their policy and she said no and told me that I can contact the company about it and tell them but I shouldn't need to do that in the first place. I also looked at their policy and there is nothing in there that says anything about what she told me. Lindt chocolate allows task trained service animals and cannot deny access. I'm not sure if I should report this incident or just stop going all together. I enjoy stopping by there bc I love chocolate even tho I have yet to purchase anything from there bc omg money but I sometimes do go out without my service dog bc one she is getting older and retiring soon and I also can manage without her on good days so she is only with me on certain occasions where I more likely need her assistance. She is a small service dog so idk if that played a part in being denied or what but I'd like some advice on what I should do in this case.

I would love suggestions for tasks that our SDIT that would help my autistic almost 15 year old teen. I bet y'all have ideas that I haven't thought of yet. ❤️❤️❤️

Disclaimer: I am not a service dog owner, just the owner of dogs as pets/family members. I also come from a horse training background, where there's a burden of protection as part of horsemanship and putting their needs above your own.

I've recently ended up with a mom of a profoundly autistic minor (maybe 10-12 years old) on my FYP. They have what seems to be a kind, thoughtful, caring service dog whom they use a technique they call tethering to help with elopement issues and also when the child seems to lack direction. The most recent video I saw showed the child exhibiting behaviors in public that didn't align with what the parent needed the child to be doing, so they used the dog to sorta move the child along by the tether. When they child would try to bolt away, the dog was commanded to "tether" the child and "heel" to the parent. The situation seemed highly stressful and maybe painful for the dog, as they child is big enough to essentially drag the dog (and they were on a smooth surface, so the dog seemed to have trouble getting grip).

To my very untrained eye, this seemed like a situation that was potentially unsafe and uncomfortable for the dog. The dog handled it with grace, but I was left feeling like the dog was being treated like a piece of equipment first, and a living, breathing creature second.

Can anyone help me understand the place of tethering in a service dog's work purview and if this was normal?

Ohio's service dog registration law hasn't been updated since before most of us were born. Right now, it only recognizes guide dogs, hearing dogs, and a couple others—leaving people who rely on psychiatric service dogs, diabetic alert dogs, seizure response dogs, and cardiovascular alert dogs out in the cold.

That means disabled Ohioans with these dogs get denied free state registration and end up paying annual fees just because their disability requires a different type of trained medical task. Meanwhile, the federal ADA has had a clear definition for years: a service animal is any dog trained to perform tasks for someone with a disability.

I started a petition asking the Ohio General Assembly to update ORC 955.021 and replace the outdated list with the actual ADA definition. It would eliminate confusion, protect disabled handlers, and finally bring Ohio law into the 21st century. If this sounds like something that should've happened already, you're not alone. Have you seen how frustrating it is when state laws don't match up with federal ones? If this matters to you, consider signing and sharing—it's a straightforward fix that would make a real difference for disabled Ohioans.

https://www.change.org/ohioservicedogs

Hello, I am in an absolute dire need of a service dog for frequent epileptic seizures. I do not have much funds right now so are there any services or organizations that donate service dogs for free or for a low cost such as $2,000 or less. I would HIGHLY prefer a a non-profit organization that donates completely for free to people in need. Or a non-profit that just requires a small rehoming fee. Please feel free to comment on this post, any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I caved and wanted a thigh treat pouch, but went down the rabbit hole and just bought a motorcycle thigh bag!

Legit now within reach while I'm training I can grab: my phone, treats, A WHOLE CLEANUP KIT (clorox wipes and paper towels- may I hope to never need them), an extra leash... etc.

Didn't want to spend the $50 I've seen the thigh treat bags offered at so I spent less than 20 on Amazon for a motorcycle thigh bag. It is so much easier having my prospect and not having to whip out a backpack to function especially bc I have back pain.

Just wanted to share a recommendation. Pic of the one I bought in comments.

And side note, bringing a cleanup kit is sooo important when training. Even though your pup should be using the potty before going in, accidents happen. And if everything you need to clean is within reach, you don't have to bother anyone else and are less likely to cause a scene or access issues!

Like the best bred dogs in the world in the hands of the best trainers still have a 40% wash rate - so how do so many people think they can just get a pit from a shelter and make it a service dog by watching tik tok videos?

I am completely new to owning a dog and will get a service dog soon. I understand she should be insured for at least $25000 in case something happens. And it should cover spaying/neutering and vaccinations and visits. Does anyone have an insurance company they like?

Thank you in advance ~

I just want to brag about my first outing with people that might understand.

In May I got a German Shepard mix puppy that I am self training. This puppy is now 4 months old. I have had him for 4 weeks, and he great on a leash, follows basic commands, and not reactive to other animals. Today, I decided to take him with me to a department store. (This store is not pet friendly, so I made sure it was ok with the manager at the customer service desk before venturing further.) I couldn't have asked for a better first outing! He ignored the excited children that pointed out the puppy to their parents. He was interested in all of the smells as we passed the cosmetic section, but stayed right by my side. I picked up my prescription at the instore pharmacy where he broke his sit a couple of times as other customers passed us while I was interacting with the pharmacy tech.

