ADI | FAQ

Realistic Answers to
Frequently Asked Questions

How can I get a dog from Assistance Dogs International?
Assistance Dogs International does not provide or train dogs. It is an organization made up of individual programs that train dogs. Click on "Member Lists and Links" to locate a program that may be able to train a dog for you.

Can you give me the names of your member organizations?
A list of ADI affiliated organizations is available by clicking on "Membership Directory / Lists and Links." You will have to contact each organization individually to get more information.

What breeds of dogs make good Service Dogs?
The short answer is Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers. There are exceptions of course. Dogs from the Working group are easy to train but tend to be protective. Field dogs tend to more interested in their environment than people. Small dogs can't pick up large objects or pull wheelchairs. Large dogs are hard to put under a table in a restaurant or out of the way on a bus or plane. A good Service Dog is not protective, is people oriented, is not overly active, and is confident but not dominate or submissive. Service dogs should not require complex grooming.

What breeds make good Hearing Dogs?
Since most Hearing Dogs are rescued from shelters, most of them are mixed breeds. They come in all different sizes, shapes, and colors. The great majority of Hearing Dog applicants request small to medium sized dogs, so most Hearing Dogs are Sheltie size or smaller. In addition to size, personality and temperament are important for a Hearing Dog. They must be energetic, ready to work in an instant when a sound occurs. They must be friendly and people oriented. Because of these requirements, a lot of Terrier mixes are used along with various combinations of Poodles, Cockers, Llasa Apsos, Shih Tzus, Chihuahuas.

Why shouldn't an Assistance Dog be protective?
An Assistance Dogs job is to make a disabled individual more able, not to protect them. The dog's presence is a natural deterrent. Because disabled people take their Assistance Dogs into public places and many are not able to physically restrain their dogs, the Assistance Dog must be safe for the public. Many dogs, especially working breeds, will sense their owner's disability and their vulnerability. These dogs can learn on their own to protect at inappropriate times. This can be compounded by an individual who doesn't recognize that they are unconsciously encouraging this behavior.

Can shelter dogs make good Assistance Dogs?
Many Hearing and Service Dog programs use shelter dogs. The number of dogs that are viable as Hearing and Service Dogs is exaggerated by some organizations. Selection of a dog is critical. A Service Dog candidate should be between 18 months to 2 years old. A younger dog will not show its adult temperament and will not have adult bone structure for hip/shoulder/elbow x-rays. Older than two reduces the amount of time the dog will be able to work with their disabled person. This will eliminate 60 to 80 percent of the dogs in the shelter. Dog size and inappropriate breeds will eliminate another 10 to 20 percent. Temperament tests will eliminate many more. In general, during a visit to the shelter only 1 to 5 percent of the dogs might qualify. Sometimes none will qualify. Service Dog organizations have to make regular visits to the shelters to occasionally find a good candidate. Fifty percent of the dogs selected will have hip dysplasia or other health problems that will then disqualify them. A poor selection process may find a nice or cute dog but you should never shortchange your disabled client with a somewhat satisfactory dog.

How do I decide if I should train Service Dogs?
Most dog trainers love dogs and training dogs. This is only the beginning. If you have ever trained a novice class of individuals who have never trained a dog before you know that training dogs is the easy part. Training people to train their dog or maintain their dogs training is the hard part. Now add to this that you have to train a person who is not as able to move with, motivate, correct, and in some cases understand your instructions right away. Training Service Dogs involves all of this plus the fact that your are making a ten year commitment to help this team whenever they need it. Only decide to train Service Dogs if want this challenge and long term commitment.

How long does it take to become a Service Dog trainer?
Most Service Dog programs have a two to three year apprentice training program. Shorter programs might be able to train a Service Dog in general. They can not fully train an individual to deal with different temperament dogs. It is unlikely that you can learn to place a dog with a disabled individual in this amount of time as well as have knowledge of many different disabilities. You are in a buyer beware situation with schools that promise to make you a Service Dog trainer in 6 months. Be especially careful of if they have never had experience with the placement of a Service Dog with a disabled individual.

How long does it take to train a Service Dog?
Minimum standards established by Assistance Dogs International is 120 hours over 6 months. A well-trained Service Dog should be trained 1 to 2 hours per day over 6 months - in other words 180 to 360 hours.

How do I become an apprentice trainer?
You must contact organization independently. You may have to relocate to a rural area. The fact is a lot of people inquire about this every day. There are many people applying for limited positions. If you're interested in cleaning poop, running errands, filling out paperwork, shoveling snow and everything else involved producing Service Dogs, take the time to find an opening. Finding an opening in your area often is enhanced by your volunteering prior to getting an apprentice position.

What is the demand for Service Dogs?
No exact answer can be determined. The demand is exaggerated by working backwards from the number of disabled Americans and assuming some percentage of that number will want a Service Dog. A more direct method is measure current demand against production. The current production of Service Dogs is approximately 500 to 600 Service Dogs per year. The average waiting list is 2 years (ranging from 6mos. to 5 years). That means that the current demand is approximately 1000 to 1200 dogs. For arguments sake let's assume there are twice as many individuals who want Service Dogs but they are not on waiting lists. That puts the current demand between 3000 to 3600 dogs for the next two years. If you then add 1500 to 1800 Service Dogs each year over the next 9 years, the ten year projection is between 16,500 and 19,800. These numbers are over-estimates. Many individuals are on more than one waiting list. Even if you double or triple these numbers, assuming demand will increase with availability, the demand is less than 60,000 over 10 years. That's one tenth of the backward estimate.

