One of the most difficult aspects of service dog work is trying to determine whether a behavior problem is something that can be addressed successfully or whether to career-change the service dog candidate. Few dogs are “perfect” for this strenuous and complicated role. Most dogs present at least some training and behavior challenges as they mature. However, determining which types of behavior problems can be worked through and which cannot is a complex and nuanced process.
There are some situations where the dog obviously cannot work in public access. For example, dogs who exhibit aggressive behavior toward people or other dogs are inappropriate for public access service dog work. It is not fair to the dog, and it is a risk to the public. Dogs who have other severe behavior problems such as compulsive behaviors or severe fears are also inappropriate for public access service dog work. Service dogs are routinely in environments where avoiding something that may be scary or stressful is difficult, if not impossible. Putting a dog with serious behavior problems in the role of a service dog can risks increasing the dog’s stress level and exacerbating the behavior problem. However, some dogs who are not appropriate for public access service dog work may still be able to help their owners as at-home-only service dogs.
Of course, it would be easy if it were always very clear which types of behaviors rule out service dog candidates for public access and which behavior problems can be worked through, but it is often ambiguous. Some dogs who are fearful in certain settings may develop more confidence, while others may develop new fears or fear responses over time over time. In some cases, it can be hard to tell if the dog’s behavior problem can be addressed sufficiently to the point where the dog can work as a public access service dog or not.
To make things even more complicated, behavior changes as dogs mature. Most service dogs in training being introduced to public access are adolescent dogs. This is a life stage during which behavior and confidence can fluctuate greatly, even if there are no changes in the dog’s living situation. Some clues that a behavior problem is part of a temporary fear period may include sudden onset and a behavior that has not occurred in the exact same context in the recent past. For example, my first service dog, Phaser, suddenly showed fearful behavior toward a trash bin in my home office when he was an adolescent. He walked past this trash bin many times a day and the fear seemed to occur overnight without a discernable trigger. I relocated the trash bin out of sight for a few weeks and, when I brought it back out, he ignored it completely.
Unfortunately, not all adolescent fears are short-lived. I once worked with a client with a young Labrador who was afraid of ramps and stairs for a number of months. It was not possible to avoid all stairs and ramps, so we tried different strategies including counter-conditioning and desensitization. We were successful at addressing the dog’s fear with stairs and ramps in specific locations but had difficulty generalizing to stairs and ramps in new locations. After months of continuing to encounter this issue, I was beginning to consider discussing career-changing the dog. Suddenly when the dog turned 19 months our efforts paid off: She suddenly showed confident behavior on stairs and ramps in various locations. This dog ended up working happily and confidently in full public access in a range of complex settings for many years.
Often times the only way to determine if a behavior problem can be addressed is either by giving the dog time to mature or attempting to work through the behavior problem, or both. If the behavior does not pose a danger to the owner or the public, I like to give adolescent dogs the benefit of the doubt and allow them time to mature. It is tricky to try to counter-condition an adolescent dog. Owner-trainers often accidentally push the dog too far and increase the dog’s fear when trying to address it. For this reason, I normally suggest simply avoiding exposing the young dog to triggers when that’s practical for at least a month or two, and longer if possible.
Taking the pressure off can be an important aspect of helping service dogs succeed in public. Trainers working with owner-trainers can recommend that their client continue to work with the dog in classes or pet-friendly environments where the dog will be successful until the dog has a chance to mature. However, sometimes there are additional considerations that may put pressure on the need for a firm decision. For instance, service dog programs do not have unlimited financial or even volunteer resources. Giving a service dog in training months to mature in the hope that the dog will outgrow a fear can itself pose a hardship.
Additionally, some behavior problems fall into a gray zone, where the problem may not be serious but also not modifiable to the point where the dog would be able to work as a service dog. For this reason, it takes repeated assessments to determine a dog’s suitability for the challenging job of public access service dog work. Assessments should be conducted in different locations over a period of time, and always with the dog’s behavioral welfare as a priority.
The decision to career-change a service dog candidate is a weighty one for both program trainers and those working with owner-trainers. A second opinion can be extremely helpful in making these judgments. Both programs and owner-trainers invest a lot of time, energy and resources into a service dog candidate and naturally are emotionally invested as well. Service dog program trainers may feel pressured by boards or other program leaders to produce successful candidates, so assessments by a skilled trainer who is not directly affiliated with the program may be helpful in providing an objective second opinion. Similarly, trainers working with owner-trainers can encourage clients to seek a second opinion from a skilled service dog trainer. While in-person assessments can reduce the likelihood that body language clues are missed, a virtual assessment may be the only option given how difficult it can be in some areas to find a qualified local trainer.
While the decision to career-change a service dog can be difficult and complicated, it is ultimately in the best interests of all involved – the handler, the dog and the public – that behaviorally inappropriate dogs are not asked to perform public access service dog tasks. There are few cut and dried rules for when a dog is or is not the right fit for this kind of work, but qualified service dog trainers are a key asset in the process of discerning when and how challenging behaviors should be addressed, and when it is time to relieve the dog of their service dog duties.
