Service dogs are more common than ever before. As time has gone on, more people have realized that their personal needs can be accomplished with the help of a service dog. If you think you could benefit from having a service dog to call your own and already have a furry friend, having them certified as a service dog might be your best bet. Read on to learn the three advantages you can expect to enjoy if you certify your dog as a service dog.
Accessibility
Service dogs are obviously certified in order to train the dog and ensure to business owners and officials that your dog is with you for a good reason. This means that you never need to worry about bringing your dog with you in places that typically don't allow pets. While your dog will be helping you to accomplish your goals, whether it's providing companionship for anxiety or assistance in picking things up if you have arthritis, you'll also enjoy simply having your dog at your side.
If you were to adopt another dog that would be solely your service dog, it could spark jealousy in your current dog. It's better to certify your own dog so they can come with you wherever you like and there won't be any hostility between your new service dog and your pet dog.
Personal History
Personal service dogs are trained to be well-behaved and non-aggressive, but there's still an adaptation period the two of you will have to go through. Since you and your new dog will never have been around each other before, it could take some time for you to fully trust your new companion. However, if you opt to train your own dog as a service dog, you've probably known each other since your dog was a puppy. There won't be a necessary adjustment period to get to know a new dog.
No Wait
Lastly, consider that the wait for a service dog is sometimes very long. There are only so many people training service dogs, and most service dogs are required to go through a long course of training in order to be certified as service dogs. If you got on a list now, it could take quite a while before a service dog became available for adoption.
Alternatively, you could have your own dog certified. This would cut down on the amount of time you need to wait before you have an available certified service dog.
Having your own dog trained and certified as a service dog is a great idea if you're in need of one. Start the process with your local dog certification service, like USA Service Dogs, to have your dog added to the US Animal Registry.
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