IAADP Minimum Training Standards for Public Access
IAADP's overall mission is to foster the assistance dog movement in the USA and other countries. As part of this mission, we seek to promote the responsible use of access rights in the disabled community.
For over 80 years, assistance dogs have worked successfully in public and won the public's acceptance by achieving high behavioral and training standards which set them apart from pets and other animals. Their exemplary conduct led to state legislatures granting access rights to the blind, deaf and mobility impaired. Those early teams paved the way for the Americans With Disabilities Act, which has opened the door to individuals with a wide range of physical and mental impairments being able to have access rights.
In response to many inquiries from disabled citizens who want to train a dog to be their assistance dog, but tell us they do not know how much training or what kinds of training to give the dog, IAADP has developed a set of Minimum Training Standards for Public Access. These are drawn from the Minimum Training Standards for Service Dogs first established a decade ago by Assistance Dogs International (ADI) with consumer input from IAADP. Visit www.assistancedogsinternational.org
If you are a disabled person and want the right to be accompanied by an assistance dog in public, we encourage you to meet or exceed the minimum standards set forth below for training an assistance dog for public access.
Disabled persons who want to join IAADP as a Partner Member [voting member] must have a professionally trained guide, hearing or service dog from a Provider or a dog at least twelve months old whom they have trained to meet or exceed IAADP's Minimum Training Standards.
IAADP Minimum Training Standards for Public Access
1. Amount of Schooling: an assistance dog should be given a minimum of one hundred twenty (120) hours of schooling over a period of Six Months or more.* At least thirty (30) hours should be devoted to outings that will prepare the dog to work obediently and unobtrusively in public places.**
2. Obedience Training: a dog must master the basic obedience skills: "Sit, Stay, Come, Down, Heel" and a dropped leash recall in a store in response to verbal commands and/or hand signals.
3. Manners: a dog must acquire proper social behavior skills. It includes at a minimum:
- No aggressive behavior toward people or other animals - no biting, snapping, snarling, growling or lunging and barking at them when working off your property.
- No soliciting food or petting from other people while on duty.
- No sniffing merchandise or people or intruding into another dogs space while on duty.
- Socialize to tolerate strange sights, sounds, odors etc. in a wide variety of public settings.
- Ignores food on the floor or dropped in the dogs vicinity while working outside the home.
- Works calmly on leash. No unruly behavior or unnecessary vocalizations in public settings.
- No urinating or defecating in public unless given a specific command or signal to toilet in an appropriate place.
4. Disability Related Tasks: the dog must be individually trained to perform identifiable tasks on command or cue for the benefit of the disabled human partner. This includes alerting to sounds, medical problems, certain scents like peanuts or situations if training is involved.
For a definition of a "task" and "individually trained, and what is not a task and many examples of tasks performed by different kinds of assistance dogs, Click Here.
5. Prohibited Training: Any training that arouses a dogs prey drive or fear to elicit a display of aggression for guard or defense purposes is strictly prohibited. Non aggressive barking as a trained behavior is permitted in appropriate situations. (See IAADPs ban on the enrollment of protection trained, attack trained or aggressive dogs as an assistance dog with our organization. Click Here)
6. A Trainers Responsibilities: Trainers function as ambassadors for the assistance dog movement. This includes a disabled owner trainer, a providers staff or a volunteer with a puppy or adult dog in training. It also includes an assistance dog partner or able bodied facilitator helping a disabled loved one to keep up an assistance dogs training. At a minimum, you should:
- Know pertinent canine laws (i.e. leash laws and public access laws)
- Ensure the dog is healthy, flea free and the rabies vaccination is up to date
- Take time to make sure your dog is well groomed and free of any foul odor
- Show respect and consideration to other people and property.
- Use humane training methods; monitor the dogs stress level; provide rest breaks.
- Carry clean up materials. Arrange for prompt clean up if a dog eliminates or gets sick.
- Be polite and willing to educate the public about assistance dogs and access rights.
PUBLIC ACCESS TEST
How will you know when your dog is ready to graduate from an "in training" status to the status of a full fledged assistance dog with whom you are entitled to have public access rights?
An excellent tool for evaluating a team's readiness to graduate [e.g. finish up formal training] is the Public Access Certification Test (PACT) which can be found on the website of Assistance Dogs International at www.assistancedogsinternational.orgThe ADI Public Access Certification Test was developed over 15 years ago as a consumer protection measure by the ADI Team Testing Committee, which included input from both providers and IAADP Partner members. Overall, the goal of the test is to discover whether or not a particular team is ready to go places out in public without trainer supervision. The safety of the dog, the handler and the public were the main considerations in developing the specific exercises for testing the team.
