Requirements for At-Home Service Dogs

At-home service dogs require rigorous trainingthe girl with dogs image by Vladimir Konjushenko from Fotolia.com

Man's best friend can also be his eyes, ears, hands or legs. Service dogs are trained to help people with disabilities. While guide dogs for the blind are best known, canine service animals also aide the hearing impaired, those in wheelchairs and people with psychiatric or emotional disorders. Such dogs require a great deal of training before they are ready to begin their service careers.

Temperament

Good temperament is a must for service dogs. Their purpose is not protection, but to aid their human. Because they may accompany their person out in public, or nurses and other medical professionals may visit the owner's home, dogs must have friendly personalities and no inclination to bite or fight with other dogs. In addition, it may not be possible for people with disabilities to restrain their dog, so the animal must be completely trustworthy.

At-home service dogs undergo health screenings before acceptance into a training program. Besides a general health check-up and vaccinations, dogs have complete sets of X-rays taken to be sure they aren't predisposed to hip dysplasia, which will limit the time they are useful service animals.

Breed requirements depend on the disability. While guide dogs for the blind are generally purpose-bred German shepherds, Labrador or golden retrievers, hearing assistance dogs may be rescues from an animal shelter. Small- and medium-sized breeds are preferred for hearing assistance dogs by owner request, according to Assistance Dogs International. Dogs assisting those in wheelchairs or with autism are usually larger breeds, such as Labradors and golden retrievers. They can pull wheelchairs or help people with balance issues.

Potential service dogs are between 18 months and 2 years old. Before training starts, the service organization must be certain of temperament, which is usually set by 18 months. They must be full-grown in order to have complete X-rays taken. Since dogs have a limited useful lifespan as service dogs, those older than 2 are generally considered too old for the training investment.