Service dogs are highly trained animals used to carry out specific duties associated with medical, safety and law enforcement fields. The term ‘Service dog’ covers the broad sector that includes assistance dogs such as guide dogs and hearing dogs, emotional support dogs, sniffers dogs and bomb detection dogs.
Assistance dogs
With more and more canine helpers out and about in the world, some of the terminology can get a bit confusing. You may have heard these words get thrown around interchangeably.
So what is the difference between Assistance Dogs and Emotional Support Dogs? In short: the law!
Assistance Dogs are medical aids, whereas Emotional Support Dogs are considered pets. While all pet dogs can make us feel better, give us unconditional love, and improve our overall quality of life, it takes years of training to become an Assistance Dog.
Emotional Support Dogs make people feel better just by being there. While they support their human through mental and other medical illness, they are not taught specific skills to alleviate these conditions. Unlike Assistance Dogs, they are not allowed to be in public spaces like restaurants or supermarkets.
Assistance Dogs are trained to help their human who is living with a disability. They respond to needs that are specific to their human’s disability by using their advanced skills. This allows their human to engage in activities that may otherwise have been too difficult or challenging.
These dogs carry over all the benefits of a loving pet and, with their added training, are able to provide this support both at home, and out in public spaces.
With more and more canine helpers out and about in the world, some of the terminology can get a bit confusing. You may have heard these words get thrown around interchangeably.
So what is the difference between Assistance Dogs and Emotional Support Dogs? In short: the law!
Assistance Dogs are medical aids, whereas Emotional Support Dogs are considered pets. While all pet dogs can make us feel better, give us unconditional love, and improve our overall quality of life, it takes years of training to become an Assistance Dog.
Emotional Support Dogs make people feel better just by being there. While they support their human through mental and other medical illness, they are not taught specific skills to alleviate these conditions. Unlike Assistance Dogs, they are not allowed to be in public spaces like restaurants or supermarkets.
Assistance Dogs are trained to help their human who is living with a disability. They respond to needs that are specific to their human’s disability by using their advanced skills. This allows their human to engage in activities that may otherwise have been too difficult or challenging.
These dogs carry over all the benefits of a loving pet and, with their added training, are able to provide this support both at home, and out in public spaces.
Guide dogs
Probably the most recognisable of Assistance dogs, Guide Dogs enable blind or low-vision people to navigate the world, providing independence and freedom for their owners. Trained by various organisations around the world, Guide Dogs have earned a respected place in society and are loved for their quiet commitment to their owners’ welfare.
But many Guide Dogs continue to offer the same safety, support and companionship after they change careers. These ‘retired’ or ‘career change dogs’ have finished their time as working Guide Dogs and are paired mostly with people who are already receiving services or supports from Guide Dogs. With their calming presence and unique training, career change dogs can bring a sense of support and friendship to both individuals and families. They also offer the benefit of encouraging regular exercise through walking and playing.
Then there are the dogs with unique personalities or other traits that mean they haven’t fully graduated from their Guide Dog training. These often become Assistance Dogs for children with autism. An Assistance Dog can positively impact families in many ways, providing safety for a child with autism as well as making outings and activities more possible and less stressful for all. An Assistance Dog can learn to assist with daily tasks, providing support for children on the spectrum, their parents/caregivers and siblings.
An Assistance Dog promotes social interaction and assists in the development of social skills that enable participation in community and opens the door to social and recreational activities.
Probably the most recognisable of Assistance dogs, Guide Dogs enable blind or low-vision people to navigate the world, providing independence and freedom for their owners. Trained by various organisations around the world, Guide Dogs have earned a respected place in society and are loved for their quiet commitment to their owners’ welfare.
But many Guide Dogs continue to offer the same safety, support and companionship after they change careers. These ‘retired’ or ‘career change dogs’ have finished their time as working Guide Dogs and are paired mostly with people who are already receiving services or supports from Guide Dogs. With their calming presence and unique training, career change dogs can bring a sense of support and friendship to both individuals and families. They also offer the benefit of encouraging regular exercise through walking and playing.
Then there are the dogs with unique personalities or other traits that mean they haven’t fully graduated from their Guide Dog training. These often become Assistance Dogs for children with autism. An Assistance Dog can positively impact families in many ways, providing safety for a child with autism as well as making outings and activities more possible and less stressful for all. An Assistance Dog can learn to assist with daily tasks, providing support for children on the spectrum, their parents/caregivers and siblings.
An Assistance Dog promotes social interaction and assists in the development of social skills that enable participation in community and opens the door to social and recreational activities.