This test creates a level playing field, since it does not matter whether it is a guide, hearing or service dog team being tested or who trained the dog. What matters is the teams performance. Every ADI program is required to administer this test before graduating and credentialing a team.
Disability mitigating tasks or work are not critiqued during the test. However, to establish a dogs eligibility to take this test to become an assistance dog, ADI programs would ask for a demo in advance of at least three service dog tasks, three hearing dog sound alerts or a series of tasks known as guide dog work. To document the dog performs tasks in the home such as seizure response work, alerting to an attack of hypoglycemia late at night or fetching a portable phone or beverage, a program may ask the client to submit a video tape of the task(s).
The Public Access Test evaluates the dog's obedience and manners and the handler's skills in a variety of situations which include:
A. The handler's abilities to: ( 1 ) safely load and unload the dog from a vehicle; ( 2 ) enter a public place without losing control of the dog; ( 3 ) to recover the leash if accidently dropped, and ( 4 ) to cope calmly with an access problem if an employee or customer questions the individuals right to bring a dog into that establishment.
B. The dog's ability to: ( 1 ) safely cross a parking lot, halt for traffic, and ignore distractions; ( 2 ) heel through narrow aisles; ( 3 ) hold a Sit-Stay when a shopping cart passes by or when a person stops to chat and pets the dog; (4 ) hold a Down Stay when a child approaches and briefly pets the dog; ( 5 ) hold a Sit Stay when someone drops food on the floor; hold a Down Stay when someone sets a plate of food on the floor within 18" of the dog, then removes it a minute later. [the handler may say Leave It to help the dog resist the temptation.] ( 6 ) remain calm if someone else holds the leash while the handler moves 20 ft. away; ( 7 ) remain calm while another dog passes within 6 ft. of the team during the test. This can occur in a parking lot or store. Alternatively, you could arrange for a neighbor with a pet dog to stroll past your residence while you load your dog into a vehicle at the beginning of the test.
*** It is highly recommended the test be video taped to document the team passed it.
IAADP agrees with ADI's ethical position that the amount of training given to an assistance dog should NEVER fall below the minimum level needed to pass this Public Access Test.
NOTE: Passing the Public Access Test does not mean the organization, ADI, officially "certifies" your dog, since ADI does not certify any dogs and neither does IAADP. It is up to the program or trainer giving the test to provide the desired credentialing. Most furnish a laminated photo ID Card signed and dated by the provider, certifying this dog [insert name] has been trained for the disabled client [insert name] as a Service Dog for the Disabled. [or as a guide or hearing dog] On the rear side, there is a helpful statement about the state or federal law granting access rights to disabled handlers and at the top, a reference to the state law, citing its numbers, and/ or the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
CERTIFICATION is not required in the USA. Many states lack programs willing to certify dogs that did not go through that programs training course. The DOJ decided to foster an honor system, by making the tasks the dog is trained to perform on command or cue to assist a disabled person, rather than certification ID from specific programs, the primary way to differentiate between a service animal and a pet. It opened the door for people to train their own assistance dog, usually with the help of an experienced trainer, if a program dog is unavailable.
Testers: If you are not enrolled in a program or taking lessons from a trainer willing to administer the Public Access Test and provide ID on successful completion of the test, it is worthwhile to find a trainer who would administer The Public Access Test. You could recruit a local trainer certified through The National Association of Obedience Dog Instructors ( www.nadoi.org) or the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. ( www.ccpdt.org ) ,or an obedience class instructor, or a Canine Good Citizen test evaluator. Trainers usually will charge a fee for their time. You might ask a colleague, in a pinch, to video tape the test and score it, for scoring is self explanatory. Have the tester sign and date it, then keep the test with your training logs in case of an access dispute someday.
AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Test: Another way to document you have made an effort to train your dog to be safe around other dogs and people while working out in public is to pass what is known as the CGC test. Many obedience training centers offer the test to handlers who take their six week Canine Good Citizen class after a six week Beginner obedience class. Others may offer it once or twice a year to members of the public who want to earn that credentialing. IAADP urges owner trainers to at least train an assistance dog to the point where he or she can pass it with flying colors. Those who pass receive an impressive looking Certificate signed by the AKC evaluator. The Therapy Dogs International (TDI) Test, sometimes offered the same day, is basically the same test, but an assistant will typically push a wheelchair around and/or an IV pole while the dog goes through the different exercises to ensure the dog is able to work calmly in a hospital or nursing home setting.
If you have any questions about the Minimum Training Standards for Public Access set forth by IAADP or anything else in this section, please feel free to contact Joan Froling at joan@iaadp.org
DEFINITIONS
What is a Task?
