You may think that normal training sessions can be difficult. Teaching the dog to sit, stay, down, come and heel all require weeks of dedicated effort on the part of you and your dog. In contrast to this it can take many months and sometimes years to train service dogs such as police, search and rescue and guide dogs.
Service dogs are carefully selected and are typically German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers and a few others. This is because not all breeds will have the physical characteristics and temperament that are needed for them to learn the wide range of complex behaviours that being a service dog entails.
Some dogs, even within their own breed will display an aptitude for rigorous training quite early on in the process. Other dogs might be dropped from the program altogether or moved to other areas. Service dogs need to be treated with assertive, but not aggressive behaviour – other than in emergency situation and on command only. The dog has to be confident but not wilful, strong and intelligent.
Once a dog has been selected the trainer will deepen the bonds that are necessary for building trust and getting the dog to perform on command. It is all too easy for police, search and rescue and even guide dogs to find themselves in dangerous situations. They, like humans may not intentionally put themselves in harms way. In spite of this, with the right training some will take on challenges that might deter even specially trained people.
It is well recorded that search and rescue dogs will ford a freezing river in order to extract a child who might be drowning. Still other service dogs, their canine feet planted on cracked and icy ground, have pulled avalanche victims free, saving them from certain death.
A service dog’s training involves a year or more of becoming acclimatized either in the trainer’s home or a special facility before they learn basic command and trust. At the end of this period the dog is certified as trainable – and that is when the hard work begins.
Service dogs may require anything from six to eighteen months additional training that involves hours each day under special instruction – how long this takes depends on what job they are intended for.
Service dogs are trained to do many things from flipping a light switch to opening doors and fording rivers and streams. Some of them have to learn to cope with the noise of gun shots, avoid obstacles and remain focused on the task in hand – especially if a crowd has gathered. They may learn to behave aggressively towards an attacker and gently towards their victim.
Service dogs learn to tolerate smoke and it has been known for some to chase vehicles or run through burning buildings – not something you would want your pet to do.
Other categories of service dogs will undertake less dangerous, but nonetheless important tasks. Sight and hearing impaired people can carry out daily tasks safely and more effectively when they have a seeing-eye or hearing (guide) dog to assist them. These dogs prove their worth each day, whether that involves guiding their blind or wheelchair bound owners through a shopping mall, fetching a container of food or drink or even answering the door bell.
Next time that you see one of these dogs on the street or in the mall try to remember that they are working. Say a silent thanks for the fact that they are carrying out much needed tasks for which they have been intensively trained.