Can I make money training Service Dogs?
This is hard to quantify. Most Service Dogs are trained by non-profit organizations. This is because most disabled people can not afford the cost of a Service Dog on their own. To decide if $3,000 - $5,000 is worth your time for a ten-year commitment is profitable to you has to be a personal decision. Here is a simplified budget based on ADI's minimum standard.

Service Dog Budget

Item

Amount

Salary for training dog (over 6 month period 120 hrs @ $10/hr)

$1,200.00

Training client and placement. (13 days 8 hr/day @ $10/hr)

1,400.00

Life time follow-up and yearly re-certification

600.00

Kennel care

50.00

Transportation costs

50.00

Dog food and supplies minimum

200.00

Veterinarian Fees (vaccinations - hip/shoulder/elbow x-rays - neutering)

200.00

========

TOTAL

$3,700.00

This does not include Harnesses, Dog Crates, Utilities, Office Supplies, Professional Fees (Insurance etc.), Misc. Dog Equipment, Misc. Delivery Expense and most importantly your time after the dog is placed. It also doesn't include your time for a higher level of training than the ADI minimum. It does not include the time or expense of acquiring the correct dog.

I think it would be cool to be able to take my dog out in public. How do I do this?
Remember that no dog has access rights - only people have access rights. In most states only 3 groups of people are legally allowed to take trained dogs out in public:
a) people with disabilities partnered with assistance dogs
b) professional trainers of assistance dogs for people with disabilities
c) civil service providers on the job, such as police, fire and customs inspectors.
No one in these three groups is legally allowed to take their "pet" or "pet therapy" dogs out in public.

There is no assistance dog training program in my area (or country), so I want to start my own.
People often don't realize how many other programs already exist. Almost every state has at least one assistance dog training program and most have more than one. Do your homework and find out what's already available before you duplicate something that already exists. Check your phone book, the ADI membership list and other internet resources for assistance.

Is there a school where I can learn to start my own program?
While there may be schools which offer to train you to train dogs or run your own program, ADI does not currently offer accreditation of these schools and cannot make recommendations.

I want to start a program because I love dogs and want to help them live productive lives.
Starting your own program involves much more than working with dogs. A common misconception about the assistance dog field is that it's about dogs. In reality, it's about helping people. If you do not think of yourself as a "people" person, no amount of love for dogs will make this the right field for you. You will be training, guiding and counseling people with a variety of disabilities as well as working with the curious and sometimes difficult public. You will be expected to be diplomatic and flexible and creative when working with people to ensure that their needs are met. While all good trainers must respect their dogs, your main goal will be to empower a person with a disability, not to make a dog happy.

Can you recommend any books on assistance dogs and people with disabilities?
Here a just a few of the books available: Teamwork I & II by Top Dog in Tucson, Arizona; Partners in Independence by Ed and Toni Eames; Lend Me an Ear by Martha Hoffman; Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs and Declarations of Independence by John Hockenberry; Life on Wheels: For the Active Wheelchair User by Gary Karp; Planet of the Blind by Stephen Kuusisto; Waist-High in the World: Life Among the Non-Disabled by Nancy Mairs; Chelsea: The Story of a Signal Dog by Paul Ogden

What is the difference between a for-profit and a non-profit organization?
A for-profit organization is funded by the fees it charges its clients. A non-profit may also charge a fee for service, but services are usually provided to clients at a rate much lower than the actual cost of the service. Non-profits rely on grants and donations to cover the balance of their operating costs. These donations are tax-deductible to the donor.

Can I donate my dog to Assistance Dogs International?
Assistance Dogs International is a coalition of programs that provide assistance dogs to people with disabilities, not a program that provides dogs. Some ADI member programs accept donated dogs, but you will need to contact the individual programs for information on their policies regarding donated dogs.

Does Assistance Dogs International do demonstrations?
No, although we occasionally have an information table at dog and disability events. If you would like an assistance dog demonstration, look on the list of ADI member programs and contact the program nearest you. Most programs are happy to schedule demonstrations of their working dogs for your group or club.

Do you accept donations?
Yes, and all donations are tax-deductible. Assistance Dogs International is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization.

How do I get information about volunteering, acquiring an assistance dog, raising a puppy, or adopting a released, retired or pet therapy dog?
Each ADI member program has its own policies and procedures regarding these issues and you will need to contact the programs individually for specific information.

How do I get my dog certified as an assistance dog?
Currently there is no national certification available for assistance dogs. However, ADI member programs currently use the ADI Public Access Test to certify their own graduate teams. Some ADI member programs do offer to certify owner-trained dogs and you would need to contact them directly for information about their programs.

What are the benefits of certification?
Since there is no standard certification process, this would vary with the organization you chose. Some programs offer a thorough certification process that can take two or more years and could include training classes, field trips and in-home instruction. In addition to being able to take pride in what you and your dog have accomplished, as a "certified" graduate, you might receive the program's identification card and dog equipment, be included in the program's liability insurance coverage and be offered assistance from the program should you be denied public access. Each program's requirements and benefits are different and it is up to you to be a good consumer and find the program that best meets your needs.

What do programs look for when hiring people as assistance dog trainers?
This will vary with each program and the type of assistance dogs they train. Generally, programs look for a person with a practical, common sense attitude toward dogs. Like most employers, programs are looking for positive, enthusiastic team players with good people skills. A good instructor candidate is patient and genuinely interested in helping people. A willingness to work long and hard, get dirty and do whatever needs to be done to accomplish the program's goals are a must. Each program has it's own policies and procedures relating to dog training, client selection, team training and follow-up. Job seekers will want to do careful research on each program to determine which program best matches their ideals and meets their needs.

Realistic Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Service Dog Budget

Realistic Answers to
Frequently Asked Questions