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Are you interested in getting your Goldendoodle to be a service dog? Maybe you are looking for a Goldendoodle service dog for yourself or a loved one. I’ll take you through what a service dog is, why Goldendoodles can be excellent service dogs, the steps you need to take to get your Goldendoodle to become a service dog, and where you can find Goldendoodle service dogs.
What is a Service Dog?
The Department of Justice, through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), states that “service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.” These disabilities include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), those who are blind and deaf, various mental illnesses, and others.
Service dogs are trained to perform tasks that help keep people safe or reduce the effects of a disability. Per the ADA, dogs who only provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals. This is because service dogs need to be trained to assist a person with a specific disability. Therapy or emotional support dogs cater to a broader range of individuals and are not qualified for a particular disability.
One thing that makes service dogs unique besides helping with disabilities is their full public access rights. This means they can go to places that don’t allow pets, such as restaurants, public transportation, and businesses.
Types of Service Dogs
There are many different names and specifications for service dogs. A service dog can be trained to handle a specific disability or have two or more specializations. Some types of service dogs include:
- Guide Dogs
- Assist blind and low-vision individuals by guiding them around obstacles or alerting them about dangers
- Hearing Dogs
- Assist hard of hearing or deaf individuals by alerting them about certain noises
- Mobility Assist Dogs
- Help individuals perform everyday tasks such as opening doors, turning the lights on, and retrieving objects.
- Psychiatric Service Dogs
- Assists people with mental disabilities such as depression, PTSD, or anxiety with everyday tasks such as calming the individual down and retrieving objects.
These are just some of the types of service dogs there are. Each type has specific specializations that cater more to an individual’s needs. Regardless, each service dog has to undergo extensive training to help these individuals and be reliable. Service dogs need to be intelligent and have temperaments suited to helping people. That’s why certain dog breeds are better at becoming service dogs than others. This leads us to why Goldendoodles can be an excellent service dogs.
Are Goldendoodles Good Service Dogs?
Goldendoodles can be excellent service dogs based on genetics. Goldendoodles are a mixed dog breed between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. The Golden Retriever and the Poodle are very popular service dogs. Why?
The Golden Retriever and the Poodle are very intelligent, and their temperaments are well suited for service dogs. Golden Retrievers are even-tempered and don’t get ruffled easily. They can quickly learn new commands and have plenty of energy to help individuals throughout the day. Poodles have all the same traits while bringing more intelligence and a low-shedding coat.
Goldendoodles bring the best traits of both breeds into one dog. Goldendoodles represent the social, out-going, even-tempered characteristics of the Golden Retriever with the intelligence, focus, and low shedding coat of the Poodle.
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, pet allergies affect 10 to 20% of the world’s population. Pet allergies can prevent a disabled person from receiving a service dog. This is where the Goldendoodle shines as a service dog because of its low-shedding coat. While their coat is not entirely hypoallergenic, Goldendoodles shed significantly less than Golden Retrievers and other breeds. Their low shedding coat makes them available to people with disabilities who have mild allergies, which according to the report I linked above, is a significant amount of people.
Even though Goldendoodles can become excellent service dogs doesn’t mean that all Goldendoodles are suited for the task. Some Goldendoodles will have characteristics that won’t allow them to become suitable service dogs no matter how much time you spend training. There are a lot of factors that go into getting a Goldendoodle that will excel at becoming a service dog. If you have your sights set on your Goldendoodle becoming a service dog, I’ll explain how you get there below.
How To Get Your Goldendoodle to Become a Service Dog
The training required to become a service dog is significant, but having a Goldendoodle or any of these dog breeds, can almost be seen as a head start. These dog breeds have the strong temperament foundations required to become service dogs. In this section, I’ll explain the steps you can take to get your Goldendoodle to fulfill a service dog role.
The first step comes before getting a Goldendoodle. When looking for your Goldendoodle pup, look into reputable breeders and tell them that you want a puppy to become a service dog later.
If they are honest and knowledgeable, they’ll be able to tell you if they think they have litters that are best suited for what you are looking for. While having one of your Goldendoodle pup’s parents be a service dog is not necessary, it goes a long way in training.
The earlier you start training in your Goldendoodle’s life, the easier it will become for them to become a service dog.
Start with the basics such as potty training, socialization, and walking on a leash. I highly recommend you use Brain Training for Dogs by Adrienne Farracelli. This dog training system you use with your Goldendoodle will make basic obedience training a breeze. Not only does the system teach you basic training, but advanced training as well. Once you go through the system, your pup will surely be ready for specialized training to be a service dog.
Lastly, your Goldendoodle will need specialized training to be a specific type of service dog, such as a guide dog or mobility assist dog. Your Goldendoodle will require one of these vests to get started. That way, strangers will know they are training to provide a service. Also, they’re great, so your pup can get used to it.
If you remain dedicated to training your Goldendoodle, the average time it takes to reach a point where they can be full-time service dogs is around two years.
Where Can You Find Goldendoodle Service Dogs?
If you are looking for a Goldendoodle service dog, then good news, because more and more Goldendoodles are being bred specifically for this purpose.
Professional service dog training organizations can be found anywhere. These organizations specialize in training and ensuring their service dogs are ready to perform for the given disability.
Since there is significant time and effort put into training these service dogs, the costs can be substantial. They can range from $10,000-$40,000 for one service dog, but there are plenty of options for those with disabilities.
Several Non-Profit organizations grant funds to people who don’t have the means to obtain one, such as US Service Animals. In 2017, an 8-year-old girl with Rhett syndrome was given a Goldendoodle service dog by the Make-A-Wish foundation. This is just one story, but there are many more with non-profits funding a service dog for those in need.
Unfortunately, since there are very few laws governing service dogs, they can be falsely advertised or “fake service dogs.” This harms disabled individuals who can’t rely on their dogs and the public. If you are searching for a Goldendoodle service dog, do your due diligence on the dog training organizations.
The good news is that state and local governments have noticed the growing problem with these “fake service dogs” and are introducing laws to make it an offense. Not only will these new laws help prevent organizations from falsely advertising, but they will keep the public, the disabled individual, and the dog safer.
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