anyone have experience/opinions with passing a service dog?

[Deleted member 9462]

What a strange continent we live on where our best friends are made to sit outside of the establishments we use (or not even!) , or are restricted from buses or even certain outdoor areas. Dogs would be so much better behaved if we didn't leave them locked up daily to wallow in their pent up energy.

I've been thinkin on this for a while and I would like yalls opinion as well as any helpful advice from those of you who do take advantage of the looseness/relative not existence of the service and emotional support dog registry.

I often take my dog everywhere that I possibly can. He gets compliments on how well behaved he is everywhere we go. I have spent a lot of time and studying, and patience in integrating him into human society as best as I know how.

Though I have no note from a doctor saying so, he truly fits the definition of an emotional support dog. Having him as a focus in my life has been such a lift from the anxieties and depression that I often face. And in return, it's nice that he isn't left at home alone and bored like the fate of many other dogs who aren't so acclimated to human society.

I've been looking into service dog harnesses and tags for traveling, so that he might be able to sit in a coffee shop with me when the weather is cruel or hang out in the bar, or come into the grocery store.. or get on a greyhound if need be!

Though I do know that I can get him to "officially" pass as an emotional support animal (esa), the rights that they have are not as great as those of a service dog. Those things are two separate categories. ESAs are not able to go into establishments and their rights are restricted to things like flying on airplanes for free and in the cabin and not being denied in any housing situation. (squatter here anyway!)

I am feeling conflicted about trying to pass him as a full on service dog because i realize that these dogs are often highly trained to perform very specific and important tasks such as seizure alert and I know that those who have these sorts of dogs hate the bad name that sometimes less trained "fake" service dogs can give, or the fact that people with real life threatening disabilities ever have to be questioned because of the lack of formality that service dogs actually have to go through to be recognized- basically you can order anything you need to make your dog 'look' like a service dog on ebay.

So I'm slightly conflicted morally, though leaning towards just putting the damn harness on my dog so that we can live a happy semi nomadic life together without much interference from the authorities.

So, what are yer thoughts? have any of you successfully done this? Have you experienced much backlash or felt that you were taking some sort of risk of losing your dog/jail time over it?

 

[Tude]

Hi there - I'm moving this to our furry nomad subforum. I also didn't know there were different categories for service dogs - friend has service dog he travels with that is for PTSD and he's keeps writing of being hassled about the dog not allowed into places.

 

[Deleted member 9462]

thanks! wasnt sure where to put it! yea i think ptsd dogs fall under esas who dont really have many more rights than a "companion pet"

 

[autumn]

I don't have a dog, and I've never trained a dog, so I can't comment on that. But I know that you're not required to carry papers for a service animal. I traveled with someone who had an extraordinarily well trained dog and he passed him off as a service animal with no problems. If anyone asked he said he was a seizure dog. Got asked for papers once, but informed the man that he wasn't required to carry them and asked to speak with his manager, at which point he said it wasn't an issue and we went about our business.

All in all we never had any problems except for that one guy who backed off. Keep in mind though, his dog was very obviously, visibly, extremely well trained. He was off leash everywhere that he legally could be, his dog did not leave his side even his dog got distracted, y'know. Like a service animal. He was totally obedient, never had to be asked twice to do something, would stay probably forever until told to do otherwise... we had to go into a friends house, and the house was filled with mold so he didn't want his dog going inside. Told him to stay on the porch. Came back like half an hour later and his dog was in the same spot.

If your dog is well trained enough to pass as a service animal I don't see why it would be an issue.

 

[MilkaNoobie]

If you prefer all legal like ... http://pawstrainingcenters.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Cost-Estimate.-Example-2.-Obedient-Dog.pdf

 

[Matt Derrick]

Morally, I see no issue with it. Like a lot of things, the only rule in this situation is to not fuck it up for everyone else. From your description though, it sounds like you have everything handled, and your dog is super awesome, so I'd say just get the 'service animal' tags and not worry too much about it. Like Zim said, I think most states (all?) don't require you to provide proof.

We actually have a few threads about this that might even still have image attachments you can print out for stuff like this, you'd have to do a little digging around.

One of my ex's had one of the most amazing dogs ever, and she went everywhere with us, even on the city bus; she was totally trained though to sit under the seats and was largely leash-less (cept where required). And really, as long as you're cool about it, and your dog is cool, then I don't see the harm. It's only when oogs get those tags and can't train their dog that it becomes a problem for everyone.

 

[Deleted member 9462]

thanks for this input all! i found a good vest/ tag deal on ebay and ordered it. i think it will also help people to give him space and respect and feel confident in him being places- friendly as he is, people are often weird about him based on his breed or just some people are afraid of dogs in general. i think people "trust" a dog in uniform more haha. anyway, us being together more makes him behave better so i think we will do well together with this. ill let you all know how it works out!

