Good Service Dogs are Both Born and Made!
Watching a service dog and her handler working as a team in a busy public space is a thing of beauty. Not every dog has the temperament or genetic make-up to do service work, but with the proper reward-based training, many dogs can succeed in public areas. Succeeding in Public Access Work is the subject of Jennifer Cattet’s new book, which is especially important given some of the controversies surrounding poorly or un-trained service dogs being brought into public areas. Jennifer prepares you and your dog to meet the standards of the Public Access Test developed by Assistance Dogs International. While the book focuses on training, it also covers in detail a number of other important questions including:
· How much time, effort and cost are involved in acquiring and training a service dog?
· Can you train a shelter dog for service work and are there breeds of dogs you should avoid?
· What are your rights and the laws relating to service dogs?
· How do you deal with the public when working with your service dog?
What experts are saying about Selecting and Training Your Service Dog
This is a “must have book” whether you want to train a service dog for yourself, train service dogs for others, or just understand more about service dog work and public access.
Michele Pouliot, Recipient of the Ken Lord Award from the International Guide Dog Federation
Dr. Cattet’s landmark guidebook propels Service Dog training to the fore of modern-day behavioral science…at last!
Linda Michaels, M.A., author of The Do No Harm Dog Training and Behavior Handbook
Desperately needed for the last 25 years - this book guides you through specific needs, challenges, and training of a public access service dog.
Julie Shaw, KPA CTP, RVT, VTS (Behavior), Co editor of Canine and Feline Behavior for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses
Jennifer Cattet, Ph.D., CPDT-KA, is the Executive Director of Medical Mutts, an Indiana based non-profit service dog organization, and the founder of the Center for the Study of Medical Assistance Canines (CMAC).
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The best service dog training book I've ever read!
This book will actually help you! It has real step-by-step lessons, includes lots of information about selecting a service dog candidate and temperament testing, and gives you realistic expectations and the work and time it takes to train a service dog to pass something like a Public Access Test (PAT). Most of the books available on the topic of service dog training barely cover the basics and a little theory, then leave you hanging when you need help the most. They certainly don't talk about anything helpful when it comes to training in public - a topic no service dog trainer, whether professional or owner-trainer, should be without guidance on. In "Selecting and Training Your Service Dog: How to Succeed in Public Access Work" you will learn about the things that will actually take you to success in public access training - generalization, distractions, duration, distance, rate of reinforcement, and more These concepts are applied to every lesson in the book so you'll know how to take the dog from untrained to those high standards we expect from service dogs. When you don't have access to the high-quality instructions you need, it can make service dog training hard and scary. This book won't leave you that way! Thank you Jennifer for writing this book and thank you DogWise for publishing it! It's officially on my "recommended reading" list!
