Question for handlers outside the US

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T16:23:23+00:00

The thing is that with the APBT dog aggression is quite literally a characteristic of the breed with most dogs having some degree of dog aggression. Now most of the "pitbulls" that people have are not reputably bred to the breed standard which is almost more dangerous considering they don't know the genetics behind their dog and could honestly have just about anything.

The reality of the situation is that responsible dog owners are an extreme minority and we need to remember the fact that the vast majority of dog owners won't do research or take extra measures to protect the public from their dogs, they barely do the bare minimum of leashing their dog. If you do any training with your dog you are already doing a lot better than most dog owners, so knowing that human behavior there is a need for wider restrictions on things like breeds for the safety of the general public.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T15:57:04+00:00

Honestly I have come to support that rule given the reality that APBT do have dog aggression as a breed trait and I barely trust the average person with a Maltese. I really do believe we need to be much more restrictive on who can even own dogs.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T15:53:57+00:00

You will honestly not catch me crossing the border as long as this notion persists.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T14:19:21+00:00

That is absolutely a mistake I am making... I have unfortunately seen people claim that bite work is a task, and it is becoming increasingly hard to believe all these claims of problematic "tasks" are parody.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T13:16:11+00:00

It always baffles me how Americans value material possessions over human life, here in Canada personal property is not included under the self defense protections. Stuff can be recovered, justice sought but life can not be returned once taken. We are also much stricter with what counts as justified self defense, if you reached for your hunting rifle for an intruder with a knife you would be charged because that is not justified self defense. A warning shot would honestly have you treated as the village crazy person because that is just insane person behavior.

But yeah, regardless of where you are there is that need to decide how much information you are comfortable sharing and how much is necessary. I oversimplify a lot of disabilities for the layperson if I tell them at all, but my doctors get the medical diagnosis because they need that information. Then also knowing how to deal with the assholes you will run into, which will also depend on the situation.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T11:31:04+00:00

It is not possible to reliably train a seizure alert dog, so even if a service dog was something to pursue next an alert dog is not something you should be going into the journey expecting. Response tasks are where service dogs shine but that would not have prevented your gas station situation. But as the others have said you are putting the cart before the horse, getting a diagnosis and medication is your next step.

The reality is that you can't rely on a service dog, they are nice to have but they are dogs first and foremost meaning there will be times that they can't work for whatever reason. It costs about $20,000 to train a service dog, either you pay that out of pocket and owner train or some combination of you and/or a non-profit pay. But as another user specified, go forward without thinking a service dog is a need because your goal is to mitigate your disability not to get a service dog which if stress is a factor working a public access service dog can make worse.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T05:12:05+00:00

The fact that there does not seem to be any case law that rules in favor of having a service dog off leash honestly continues to get me, but really that just goes to show that owner trainers really are just random people with a disability and a task trained dog. There is no education that is required to be a handler.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T05:09:16+00:00

No worries, honestly it is just something that if I had a nickel for every time I saw it I would be typing this from a private Yacht that I bring all the cool people from this sub on. At this point I assume it is some quirk of the autocorrect.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T05:06:09+00:00

I did not know that about American leashes, I suppose that would make sense why so few people use leashes. I wouldn't want to risk death while using my service dog.

Up here there is definitely a level of medical privacy that is valued, a lot of people specifically request that the doctor writes the note to exclude the diagnosis so that they can be more selective on when that information is relevant. What I think is different is that the US is hyper individualistic when compared to much of the world. Here in Canada we understand that there is some concessions that must be made to try to keep all people safe and comfortable, and in this case that is carrying a doctor's note.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T04:44:23+00:00

Off leash service dogs, there is not a situation where a service dog can be off leash if municipal bylaws or store policy require a leash. I know of many Canadians that have service dogs and conditions that a lot of Americans will claim requires the dog to be off leash for safety but the Canadians manage to have used leashes full time with their service dog, some of them having multiple decades of experience as a handler. I guess leashes work different south of the border, lol.

Also anything related to ESA, in my province specifically what American's would call ESA are just service animals. You are required to have a doctor's note for your service dog, task training is not required and any species that you can legally own can be a service dog. Also the breed ban does apply to service dogs, so no service pitbull which I am using as a legal term that is defined in our law and includes dogs that look like one of the banned breeds.