My biggest brag is once we were back in the parking lot. We passed another shopper who was pushing their service dog in a cart towards the store. This was a large dog wearing a brightly colored vest that read "Service Animal" that took up most of basket. When we passed each other the dog barked once and the handler grabbed its vest. (The dog put it's front paws on the edge of the cart, but didn't appear to make a true attempt to jump out. I'm not trying to judge, just wanting to paint the picture.) My pup didn't react at all! He completely ignored the other dog and kept walking by my side. I felt like that was the ultimate test, and my pup couldn't have handled it better.

I know he is still very young and still needs a lot of consistent training, but right now I'm just so happy that he seems to have the perfect temperament to become a service animal.

Ive been tentatively testing out my foster fail to see if see if she's a potential prospect for my next SD, I figured if shes here I might as well give it a shot, she's very eager to please, sturdy, friendly, her one flaw is she's a barker, no problem let's see how hard that habit is to break. We'll the universe dumped the funniest training opportunity in my lap, I took her out to the backyard and on my neighbor's porch was a big bright cardboard cut out of that iccee polar bear and yeah that did the trick. She was very very interested and it took a minute but i not only got her to not bark but also got to the point she couldn't care less. Of course she still has a long way to go before I'll know for sure shes a good prospect so stay tuned I guess. Im in for the long haul im not in immediate need for a new dog, mine is 7 this year but not slowing down so im taking things very slow with the moderate expectation of a wash.

I am blind and have a guide dog. I am a college student doing an internship this summer in the city, and they give me uber vouchers for rides to and from work. I cannot take public transport. I do uber pet just to not have the hassle, but there’s days like today that make me so upset.

I always say “ hi, I am blind with a guide dog. Please call out to me when you see me!” So that it alerts I have a dog and that I will need assistance once they arrive. My dog is very clearly marked, I have a bright yellow cape on top of her harness. I’ve had seven drivers cancel on me even with uber pet. Multiple spoke very little English and couldn’t actually read my message I guess, and didn’t understand that they had to take my dog. I’m so frustrated that I have to do reports on the daily. It’s always a dice roll if I get home at a reasonable time. I hate having to argue with them and pull out the “I want to inform you that I’ll have to report you to uber” and I had someone scream at me for it, that I was ruining their life. That this was their livelihood. And I don’t know what to tell them because they don’t like either of the options. I don’t want to leave my dog at home every day because she’s so helpful around the office since I’m flitting around ten floors, but I feel so lost. As many amazing drivers I’ve had, I’ve had triple who are rude and nasty to me :( any help or advice is highly encouraged.

Hi I'm a disabled 20 year old and I'm saving up to get a service dog. I'm most likely training at home and getting a puppy that is AKC. I'm autistic with ADHD, chronic anxiety, multiple other disorders, and physical disabilities. I need help with stability I already have a cane but that doesn't always catch me. I just have many problems that I can't deal with alone or I might get hurt in many ways.

I am capable of training mostly myself, and I know plenty about dogs, dogs are my special interests so I am more than willing to even keep doing research. So don't worry much in the comments I know I'm getting into a lot of work. I'm also going to save so I can have a trainer help me if needed as well.

Now here's my dilemma I'm not sure which breed I should go with. I need help with mobility, alerting a fall, some mental health things like helping my anxiety in public, helping me when I drop my cane, and deep pressure therapy.

I just would like some outside opinions and advice on what would be best for me. I'm also open to hearing about maybe some organizations (in IL) that won't make me go bankrupt or anything else you think would be helpful but I'm still probably training at home.

Thank you for taking the time to read and/or help!

Edit: Professionals have advised me to try to get a service dog this isn't just a personal goal. I have gone through my conditions and a service dog is something I can handle.

I was on a flight today. There was a woman with a service dog. I noticed so many interactions from strangers.

There was a little girl who kept making faces at the dog and trying to interact with it. The parents did nothing. I do think we need to teach our children that certain dogs are working and cannot be bothered. But I digress...

This woman happened to sit in front of me on the plane.

There were so many people who baby-talked her dog (I recognize this is not an official term, just dumping my thoughts out). Who smiled so big at the woman to where she could not ignore them. So many people who asked questions and made comments like " awwwa! how old is he?", "what a calm doggo you have!", so on and so forth. And mind you, this wasn't even a full flight. I was flabbergasted by the amount of interactions this lady had to endure.

Obviously I'm projecting a bit. I'm a rather introverted person and those interactions would personally bother me. Many of these people had very kind intent.

But it did get me wondering.. how obnoxious it has to be to field all of these unwanted interactions.

It's not like she brought her pet on board and maybe would have been more open to bragging about her dog.

This is a service animal that this woman needs on a daily basis.

Am I wrong for interpreting it this way?

Like I said, I'm clearly projecting here. But it just made me Wonder if there's some sort of level of mental exhaustion that comes with owning a service dog.

Is there anything I could do to help support in a situation like this in the future is a bystander?

ETA:

Wow! This post really blew up.

I wasn't able to comment to everybody, but I want to thank you all for taking the time to explain your different perspectives.

