Selecting a Service Dog Candidate
Not every dog is cut out to be a service dog, and that’s okay! We liken selecting service dog candidates to going into a kindergarten classroom, exclaiming “You’ll all be neurosurgeons!” And expecting that statement to come to fruition. What about the teachers, artists, athletes, caregivers, scientist, social workers…the list goes on, just like with selecting a service dog.
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But, here’s what we do know: when we are thoughtful about selecting a potential candidate, that kindergarten room might be transformed into room of medical students that submitted their application for a neurosurgeon residency. The foundation plays a huge part in the outcome of the dog having a career as a service dog.
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Genetics and breeding: Focusing on parents that have the desired temperament, genetic health, and socialization that we are looking for means we can narrow down our chances, we’ve moved from kindergarten to high school students applying to college on a pre-med track.
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Socialization: Socialization can be the make or break it with a service dog candidate. Focusing on creating positive experiences means we just moved from that high school student completing their undergrad and being accepted into medical school.
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Stimulus control and settling: Many service dogs have a hurry up and wait career ahead of them. It requires a lot of settling in public, regardless of the environment around them. Teaching them to settle and cope with their surroundings is like moving to the surgery track and an internship at one of the top teaching hospitals. Almost there!
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Stamina and comfort: At the end of the day, every dog should love their life and we need to be realistic caregivers. Teaching a dog through positive reinformcent, force free methods doesn’t always mean the dog wants to complete the job. Much like a neurosurgeon sticking through an undergrad degree, medical school, internships, and residency we have to see the big picture and have checkpoints to ensure this is the right path for this individual.