Training an Assistance Dog
All dogs are carefully chosen for their health and temperament. Once selected, the puppy will begin its Assistance Dog journey at the age of eight weeks old. Over the next two years, expert trainers invest hundreds of hours into transforming each puppy into a fully-qualified Assistance Dog.
The L-plate stage (2–12 months)
The crucial first year of a puppy’s life is all about learning — learning basic skills, learning to be a confident, well-socialised dog who is not readily distracted, learning to feel loved. This basic training takes place in a home environment with volunteers Puppy Educators.
Puppy Educators play one of the most important roles in training an Assistance Dog. They selflessly donate their home and their time to help raise a well-mannered pup who has been exposed to as many different sights, sounds and smells as possible and who will grow into a well-adjusted adult that relates well to other dogs, other animals and people. Together with lots of socialising with other dogs, this includes taking the pup on all modes of public transport and teaching him/her to remain focused on their training in busy community areas such as shopping centres.
All dogs are carefully chosen for their health and temperament. Once selected, the puppy will begin its Assistance Dog journey at the age of eight weeks old. Over the next two years, expert trainers invest hundreds of hours into transforming each puppy into a fully-qualified Assistance Dog.
The L-plate stage (2–12 months)
The crucial first year of a puppy’s life is all about learning — learning basic skills, learning to be a confident, well-socialised dog who is not readily distracted, learning to feel loved. This basic training takes place in a home environment with volunteers Puppy Educators.
Puppy Educators play one of the most important roles in training an Assistance Dog. They selflessly donate their home and their time to help raise a well-mannered pup who has been exposed to as many different sights, sounds and smells as possible and who will grow into a well-adjusted adult that relates well to other dogs, other animals and people. Together with lots of socialising with other dogs, this includes taking the pup on all modes of public transport and teaching him/her to remain focused on their training in busy community areas such as shopping centres.
P-plate learning (12–18/24 months)
After 12-18 months with a Puppy Educator, the Assistance Dogs-in-training begin their Advanced where qualified Instructors build on the dog’s basic skills to add more complex commands.
The dogs learn all the different skills that they will need to help their future client with everyday life. The training for each dog is carefully tailored to their personality, learning style and then, ultimately, the type of person that they will be matched with. Each dog is continually assessed throughout this stage to determine what type of client they could best be paired with.
For example, clients in wheelchairs will require a dog who can retrieve dropped items, open and close doors, and push the button at pedestrian crossings. For someone with post-traumatic stress disorder, the dog will be trained to recognise signals of anxiety, wake them up from night terrors and stay focused from distraction. Trainers will spend several hours a day training each dog in Advanced skills, while the rest of the day is spent walking and exploring new surroundings to practise those skills.
After 12-18 months with a Puppy Educator, the Assistance Dogs-in-training begin their Advanced where qualified Instructors build on the dog’s basic skills to add more complex commands.
The dogs learn all the different skills that they will need to help their future client with everyday life. The training for each dog is carefully tailored to their personality, learning style and then, ultimately, the type of person that they will be matched with. Each dog is continually assessed throughout this stage to determine what type of client they could best be paired with.
For example, clients in wheelchairs will require a dog who can retrieve dropped items, open and close doors, and push the button at pedestrian crossings. For someone with post-traumatic stress disorder, the dog will be trained to recognise signals of anxiety, wake them up from night terrors and stay focused from distraction. Trainers will spend several hours a day training each dog in Advanced skills, while the rest of the day is spent walking and exploring new surroundings to practise those skills.
Hearing dogs
A hearing dog is a type of assistance dog specifically selected and trained to assist people who are deaf or hard of hearing by alerting their handler to important sounds, such as doorbells, smoke alarms, ringing telephones, or alarm clocks. They may also work outside the home, alerting their handler to sounds such as sirens, forklifts, and a person calling the handler's name.
Training
Dogs that may become hearing dogs are tested for proper temperament and willingness to work. After passing initial screenings, they are trained in basic obedience and exposed to things they will face in public areas, such as elevators, shopping carts, and different types of people. They are also trained in audio-response training, where they are exposed to different house appliances or other noises, like doorbells.
Hearing dogs may be trained professionally in as little as three months, though many are trained for at least a year. Generally, training involves getting the dog to recognize a particular sound and then physically alert or lead their handler to the source. They may also be taught to physically alert to and/or lead away from a sound, such as in the case of a fire alarm.
A hearing dog is a type of assistance dog specifically selected and trained to assist people who are deaf or hard of hearing by alerting their handler to important sounds, such as doorbells, smoke alarms, ringing telephones, or alarm clocks. They may also work outside the home, alerting their handler to sounds such as sirens, forklifts, and a person calling the handler's name.