A task is a certain desired behavior or set of behaviors the dog is trained to habitually perform in response to a command or a particular situation such as the onset of a seizure, which cues the dog to perform a task. The task must be related to your disabling condition, helping you in some way.
What is meant by individually trained?
A dog has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a disabled individual when the dog is deliberately taught to exhibit the desired behavior or sequence of behaviors by rewarding the dog for the right response(s) and communicating, if only through silence, when the dog has made the wrong response in a particular situation. A task is learned when the dog reliably exhibits the desired behavior whenever needed to assist his/her partner on command or cue. An example of work that is individually trained would be that performed by a guide dog, who takes directional commands, goes around obstacles in the teams path, halts to indicate a curb or some other change in elevation and refuses the Forward command in specific situations that would result in injury, such as an automobile entering the teams path. Examples of individually trained tasks include retrieving a phone, providing deep pressure therapy during a panic attack or providing balance support on a staircase to prevent a fall.
What is NOT an individually trained task?
Spontaneous behavior a dog occasionally exhibits such as licking someone's face or barking does not qualify as a "trained task" under ADA even if it accidentally or coincidentally has a beneficial result. While everyone enjoys the emotional, social and safety benefits that a dog's presence can provide, those benefits do not constitute trained tasks that would transform a disabled person's pet into a legitimate Service Dog under ADA.
Why are individually trained Tasks so important?
Trained tasks that mitigate the effects of a disabling condition are the legal basis for granting access rights to disabled handlers under the Americans With Disabilities Act. An assistance dog with this special training is viewed as assistive technology / medical equipment, not as a pet. Businesses have the right to ask a disabled person, "What Tasks does your service animal perform?" This question can be asked if there is any doubt about the dogs legal status and whether to impose their restrictive pet policies. An acceptable answer might be, "my service dog is trained to get help for me in a medical crisis by ____________." (Fill in the blank as to the specific task) You do not have to reveal your disability in formulating your reply.
Businesses also have the right to exclude any animal, including a service animal, who threatens the health or safety of other people through aggressive or unruly behavior. An assistance dog can also be evicted for disruptive behavior that interferes with a business providing goods or services. The DOJ used the example of a dog barking in a movie theater.
Task examples:
Traditional Tasks performed by Guide, Hearing and Service Dogs. Click Here.
Task examples: Tasks for Service Dogs for Persons with a Psychiatric Disability. Click Here
Back to top
IAADP Policy Prohibiting the Enrollment of Protection Trained or Aggressive dogs
Any dog who is protection trained, attack trained or one who exhibits aggressive behavior in violation of our Minimum Training Standards for Public Access is NOT eligible for enrollment as an Assistance Dog in IAADP, or renewal, no matter what disability related tasks or alerts the dog is said to perform. If an IAADP Partner member's dog later displays aggressive behavior and cannot be rehabilitated within a reasonable time period, ethically, that dog should be retired as unfit for duty outside the home, as the dog does not qualify as an assistance dog under our Minimum Training Standards for Public Access. Non aggressive barking as a trained behavior will be acceptable in appropriate situations.
Back to topSAMPLE TRAINING LOG & instructions below, how to fill in a Log
TRAINING LOG
Owner Trainers Name:
Dogs Name:
Breed:
Gender:
Age:
Week of: ____________________Hours( on Site) + ( Outings)
Health:
Problems:
Outings:
Socialization:
Obedience:
Service Dog Tasks:
Manners:
Comments:
How to Fill In Your TRAINING LOG
Owner Trainers Name:
Dogs Name:
Source: Rescue? Breeder?
Breed or Mix:
Gender:
Age:
Week of: May 2 - 8, 2010 - 8 hrs Total Hours(3.5 hrs on Site) + (4.5 hrs Outings)
Health: Make a note if you gave Heartworm Preventative this week and /or used monthly flea control like Advantage or changed Flea & Tick collar. Make other notes, such as treated ear infection. Anal gland scooting....had vet empty? Did you change diet? Progress on new diet or digestive upsets? Treated hot spot? Trimmed nails? Blowing coat? Improved on car sickness?
Problems: Are there any particular problems distressing you? Has there been improvement on any of the problems mentioned in previous logs? (e.g. Barking at other dogs, becoming over excited in the presence of other animals or fearful of getting into the back seat of the car, or refuses to potty outside of his backyard or wont use other footing except grass, etc.)