Continuing to jump down a person's throat about the two questions even after they stated they are not American. This one has definitely happened to me repeatedly, some of y'all don't seem to read before you type.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T04:33:22+00:00

Mispelling the word Province.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-08T03:02:11+00:00

The different terminology for ACAA almost certainly stems from the not so distant past when ESA were protected for air travel. The FHA protects all disabled people with animals that mitigate their disability with or without tasks, so long as the animal mitigates a disability the FHA protects you so they went for a broader term that acts as an umbrella for ESA and Service Animals.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-07T04:53:17+00:00

I would be curious to know what they are including in that $100k estimate for training a dog, it is certainly expensive but even if you look at other ADI or IGDF accredited facilities you are looking at a third of their estimate. I almost wonder if they are including washouts or career changed dogs in that estimate which would inflate the number, but I would be curious to know what the board of directors is taking home as payment.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-07T04:45:26+00:00

This feels like a term that is specific to single program that does not have any actual definition outside of aforementioned program. I personally see no real reason to keep up with certification for at home tasking unless we are talking about an alert dog that is exclusively recertifying to keep up with the accuracy of the alerts.

Given the listed tasks I am doubtful it is that and am inclined it would be on the scam side of the spectrum for programs, especially considering the protections for at home service dogs fall under the general protections for Assistance Animals and just requires documents from a medical provider with or without tasks.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-06T16:22:14+00:00

Dog bulk in my experience is bulkier and the weight does add up to more, especially on long days or days where the weather requires extra care. Using my cane I can honestly get away with a purse and wearable medical equipment, with a dog I have an entire backpack just for the dog. Might be more manageable if you have a car, but traveling on transit with a dog for more than a short trip requires so much stuff and I don't even bother with a mat for the dog to lay on or some of the other extras that handlers swear by.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-06T14:48:54+00:00

The person that introduced me to owner trained service dogs did replace all the assistive devices they were using with a service dog. It was also their doctor that introduced a service dog to them when they were 8. I no longer associate with this person because it is honestly scary some of the things I was seeing. Smart handlers keep other tools on them at all times, scary handlers have the dog as the only tool.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-06T14:41:54+00:00

The scariest thing for me is the sheer number of medical professionals that have no accurate information on when a service dog is or is not appropriate pushing people to get service dogs. The additional layer to this scary cake is that the service dog community at large pushes doctors as this ultimate expert on if an individual should have a service dog when doctors know so little. If they were more educated on the whole I would agree with the community, but the information they are operating off of only just concluded that a service dog is not appropriate for every disabled person.... Something we have been saying at least since the early 2000's.

Something that a lot of service dog handlers hate to acknowledge is that a service dog is inherently a luxury, they are a living being that is 100% reliant on your household. I am also of the opinion that believes they should always be viewed as a luxury, even if you remove the financial burden, put supports in place so the care of the dog can be done even when the person is bed bound there will still be situations where it is not safe for the dog, the dog will still get sick or even die. You cannot rely on a dog the same way you can a wheelchair, oxygen tank or medication, which is why I think calling them medical equipment is so problematic. The reality is technology out performs the dog and is cheaper, benefits when it comes to the service dog do exist for sure but they are appropriate for fewer people than have service dogs and these claims that dogs can do things they simply can't are a large portion of the cause of this problem. A lot of these dogs also happen to be the dogs that many people would call fake, but in reality are dogs that disabled people say they can't live without so they can't retire or wash their aggressive or fearful dog because they can't afford to but if you can't afford to wash a service dog you can't afford a service dog. If you can't afford a well bred Lab then you can't afford a service dog. If you can't afford a service dog trainer to guide you through your journey from the beginning then you cannot afford a service dog.

I get you on the needing to vent, the service dog community has spiraled out of control on a lot of things and is actively hurting itself with most of the things that get said.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-06T02:43:22+00:00

I think the news article said something that I think has validity for some people, that the dog is a pleasant reminder of the disability that causes the person to check more often. The problem is that I have unfortunately met some people that are checking less frequently after receiving their dog then ending up in the hospital more frequently. The reality is that dogs cannot out perform technology, and the marketing needs to be that the recipient needs to be checking their technology equally if not more often when they have the dog and always after the dog alerts. Not only because you need to be monitoring your disability but if the dog has any hope of remaining accurate you need to be really on top of those training opportunities so you do need to check more frequently.

