My service dog and I got kicked out of the mental health?
Posted on March 29th, 2010 by admin
My chocolate lab retriever 10 years old Shae and I got kicked out of the mental health. All because she bark and growl at other service dog. My dog is never mean to people. She get along with my younger dog at home. But any other dogs she’ll bark and growl. They said we are not allowed back to the mental health because my dog bark and growl at other service dog. Shae is on the leash, I have her with me all the time. Do you think the mental health can do that? She my service dog to help with my panic, anixtey, depression. Without her I’ll go in attacks. Beside she doesn’t really run into service dogs that often just once in a great while.
Well a service dog is supposed be trained to be sociable with everyone, I would take Shae to either a trainer who specifically handles correcting problems or you can even bring her to someplace like Petsmart where they have Socialization classes as well. Also take in to consideration that Shae is getting older and maybe that alone is a reason behind it. Try retraining, that should help and then you can decide if you want to return to the same facility for counseling or choose another one. Best of luck & God Bless.
March 29th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
It’s not OK for a service dog to bark and growl at other dogs! Service dogs are supposed to be trained beyond those issues, if Shae has issues with other dogs, in all honesty, she should not be a service dog. Here’s some info on the training and standards of psychiatric service dogs: http://www.psychdog.org/faq.html#task_training
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Service_and_Therapy_Dogs/thread/365725
Do you think it’s fair to other members of the public to have a service dog that barks and growls at other service dog teams? What if your dog started getting aggressive with a blind person’s guide dog?
Does it really set a good example in the eyes of the general public if your "service" dog starts to growl and act aggressive towards other dogs?
There are lots of calm dogs out there that would serve as fantastic psychiatric support dogs, but I don’t think your dog is one of them.
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March 29th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Well, I think they were completely within their rights. Obviously your dog hasn’t been properly socialized around other dogs, and this can cause problems. It doesn’t matter how good she is around people, it does not translate into being a well-behaved dog around other dogs. And if you take an animal into a situation that there is a chance that it may encounter another animal………..
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March 29th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
If they feel that your service dog was a threat, they may have that right, but I would check with the ADA. (Americans with Disabilities Act).
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March 29th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
That service dog obviously hasnt been trained properly. He shouldnt have been growling at another dog, or cat, or human, or bird, ect.
End of story. Good luck trying to get him in anywhere else, if he’s growling. They are only doing that for the safety of other dogs, or even humans. You cant blame them
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March 29th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Most dogs wouldn’t pass the test to become service dogs with ANY signs of aggression, anxiety, shyness or aversion to people animals or strange objects. It’s a hard test to take and Shae – it sounds like wouldn’t have passed it.
Yes they can do that, and they rightfully should. Aggression or not, showing any signs of it isn’t healthy for her or for the surrounding animals.
I’m sure she’s wonderful for you and does a great service for you but in the general public she could be a hazard.
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March 29th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Well a service dog is supposed be trained to be sociable with everyone, I would take Shae to either a trainer who specifically handles correcting problems or you can even bring her to someplace like Petsmart where they have Socialization classes as well. Also take in to consideration that Shae is getting older and maybe that alone is a reason behind it. Try retraining, that should help and then you can decide if you want to return to the same facility for counseling or choose another one. Best of luck & God Bless.
References :
http://www.petsmart.com
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
http://tv.yahoo.com/the-dog-whisperer/show/39903
March 29th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
get it socialize with other dogs. you need a trainer to do this. and they are right to make you leave the dog is not to be or show aggressiveness. so there is one thing to do. get it trained
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March 29th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
If she helps with panic, anxiety and depression, those are NOT legal reasons to have a Service Dog. Your dog is an Emotional Support Dog, or a Companion Dog, which has no legal right to enter places of business.
Legal reasons are quoted in the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) as "substantially limiting condition" which the DOJ (Dept. Of Justice) defines as lasting 12 years or more and being more serious than anxiety, depression or panic. Those are not legal reasons and you can walk and talk and you are probably able to walk without falling down, or have your limbs, and can probably hear just fine…in otherwards, you have no legal reason to claim this dog is a Service Dog, because it is obviously not even trained. Trained dogs don’t bark or growl. They lay calmly and only hear your voice.
A Service Dog is "..trained to mitigate the person’s disability by doing tasks that they cannot do for themselves"…what tasks is your dog trained to do? Doesn’t even sound like your dog is trained at all!
ESA (Emotional Support Animals) have housing rights. Nobody can deny your dog as a pet to help you emotionally (ie: for depression, anxiety or panic disorder) but your dog has no legal rights to enter any place of business. It does, however, have a right to live wherever you do, and an owner cannot ask you to get rid of it, provided it’s not growling or barking at people…which are legal reasons to exclude its use.
Secondly, Service Dogs do not growl or bark and are not permitted to show any type of aggression. Anyone who brings a dog into a public place like that is making all service dog users look bad in the long run.
When someone like your dog went into a store ahead of me, and I come in with my valid, real service dog, I have major problems. Then, they want my ID (which is illegal to ask for) or give me some guff about it better behave…because people like you take untrained animals in public places where you have no right to take them.
People misusing their dogs are a major part of a problem throughout the USA. A dog just like yours, only it was a Pitt Bull, attacked my yellow lab 2 months ago, and he could have been killed. This dog was also misrepresented as a Service Dog and the man used it for "anxiety disorder". Good thing…the law says he got $12,000.00 fined for the incident, because it is illegal to use a dog and misrepresent it as a Service Dog, when it is not.
Legally, the hospital is in their right to ask you to remove your dog. It was out of control. Whether or not the dog is a Service Animal does not give it the right to go beyond the law, and legal boundaries that any other dog must adhere to.
Good luck with your dog, but please stop misrepresenting a dog as an SD when it is nothing more than an ESA.
PS- Check up on what I told you by calling the ADA hotline at 800-514-0301 and speaking with a representative.
You will find that they will stand behind the health office for asking you to leave. In fact, they will also tell you I am correct, that a Service Dog must do tasks for its owner that directly relate to their "substantially limiting" condition and that your dog simply does not qualify to be used in that condition.
Remember, it’s illegal to misrepresent one in all states. The law is a Federal Law, which supercedes all state and local agency laws.
Good luck!
I have, since writing this, received a letter from the person who posted this. I wish to clarify that a Companion Animal (CA) and a Therapy Animal (TA) do not qualify as Service Dogs under the ADA and Federal Law supercedes all state laws, regardless of their wording, whether that wording is correctly used or misused.
Using your dog for hard of hearing issues is great, but the dog cannot bark or growl at other dogs. To legally use a dog for this issue, the dog must be trained to assist you with tasks directly relating to that disability.
Good luck, again, and I’m sorry if I have offended you.
References :
Service Dog user/trainer
Vet Tech
Shelter Worker
Pet Store owner
Studying advocacy for dog users