Training
Dogs that may become hearing dogs are tested for proper temperament and willingness to work. After passing initial screenings, they are trained in basic obedience and exposed to things they will face in public areas, such as elevators, shopping carts, and different types of people. They are also trained in audio-response training, where they are exposed to different house appliances or other noises, like doorbells.
Hearing dogs may be trained professionally in as little as three months, though many are trained for at least a year. Generally, training involves getting the dog to recognize a particular sound and then physically alert or lead their handler to the source. They may also be taught to physically alert to and/or lead away from a sound, such as in the case of a fire alarm.
Detection dogs
A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, currency, blood, and contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones.[1] The sense most used by detection dogs is smell. Hunting dogs that search for game, and search and rescue dogs that work to find missing humans are generally not considered detection dogs but fit instead under their own categories. There is some overlap, as in the case of cadaver dogs, trained to search for human remains.
A police dog is essentially a detection dog that is used as a resource for police in specific scenarios such as conducting drug raids, finding missing criminals, and locating stashed currency.
Although detection dogs are often used for law enforcement purposes, they are also used as a valuable research tool for wildlife biologists. In California, detection dogs are trained to discover quagga mussels, an invasive species harmful to the environment, on boats at public boat ramps.
Detection dogs have been trained to search for many things, both animate and inanimate, including:
A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, currency, blood, and contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones.[1] The sense most used by detection dogs is smell. Hunting dogs that search for game, and search and rescue dogs that work to find missing humans are generally not considered detection dogs but fit instead under their own categories. There is some overlap, as in the case of cadaver dogs, trained to search for human remains.
A police dog is essentially a detection dog that is used as a resource for police in specific scenarios such as conducting drug raids, finding missing criminals, and locating stashed currency.
Although detection dogs are often used for law enforcement purposes, they are also used as a valuable research tool for wildlife biologists. In California, detection dogs are trained to discover quagga mussels, an invasive species harmful to the environment, on boats at public boat ramps.
Detection dogs have been trained to search for many things, both animate and inanimate, including:
- Bed bugs
- Cancer
- Currency (e.g. large amounts of money carried by passengers in airports that should be declared to customs)
- Drugs
- Endangered animal species (e.g., black-footed ferret)
- Explosives
- Fire accelerants (e.g. in an arsoninvestigation)
- Firearms
- Gourmet fungi, such as truffles (e.g. French black truffle Italian white truffle, chanterelles, porcini, morels and other varieties of mushroom.
- Human remains
- Invasive species (e.g. quagga mussel)
- Ivory
- Mobile phones (e.g. as contraband in prisons)
- Mould
- Plants, animals, produce, and agricultural items that have to go through customs
- SIM cards
- Termites
- Diabetes
- USB drives
- Wildlife scat
How are sniffer dogs trained?
Usually, it begins with associating the smell with the dog’s favourite toy. The dog then learns to associate the scent of the drug with its toy. As it learns to identify specific smells, the pooch is rewarded with treats. This positive reinforcement makes the dog eager to succeed. Eventually, success becomes sufficient reward.
Sniffer dogs alert their handler to the presence of the scent in different ways. Drug sniffer dogs and those trained to smell fresh fruit at airports could paw at the spot they smell something. Bomb-sniffing dogs, on the other hand, will sit passively. Pawing at an explosive could be very dangerous for the dog and its handler.
Often, sniffer dogs are beagles. It is not necessarily because they have a better sense of smell than other dogs. This breed is used because it is not very large or intimidating. In most cases, members of the public won’t object to a friendly beagle coming up for a sniff which makes it easier for handlers to approach people.
Usually, it begins with associating the smell with the dog’s favourite toy. The dog then learns to associate the scent of the drug with its toy. As it learns to identify specific smells, the pooch is rewarded with treats. This positive reinforcement makes the dog eager to succeed. Eventually, success becomes sufficient reward.
Sniffer dogs alert their handler to the presence of the scent in different ways. Drug sniffer dogs and those trained to smell fresh fruit at airports could paw at the spot they smell something. Bomb-sniffing dogs, on the other hand, will sit passively. Pawing at an explosive could be very dangerous for the dog and its handler.
Often, sniffer dogs are beagles. It is not necessarily because they have a better sense of smell than other dogs. This breed is used because it is not very large or intimidating. In most cases, members of the public won’t object to a friendly beagle coming up for a sniff which makes it easier for handlers to approach people.