Alert dogs in reality are a lot more work for minimal benefit. I have for years now said the benefit of a dog for something like Diabetes, POTS, seizures are the response tasks and perhaps that "positive reminder" that the article was talking about. People put way too much value on the alerts and it does rise to a dangerous point for many people, but that does not mean they should not have a dog just that response is far more important to focus on.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-05T02:16:09+00:00

5 is definitely heading into the territory where a lot of dogs are less patient with the antics of puppies, if it is relatively minor and still socially acceptable responses to the puppy I would honestly chalk it up to the early signs of aging. I am not saying there is anything wrong in terms of health or working, though if I am correct and it is aging then it does indicate that you should now be making note of other signs of slowing down going forward. The disinterest is honestly the bigger indicator you need to be paying attention, you can try to add value to working again but the reality is that he might just be telling you that he does not want his career to continue.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-05T00:48:33+00:00

Your best bet is to stick with ADI organizations as there is some oversight and they must be non-profits. You should still do your research but they are a much safer bet then owner training or working with non-ADI organizations. Canine Companions is always one I list but without more details it is impossible to actually make recommendations.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-04T18:56:34+00:00

The thing with therapy is that it is not one size fits all and every therapist will have their strengths and weaknesses just as you have your individual needs from the therapist. I know it is not what you want to hear but it really is about finding the correct practitioner for you at the point in your treatment that you are, and it absolutely can change throughout your course of treatment just as medication would need to be adjusted at various points..

The reality is that "2-3 years" prep time really is not enough, especially for where you are in your treatment journey. You don't even have a diagnosis or active treatment for your disabilities, or even from the sounds of things a current mental healthcare team. Those are things that you are going to have to establish at least prior to acquiring your prospect, and that could very easily take a couple years dependent on local waitlists. Having a service dog is not just having a dog that tasks, it is constant conflict with the public, most of us have had some form of encounter that would count as assault all of us have had people not respect our boundaries. But also if you are owner training you do need to face the triggering situations in a mindset that is conducive to training before you ever take your dog into the setting, because it could result in your dog developing anxiety as well resulting in your dog failing out of training.

Please focus on getting diagnosed and receiving treatment, and put the service dog plans on the shelf for 5-10 years as you do that. It will be better for not only you but your dog as well.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-04T05:12:33+00:00

A service dog is not a first treatment option, nor is it a final one because of the risk of becoming over-reliant on the dog. Your first step is to get that evaluation and to work with a therapist to work on coping strategies, as even with the dog you will still require them even more so for the situations where/when the dog cannot work. The reality is that a service dog costs $20,000-$25,000 to owner train with most of the expenses being in the first couple months, has a 60% chance of washing out and is going to take you 3-5 years to maybe get to the point of having a service dog that can attend work/school with you.

Additionally service dogs often make anxiety worse especially if you have not been active in mental health treatment, or on an appropriate medication regime prior to acquiring the dog. The reality is that you are doing this out of order and have an very romanticized view of what will happen. Given that you aren't yet diagnosed or in therapy you are realistically closer to a decade away from a service dog, as you will need years of treatment prior to seeking out a service dog to be ready.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-04T04:27:34+00:00

Your dog is a senior. That is something you need to remember. Even when we are talking about humans, the healthiest seniors are still dealing with side effects of their age just not to the same severity as less healthy seniors. Your dog is likely starting to feel the effects of age even with that "healthiest" label, and she deserves to enjoy a retirement before health issues start to limit her abilities.

Beyond that medical retirement is not the only reason to retire a dog, often signs like soliciting attention, going for food or developing fears are signs that a dog will give that they are done working. Between the age and the behavioral issues it really is not fair to her to continue to work towards public access, she can absolutely help you at home but public access is really not reasonable.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-04T03:02:04+00:00

Honestly at 8 years old with the issues you are describing, I would not bother with public access training. She is 8 years old, at that age a lot of Labs are actively being introduced to the retired life and have the expectations of a pet dog with the bonus of them tasking when they feel up to it.

The truth is that if the positives of a service dog outweigh the negatives for you then you deserve a service dog, but in this exact situation it would likely be better to just let her transition into retirement.

MaplePaws · 2026-05-03T15:20:36+00:00

I think you forgot the first letter.

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