Blue Dog's Blog

Service dogs are one of many choices available to help mitigate disability but is the choice right for you? People tend to jump head first thinking about all of the plusses without thinking about the minuses. It’s very important that you think through this decision before applying to a placement organization or trying to train a service dog yourself.

While reading through the points below, try to be as honest with yourself about each category as you can be. Your decision affects you, the dog and others in your household so please choose wisely.

A Service Dog is not a cure!

A service dog will not cure your disability, nor will it stop it from advancing, if you have a progressive illness. Don’t create bigger expectations than a dog can fill; it’s not fair to you or the dog. A service dog’s job is to perform tasks and as long as you keep your expectation to those tasks, you have a good chance of having your expectations met.

Do you know what your expectations are? One way to determine them is to write down what you think your life will be like with a service dog. Next, translate your imaginings into tasks a dog can do. If you’re not sure how to translate it, start researching dog training and the tasks service dogs perform. Here are several books to help you get started:

• The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller
• The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way to Understand the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs by Jean Donaldson
• Excel-Erated Learning: Explaining in Plain English How Dogs Learn and How Best to Teach Them by Pamela J. Reid
• Control Unleashed: Creating a Focused and Confident Dog by Leslie McDevitt
• How Dogs Learn by Joh S. Bailey, Ph.D.
• The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell, Ph.D.
• Dog Sense: How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet by John Bradshaw
• On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals by Turd Rugass
• How to Behave so Your Dog Behaves by Sophia Yin, DVM
• Teamwork I & II: A Dog Training Manual for People with Disabilities by Stewart Nordensson & Lydia Kelley
• 101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog by Kyra Sundance

Another place to research service dog tasks is IAADP’s website: Traditional Assistance Dog Tasks for guide, hearing and mobility work and Service Dog Tasks for Psychiatric Disabilities for work related to panic disorder, PTSD and depression.

How’s Your Health?

Many people think that you have to be severely disabled to benefit from a service dog but this is not the case. In fact, how disabled you are as well as your overall health could make or break whether working with a service dog is a choice for you at all. If you expect to be in assisted living within the next few years, it may not be a feasible choice. Remember that you will be completely responsible for the care of the dog. It’s wonderful if family and friends offer to help but they might not always be able to come through, if at all, so you need to make sure that you are able to.

Can you:

• Bathe the dog?
• Brush the dog?
• Exercise the dog?
• Keep the dog up on his training?
• Train the dog new tasks, if need be?
• Clean up after the dog? This includes his daily potty routine as well as any accidents he may have (dogs get sick, too).
• Clean up after the dog’s shedding?

Be honest with yourself about whether you have the stamina or functionality do to all of this. The dog is there to help you but he relies on you for help as well.

Can you afford a dog?

Anyone who’s owned a pet will tell you that one can be expensive. According to an AP-Petside.com poll, dog owners spent an average of $537 on vet bills in 2011: vet bills for animals not facing serious illness were an average of $358 whereas vet bills for animals facing serious illness were an average of $1,092. Approximately 13% of dog owners (one in eight) spent $1000 or more. Pet insurance is available and can help with bills but it also comes at a cost. As medical costs rise, many are unable to afford veterinary care. In households earning $50,000 or less annually, 41% said that felt unable to afford medical care for their pets.

Besides veterinary care, your service dog will need:

• Preventative Medications & Supplements: All dogs need preventative medications for parasites such as heartworms, fleas, ticks and most also benefit from supplements such as vitamins and fish oil. Talk to your vet about what your dog needs for your location as well as his activity level but expect to pay $50-$300 a year, depending upon the size of your service dog. If you join the IAADP ($30/year), you will receive some preventative medications and supplements for free, cutting your price down substantially. This is only offered to handlers of service dogs and not service dogs-in-training.
• Food & Treats: Your dog will need quality food and treats to stay healthy. Depending upon his size, this could cost $20-$60 per month for a total of $240-$720 per year. Not sure which dog food is the best? Whole Dog Journal publishes an annual report on the top dogs foods available. See Whole Dog Journal’s 2011 Canned Dog Food Review and 2011 Dry Dog Food Review for more information (subscription required).
• Beds and/or Crates: The cost of a bed will run from $20 to $150+ annually, depending upon the size and quality of the bed, the number of beds in your household(one for the family room and one for the bedroom) as well as its washability. A better quality bed is likely to need to be replaced less often. Portability is also a plus, so you can use it at home, during training classes or when you’ll be at a place for a long time such as a doctor’s appointment. Some placement organizations require you to have a crate even if you choose to also have a bed so be sure to factor in both. A good quality crate may last an adult dog’s lifetime.
• Leashes, Collars & ID Tags: These can run you from $10-$50, depending upon the quality. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to get by with the same one for the entire (adult) dog’s life but more than likely, you’ll find yourself needing to purchase at least a new leash every year or two given the amount of use it will get on a daily basis.
• Toys: Toys are important for mental stimulation as well as exercise. You’ll probably spend somewhere between $25 and $150 on toys each year but if you’re like me and have a hard time resisting great toys you see when you shop, it could be much higher. Mentally stimulating toys can run from $5-20+ for ones you build yourself to $25-50 for high quality commercial activity games like those by Nina Ottoson.
• Harnesses, Backpacks & Capes: Not all placement organizations supply harnesses and backpacks but most do supply one cape. The higher quality of a harness and backpack you purchase, the less often it will need to be replaced. Fortunately, places like Ruff Wear offer wholesale prices to service dog handlers (but not to handlers of service dogs-in-training) and other places, such as Bridgeport Equipment offer reasonable prices on rigid handle harnesses. Annual costs will run between $50 and $200, depending upon your dog’s size and the quality of the item purchased.
• Grooming: The cost of grooming will depend upon how much you are able to do yourself. If you are able to bath, wash and cut your own dog’s fur, you’ll save an enormous amount of money. The cost will be on shampoo and/or conditioner and grooming tools such as a brush, comb, nail trimmer, file, various scissors and clipper. For the DIYers, the cost could be as little as $50 a year (plus the one-time fee of tools ranging from $10-$100). For those that need to seek a pet salon’s help, the cost could run you $800 or more a year, depending upon the breed of dog.
• Obedience Classes/Resources: It’s important to keep your service dog’s training up-to-date. This will mean both training for you as well as the dog. For some of you, your training will take the form of a library book but most of you will find one or two a year that you’d like to own. Others will take classes instead of or in addition to reading, making the cost range for this category between $15 and $500 annually.
• Pet Sitters/Boarding: Service dogs can go almost anywhere. For those times when you can’t or it’s not practical to bring your service dog, such as if you have an overnight stay at the hospital or an overnight visit to a family’s or friend’s house whose allergic to dogs, you’ll need the help of a pet sitter or boarding facility. The cost of a pet sitter depends upon the number of times he visits your home each day, whether he spends the night, if you want your service dog to be walked or if your service dog needs medication. Boarding facilities charge similarly. Check both to determine which one is the most cost effective for your situation. Annual cost for this category ranges from $0 to $600, depending upon your dog’s situation and the number of days boarding is needed.
• Emergencies: Just like humans, dogs are affected by chronic illness, accidents and disasters. Because of this, it’s a good idea to set aside money each month towards emergencies since these can range in cost from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Hopefully, you’ll never need to dig into your kitty but if you do, you’ll be able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that you saved a little each month for such an occurrence.

What does this look like annually? A total cost of somewhere between $768 and $4,362, barring no emergencies. Chances are that you won’t be on either end but somewhere in between. Aim for a minimum budget of $165/month for your service dog until you’ve determined your food and grooming costs. Any extra you don’t spend each month can go into your emergency kitty. If you are working, some of these costs may be able to be recuperated through an annual tax refund, depending upon how much your health costs are in comparison to how much you earn. This is only an option for those whose income is taxable.

This cost increases for those planning to train their own dogs. Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking it’s cheaper than using a placement agency! This will be covered in another post.

Do you have the time to care for a dog?

It takes a lot of time to properly care for a dog. Because your dog will be in public most days, it’s important that he be kept well groomed. Service dogs should be bathed once a week or once every other week, depending upon the breed and what they’ve done that week. In addition, they should be brushed/combed daily to keep shedding down. You should also plan to spend at least 15 minutes 3-4 days a week working on training as well as 20-30 minutes every day exercising and playing with your service dog (physically and/or mentally).

A service dog may enable you to do things more productively but don’t forget to add back the time you need for his care to your schedule. Those few minutes here and there really add up!

Are you a private person and/or are you patient with others?

If you are a private person, a service dog may not be a good choice for you. Working with a service dog will get you noticed. You’ll be stopped and asked questions, sometimes about the dog and other times inappropriately about your disability. Whether you’re good with the public or not, be sure to have a plan for dealing with these situations. Please remember that courteous, respectful answers help educate whereas harsh words only serve to reflect poorly on you as well as all service dog handlers.

In addition to people noticing you, they will pet your service dog without asking, call your service dog over to them and all sorts of other behaviors that interfere with your service dog’s work. While some states have laws to discourage this, the fact is that you cannot control what someone else will do. Because of this, you need to be able to control your dog in all circumstances and again, you should have a plan in place for how to communicate appropriate behavior to those acting inappropriately. Remember that it’s sometimes a child so be sure to have multiple approaches ready.

If this sounds more stressful than you can handle or you don’t think you would be able to curb your anger, a service dog is probably not the right option for you.

Do you or any of the members of your household have a dog allergy or a fear of dogs?

If you or someone you live with is allergic to dogs or has a fear of dogs, a service dog may not be a feasible option for you. In the case of an allergy, medication is available but it is not without risk. A fear of dogs can sometimes successfully be dealt with through medication and psychotherapy but the time and cost involved may not make this a practical option.Both issues should be discussed with the entire household as well as with medical providers to decide if a service dog is the right option for you.

What do the other members of your household think of the idea?

You may be ready to get a service animal but other members of your household may not be so thrilled. Having a dog in the house affects more than you so it’s important that you reach an agreement everyone is comfortable with. If others aren’t as thrilled about having a service dog around as you, find out why. Maybe they’re concerned that they may end up having to take responsibility for the care of the dog or maybe they simply don’t like dogs. Regardless of the reason, open communication is key in this decision. All concerns should be thoroughly discussed before moving forward.

Is a service dog the right choice for you?

As you can see, there’s a lot involved with owning a service dog. It’s the right choice for some and not for others. Keep your expectations, health, finances, time, personality and household in mind when trying to determine if a service dog is the right choice for you.