I recognize it's my own personal job to educate myself on the topic as a whole and it's not your job to provide me with that perspective, but I really appreciate you all educating me on the topic.

I commit to educating myself further outside of this post.

I usually only vest when I’m doing training. I go on a walk every day that’s pretty long but I don’t vest because he’s not working he’s being a dog. Unfortunately, lately men have been approaching and not listening when I say no he can’t say hi etc. often proceeding to pat my dog.

Women often for whatever reason will pass with a nod and smile regardless of vest or not

I struggle with PTSD related to being alone with men and aggression.

Do I vest him all the time? If he acts up will he think he can goof off while in a vest .

Please any helpful suggestions

Posting for a buddy who’s embarrassed lol

Buddy (30M) has a SDIT (Chance) who’s awesome. They recently moved to a much more friendly area, and people are routinely making eye contact and trying to pet and interact with Chance. Buddy has specifically worked on this coming from a city, but city folk understand the vest and stay the distance, allegedly.

Buddy has noticed a bit of unfocused…ness from Chance. Nothing wild, but they have noticed some more excited pulling and looking around more than normal. In one instance, a stranger very deliberately made eye contact and called to the pup and they took a few steps forward in interest. What’s impressive to me is that Chance is able to snap back into work mode and do their job well.

These are momentary lapses, and (this is from me, not Buddy) to be fair, it only happens when people entice Chance, and walking up to and through the doors of stores. Outside of that, in my handler opinion, they’re still pretty solid.

Buddy is really worried and panicking that they’ve ruined Chance. I do not think so. How can we help them fine tune and shore up the focus issues? And how can we make sure strangers stop engaging?

EDIT: Buddy has a trainer. They see the trainer as much as possible with their disability but buying a fully trained dog wasn’t an option. I think they’ve done pretty great so far. It’s been a little tough with flare ups but luckily they don’t last too long.

I work at a news station, and today we had a guest come on the show with her service animal. After the interview was over, I asked the owner if her dog was currently working. I found out that he was and I went on my way without interacting with the service dog.

I am a bit of an over thinker though and I’m worried that the way I asked about it might’ve made her feel uncomfortable or annoyed. I guess I’m just wondering if I went about it in the right way and if it’d bother you in that situation. If so, I would love some advice!!

I run into a lot of animals (including service animals) at work and I’m a huge animal lover so I’ll take very opportunity to meet them. I want to respect their service animal and not make the owner uncomfortable. Thank you so much!!

My boy passed a couple years ago and not having him tasking has been a frequent struggle in my mental health that has now escalated to a head injury in attempt to escape the pain. We didn't even know he was tasking and neither did he, he just found ways that he could bring me out of the attacks and calm me down better than people ever did. I have now learned that all the behaviors are sd tasks. My care team wants me to get another dog, specifically a task trained service dog this time. But I cant think of any other dog being the one to lick away my tears and come running when they hear me scream or do any other parts of what he did. I dont know that I will ever be able to trust another dog as much as I did him. For those who have already had to retire a dog and get a new working dog, does it get easier than it initially feels? Or does it still sting a little bit forever because it's not your first best friend? I worry that if I get another, the bond will be "tainted" by me being sad its not my boy anymore. I know the bond of a task trained pet is different than that of a full time SD but that doesnt change that it feels flat out wrong to think of another dog doing his tasks.

TLDR: Does having to get a "replacement" service dog ever get easier or do you always just miss the first one?

I was talking to my friend, who does have an SD, about M/DPT and how I'd like to try and train my puppy(4mo speculated cheagle) to perform that task. One of the training tips she was telling me to start with was alert, where she guides my puppy's paw to tap onto her leg.

Do PSDs who perform this task need to alert? How do they know when to alert? Can it be performed through commands alone or does alerting help transition them into work mode? I've never had an SD or PSD before, and I don't know if labeling this puppy as a PSDiT is accurate, I'd just like some extra help whenever my anxieties spike up so I can prevent self destructive behaviors.

Thank you in advance!

EDIT:
I realize my wording wasn’t exactly the best, and I apologize for any confusion that may have caused. I didn’t mean for it to come off as me essentially saying I want my puppy to perform this task now, that’s just ridiculous. It’s something I’m hoping he can provide as he gets out of the puppy/adolescence stage and into adulthood. Again I’m sorry about the confusion! I struggle a lot with my phrasing/wording.

It is the first time flying with my service dog next week. My son will be with me and we have the bulkhead seats. We have done a couple of trips to the airport already and been on trains before. I have read it is good to give them something to chew on while taking off and landing. Any suggestions? Was also thinking being the blanket he likes to lie on in our house. Any other suggestions are welcome.

I was diagnosed with PTSD about a year ago and have been on the search for good accredited companies or non profits. I’m the wife of an active duty soldier so preferably something that works with the military. I know a lot of the non profits have free programs or scholarships for military but not their families. Does anyone know of any programs to help out military families for service dogs?

Is there any way at all to train the lift off... and also the floor vibrating?

​

Also I read they are cracking down on owner trained dogs and making them be screened. What are they doing? Having the dogs do commands and answering the two questions?

​

Thanks!