 

[MilkaNoobie]

In regards to inside a restaurant for instance I believe all animals should stay out because it f the possibility of contamination of food... Outside I have no issues at all

 

[codycodnyk]

At my orientation at some jobs, they told us to never ask for proof a dog is a service dog, its not polite. You also don't need any papers or anything, you actually don't even need the vest. I trained service dogs before, and emotional support dogs are considered service dogs. I've seen the vests on amazon. No one will question it except maybe out of curiosity, as long as your dog is well behaved. And if anyone did question you at a store for papers, just ask for a manager and you'll have no issues.

 

[Lefty]

I have been traveleing with my dog for a few years and have only had a couple issues... You don't want to register him as a Emotional support dog, as its not technically a service animal, actually you don't even have to register him at all, just Google free ID card maker and print one out. Definitely don't register him on anything ".com". There is a such thing as a psychiatric service animal though, which is always what I say mine is, and it usually suffices. Even though I have a ID and a harness, i never need them... As long as your dog is well trained you won't have any issues, most business know that they are not supposed to ask for documentation or anything... He has to look the part though, if you are standing still, have him sit. Don't let him sniff other dogs or people, especially bus drivers.

 

[QueerCoyote]

I'm a hobbyist/sometimes freelance dog trainer that at one point was training my own service dog and giving supplementary training sessions to a few others.

To be completely honest, the issue is not fake service dogs so much as untrained and aggressive dogs. If I still had my SDiT and I ran into you in a place only service dogs were allowed, my only concern would be if your dog was well behaved, not if it was legit or not.

I've run into "fully trained" service dogs that have tried to bite my dog, that have peed on my furniture and in stores. Dogs that grab food off shelves. Dogs that clearly are going to make things harder for me, and give the public a negative opinion of service dogs. So many of the service dogs I've run into are wearing gear like choke chains and prong collars because they're not trained enough for the handlers to work with them without punishing them.

The specialized taskwork is what sets apart the two types of support dogs. My recommendation would be to teach your dog a few tasks (there's many helpful task training groups on Facebook I could send your way) and just make them a service dog instead of faking it for your own conscience and for any legal implications that could arise.

Some potential tasks could be DPT (deep pressure therapy, dog uses body weight to calm/recenter handler), interrupting anxiety attacks by pawing or nosing, and having the dog steer you through a crowd of people to a less populated area (common for social anxiety.)

I'm of the (usually unwelcome) opinion that ESA's brought in public should have the training and rights of service dogs, but I am definitely a minority in that regard.

Few years ago at a mental health expo demonstrating benefits of service dogs. I'm the chum on the left.

 

[QueerCoyote]

Psychiatric service animals do not need to preform any specific task, just thier presence alone can be theraputic if you have extreme anxiety or PTSD.

Legally speaking (ADA), a psychiatric service dog requires the dog to know a task, otherwise they're an ESA.

 

[Lefty]

Legally speaking (ADA), a psychiatric service dog requires the dog to know a task, otherwise they're an ESA.

Yeah, your right. I must have misread, or have a selective memory.

 

[Vagabonds Photography]

Our retarded Boston Terrier is a "service dog". I went on Google. Found a good looking picture of a service dog id card. Photoshopped, then printed and laminated at office Depot. Been stopped tons of places. Stores, restaurants,national parks and monuments. Literally anywhere that pets aren't allowed we've been in. I have the card zip tied to her leash. People see it and say, "is that a service dog?". I'm just like Yeah, and flash the Id. Passed about 20 timed do far. No trouble.

And my dog twerks

 

[tacology]

thanks for this input all! i found a good vest/ tag deal on ebay and ordered it. i think it will also help people to give him space and respect and feel confident in him being places- friendly as he is, people are often weird about him based on his breed or just some people are afraid of dogs in general. i think people "trust" a dog in uniform more haha. anyway, us being together more makes him behave better so i think we will do well together with this. ill let you all know how it works out!

Have you used the vest/tag? Have you encountered any problems? I'm looking into getting a vest for my guy. @stormy412

 

[Multifaceted]

Just wanted to point out that you can actually have a bona fide service dog for PTSD. It's not about the disorder- it's about how trained the dog is.

I have a friend, Paul, that had a service dog for PTSD named Bobby. Eventually Paul felt it wasn't right to keep Bobby because his PTSD became manageable so he gave Bobby to a vet that needed him.. Bobby had a very high need to work..
Anyway- when he decided to give up Bobby I saw his FB post regarding it. Basically, he got Bobby as a puppy and then found a trainer that specialized in service dog training. Bobby has reached certain levels of training that qualify him as a certain tier of service dog, whereas ESA's usually don't have that professional training..

Sorry if this was just re-iterating what others have said.. I just thought I'd put my thoughts.