Outings:1 Hour Mon. Canine Good Citizen (CGC) class, Trainers ( your name, instructors name )
45 min. Tues. Bank - inside w/permission, parking lot work too; Trainer - (yr. name)
1 hr. 15 min. Thurs. Petsmart; Trainers - ( your name, assistants name)
1 hr. Saturday Petsmart, more work on dog distraction issue, Trainer - ( your name)
Socialization:
What novel sights, sounds, smells, taste or touch, footing, was the dog exposed to in an urban, suburban or rural environment in different kinds of weather? (e.g. a band in a park, a parade, a mounted policeman, Little League game, strangers in ethnic garb, potty in street near curb?) Did the dog improve when exposed to something that caused signs of stress earlier, such as an elevator ride, dog barking at him from behind a fence, working near an escalator, climbing a staircase or when asked to potty on different types of ground? What needs more work? (e.g. walking near heavy traffic, motorcycle revving up, garbage truck, approaching a mirror, screaming kids on schoolyard playground, holding a Sit Stay during a thunderstorm,etc.)
Obedience:
Where did you practice basic commands? (e.g. house, garage, neighborhood, outside shopping center). Any progress? What needs improvement? (e.g. out of sight Stays or Heel w/halt instead of Sit for balance or wheelchair work.) Practice Public Access Test exercises....holding Sit or Down when adult or child pets the dog or someone drops food on the floor or puts plate down by dog or passes with a shopping cart. Practice Stay or Come with a dropped leash indoors, outdoors in safe area. Have assistant tease dog at a distance with food, smooching, say Hi, puppy, puppy or bounce a ball while you keep him focused on you in a Sit or Down Stay. Advanced - practice Stay in public rest room, under table in restaurant, in stores in sight, you out of sight around a corner. Off leash heeling, Downs, recall indoors, outdoors in safe fenced area.
Service Dog Tasks:
What did you introduce this week? What progress has dog made on various tasks, like fetch the phone? Beginner, intermediate or advanced stage? Any setback? Where did you practice?
Manners:
Which manners were a priority this week? What improved? What needs more work? For example: Say please [with Sit Stay] for Supper, for Exiting house....expanded from 30 seconds to one minute! Enter, exit, riding in a car - improved. Lie quietly on side for nail grinder, grooming - needs work! Watchdog suppression - needs work! Jumping on visitors - needs work. Honor system - respecting Leave It edict re: bowl of treats on end table, 24/7....3rd week, also leaves bowl of treats on kitchen counter alone! Paw on knee - rarely tries this dominance behavior anymore. Licking self in public - only needed one correction this week, an uh uh with my disapproving glare at him. Doesnt do it at church anymore or in grocery store.No sniffing other dogs while on duty at obedience class or in neighborhood - needs more work.
Comments:
Anything unusual, worrisome, cute, exceptional? Did you read a book, see a video that helped with training? Reason for not practicing this week (e.g. sick, injured, family funeral, or dog neutered and must be kept very quiet for two weeks? etc. ) Overall progress....fair? Good?
Sales Page: http://ouo.io/CF5S8u
Download: http://ouo.io/AplwQR (100% OFF)
IAADP Minimum Training Standards for Public Access . 1. Amount of Schooling: an assistance dog should be given a minimum of one hundred twenty (120) hours of
IAADP Minimum Training Standards for Public Access - IAADP...
IAADP Minimum Training Standards for Public Access IAADP's overall mission is to foster the assistance dog movement in the USA and other countries.
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners
IAADP'S MINIMUM TRAINING STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC ACCESS and Minimum Training Standards; IAADP Financial information about IAADP, International Association of
Standards - Dog Services 612-805-9136
IAADP Minimum Training Standards for Public Access: http://www.iaadp.org/iaadp-minimum-training-standards-for-public-access.html.
Assistance Dogs International : Standards for Trainers
Standards for Trainers; Public Access Test; Home > Standards > Training Programs > Standards for Trainers. These are intended to be minimum standards for all
What are the Minimum Training Standards for a Service Dog ...
What are the Minimum Training Standards for similar Minimum Training Standards and a Public or finish formal training is a Public Access Test like the
Public Access Test: - ADI Test - Dog Services 612-805-9136
Training; Legal ; Standards; ADI Test; IAADP International Association of Assistance Dog http://www.iaadp.org/iaadp-minimum-training-standards-for-public
Minimum Training Standards for Public Access
Minimum Training Standards for Public Access . for Public Access. These are drawn from the Minimum Training Standards for Service Dogs first
Assistance Dogs International : Service Dogs
Assistance Dogs International. Training Programs; Public Access Test; The service dog must meet all of the standards as laid out in the minimum standards for
pawsitivementoring - Mission Statement
IAADP. www.iaadp.org Ms on this paper and her work ethic and behaviour was modeled on the IAADP Minimum Training Standards For Public Access