# Chihuahua Service Dogs



## princess_ella (Jun 4, 2005)

Does anyone have a service dog chi?I would like my Precious-Pearl to be one.How can she be one?Well she is a service dog kind of for my husband and i being disabled.Both my chis ride on a Lift Bus for the disabled.But would like to be able to take Pearl everywhere she is good with all people of any age, and dogs as well.I justed started give her some basic training such as sit and stay so far she is potty trained as well and walks great on her leash.Any info.would be gladly accepted.


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## goldie (Jun 22, 2005)

here's a link I found that talks about the difference between service and therapy dogs... In a nutshell, the ADA gives rights to "service" but not "therapy" dogs as far as entry into places. 


> Service Animal means any guide dog, signal dog or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including but not limited to guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders, providing minimal rescue or protection work, pulling a wheelchair or fetching dropped items.


Honestly, I don't know that a chihuahua (unless it is extrodinarily large) is physically able to do most of these tasks as a service dog, but most definately could be a therapy dog.

*http://www.cofc.edu/~huntc/service.html*

EDIT: also, something I just remembered hearing on the radio a couple weeks ago... the radio station had an office person who is a service dog trainer - and she was explaining that she has the dog with her 24/7 from the time it's weaned till 9 months - then the dog goes to another trainer that has him from 9 months till he's a year old and does intense training round the clock with him. All treats are given in a bowl - not by hand. And even after a year of training, he still may not qualify. I know there was more she said, but don't remember...


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## my3angels (Apr 15, 2004)

My girl Kylie is a Delta Therapy Dog!!!  She gets to wear a vest and goes to hospitals to visit patients...once she is a little older and can sit still long enough I will enroll her in a school reading program where students who are having troubles reading can read to the dogs. Its a great program and I cannot wait to get kylie in it....i can just see her sitting in a kids lap while they read Clifford to her....hehe.


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

theres a difference between therapy and service dogs, as much as your chis help you mentally unless they physically help you then they CANNOT be classed as a service dog.

vixie is a SERVICE DOG known as an alret dog, i suffer seizures and vixie naturally alerts and is trained to react certain ways to a seizure. she knows if i have a seizure to lick my face and neck to 'awaken' me, she also guards me during a seizure (in which i freeze) she will snap and growl at anyone or anythign that comes neer me unless its a paramedic or police officer (shes been taught to recognize uniforms)
she also knows how to push the 911 speed-dial button.

these are very specific behaviours that she has been trained to do to make my life safer and easier

chihuahuas are difficult to use as service dogs because they are not big enough to perform most tasks nessicary to a disabled persons life.

the only service toy dogs i know of: 
seizure alert dogs
Hearing dogs for the deaf

some larger of the toy breeds (larger/taller chis, min pins ect) can be used as retreiving dogs for those in wheelchairs but its pushing it, retreinving dogs should be large enough to be able to drop items into the wheelchaired persons lap.

service dogs are required granted acess to ANYWHERE their owners can go
therapy dogs however are only granted acess to specialized programs and ALSO have ot go through a great deal of training, these dogs are used as a mental pickme up in places like hospitals, scools and nursing homes...

unfortunatly id need to knwo more about your disability to let you know if youd be able to qualify for them to be used as service dogs, and if they can be they require extensive training and could take years before they are actually qualified.

and even then id doesnt mean taking them everywhere is easy, unles i want to start arguments with managers i STILL cant take vixie with me in this area, because there so insistant and i dont have the money to hire a laywer and sue these people...

truth be told...
its probably not worth the hassle!

your dog sounds like it would be a nice therapy dog, but not a service dog.


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## Tinker (Jan 3, 2005)

Chihuahua's qualify as psychiatric service dogs quite well. They can sooth panic attacks, deflect anxiety attacks and that sort of thing. In those cases they are fully functional "service dogs". It is not up to a disabled person to 'prove' they are disabled or have to explain their disability. The dog has to be able to behave in public of course no matter what the breed. You can get cards (the size of business cards) explaining your and your service dogs rights anywhere you get their vest and patches.


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## Kioana (Mar 1, 2005)

I think cooper is one right ?! 
check with cooper 's mom (The TX Cooper)


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## princess_ella (Jun 4, 2005)

I am psychiatric patient ,feet deformity,and learn problems as well i am on disablitiy.My husband has memory loss due to head trama.I agree Tinker mom they just want to lick you so when you are down they can pick you right up.


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## ilovesadie (Jun 1, 2004)

I read an article in a chihuahua magazine about chis being service dogs to people who are hearing impared. They were trained to run back and forth from the source of the sound. It was actually very interesting and was a touching story (but it had such a sad ending I was crying). If i can dig it up I'll post it but I'm not sure where it is.


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

as a psychiatric patient if you suffer anxiety/panic attacks, then yes your dog could qualify...
and yes it is true you DO NOT have ot provide ANY kind of identification, hell they by law dont even have to wear a service dog vest, (though these things do make life easier)
but as i said before, just because your dog qualifies, many people still dont understand the law and while youll get some that will say sure go ahead rather than risk it, for every one of those there are 10 that insist the only ervice dogs are labs/other large dogs acting as guidedogs...and belive me, theyll be so insistant that youll wish youd never bothered...and im talking about as bad as managment so you cant even say can i talk to your manager...

if you do decide to use your pup as a service dog then carry a copy of the americans with disabilitys service dog laws and regulations on you at ALL times. this can be a HUGE time saver.


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## Tinker (Jan 3, 2005)

Yes and Marcus is going to be trained for that since even with the hearing aid I miss a lot of sounds I need to hear. I was facinated to first learn about the psychiatric service dogs though. I thought that was an excellent idea. The last time I flew to New York there was one sitting in the lap of a lady on the plane, a tiny Yorkie wearing his service dog vest and being clutched madly by his Mom as she was afraid of flying and crowds and he was such a doll.


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## 2pups622 (Apr 17, 2005)

Angel5218 said:


> My girl Kylie is a Delta Therapy Dog!!!  She gets to wear a vest and goes to hospitals to visit patients...once she is a little older and can sit still long enough I will enroll her in a school reading program where students who are having troubles reading can read to the dogs. Its a great program and I cannot wait to get kylie in it....i can just see her sitting in a kids lap while they read Clifford to her....hehe.


this is so great that you posted this topic cause i was just gonna austin is great with people very calm but loves them and children i would love to take him to hospitals and stuff how do i go about doing that


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

I am unsure as to what kind of service/therapy dog we're referring to.

Cooper is both, although he's called an "assistance" dog since he's not fully "certified" as a service pooch. To enroll him in service dog classes, he had to take prerequisites including basic obedience, Canine Good Citizen (obedience II), and agility before he could enroll. He took the first set of classes which are learning to retrieve things inside the home, dialing 911 and opening the door for EMS. After that training, I noticed that he started to act funny when I would have MS attacks, whether they were little tiny attacks or really bad ones. Somehow, he picked up on them all by himself and now, when he senses it, he will stand by my side, waiting for me to say "phone" - telling him to dial 911. Cindie saw that behavior this weekend, in fact. LOL

He's also a therapy dog, working with senior citizens at retirement homes and hospitals. He had to go through a battery of temperment tests before he was accepted. Your dog can't be a licker - they can give kisses but they can't be a licking machine if they go into places where sick people will be in contact with them. I actually had to train Cooper to NOT lick people unless told - that was harder than it sounds LOL

There are tons of sites on the internet about service & therapy dogs. Depending on where you live, you should be able to find a facility that trains dogs for hearing and visually impaired people to be able to get more information.

Good luck!


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