I have a service dog in training home trained and he got skiddish about three weeks ago.?

Question

My SD is a Australian Shepherd and we moved a month ago and about three weeks ago he got skiddish of everything cars my electric

wheel chair carts in store and people we moved for a house to a apartment and he barks at every noise out in the hallway and he is only aloud here because he is a SD My landlord is going to be kicking us out if he don't stop barking. He was never like this before what do i do

Answer 1

Are you training the service dog yourself?

If not, you need to talk with the organization you are training for....like 3 weeks ago.  They NEED to know about this and they can also help you deal with it.

Answer 2

You need to get your puppy under control or he'll fail his SD test.  Talk to your sponsor for tips.  There are great ways to help fix this problem.  

Why is the dog barking?

   1. Breed - Some dogs were bred to bark, such as hounds and guarding type dogs. However, getting a sporting dog is no guarantee against a barking problem. Almost all breeds have some tendency to engage in alarm barking, although there is a great variation among individuals.

   2. Physical need - The dog is hot, cold, hungry, thirsty, or has to eliminate. Barking is the dog's way of requesting that you accommodate one of these needs.

   3. Emotional need - The dog is bored, anxious, or excited. Barking can be a request for attention, or a compulsive behavior resulting from a frustrated need for social and mental stimulation.

Barking is one of the most difficult canine behaviors to modify. It is a "self-reinforcing" activity for the dog, which means that the act of barking is its own reward in many instances. But there are steps you can take to minimize barking. Analyze the conditions in which the barking problem occurs and try some of the following techniques:

   1. Don't park your dog in the backyard. Dogs are highly social animals and have an intense need to be with their "pack." Dogs left outdoors are very prone to developing barking problems.

   2. Make sure your dog's physical needs are met.

   3. Increase play and exercise so your dog will be less bored and may sleep more. Enroll in a training class to build your dog's confidence and emotional control.

   4. Do not reinforce anxiety-induced barking or whining by comforting the dog or talking to him in a soothing voice. Talk to him, take him out of his crate, pet him, and play with him only after he is quiet for at least a few seconds.

   5. If you have been "giving in" to your dog by letting him out of his crate when you can't stand the barking any longer, be aware that you have strongly reinforced him to bark to be released from his crate. This behavior will get worse before it gets better, as the dog now thinks he need simply try harder to get what he wants. If you hold out, eventually the dog will give up. Wait for a lull in the barking and praise him quickly before opening the crate.

   6. Do not try to correct or punish your dog for barking. This would only increase her anxiety.

   7. Prevent the dog from seeing or hearing things that trigger barking. This is actually the simplest solution. If your dog barks at passersby or vehicles, find some way to block your dog's view (keep the drapes closed, confine the dog to another part of the house, etc.). The goal is to modify the environment so that you remove the stimulus to bark.

   8. Socialize your dog to new experiences. Take her lots of places and praise her for appropriate behavior. Expose her very gradually to sights or sounds that seem to cause her to bark. Reward her for being quiet and relaxed.

   9. Train an incompatible behavior, so you can give your dog a command to do something else instead of barking. Your dog could fetch a toy or come to you and sit when the doorbell rings, for example. Consult a behaviorist or trainer for instructions.

Answer 3

Research has shown that less than 1% of dogs have the temperament necesary to be a service dog. The chances of the average person picking the right dog is extremely rare. Even professional trainers and purpose breed litters are lucky if they have 40% of the dogs make the grade.

I personally doubt whether this dog has the temperament and ability to be a SD. It takes on average 18-24 months for a professional dog trainer to train a service dog. If you are not able to manage such things then it would appear as though you do not know enough about dogs and training to be training your own. This is not something you can do on your own. You need to find an experienced and professional trainer to help you and to assess whether the dog has the ability to become a service dog.

In my opinon your best bet would be to rehome the dog and to apply to a program. Yes programs can cost money, but there are good programs which place dogs for free. There is also financial support available in order to help you to pay for any fees that do exist. It is not cheaper or quicker to train your own dog. Training fees of professional trainers are expensive, and if you have not bought in a trainer you are not going to be able to train the dog to the required level.

Your dog is not yet a service dog and as such does not have any public access rights. Access rights rest with the disabled person and are only required if it is a reasonable accommodation. While it is true that about 50% of states do grant access rights to dogs in training, very very rarely do they grant them to individuals training their own dogs. They are usually only granted to dogs being trained by licensed and registered trainers, and/or dogs from programs. Other laws only allow dogs into state owned buildings and not general businesses. If you want to have your dog in public no pet places you need to ask permission from the manager each and every time you wish to enter. The ADA does not provide access rights until dogs are fully trained. The majority of states have very stiff penalities for pretending a dog is a service dog when it is not - even if you are disabled your dog is not a SD unless it is fully trained for both tasks to assist you and also for impeccable behaviour in public places. Penalities for such things can be fines of up to $10,000 or 2 years in jail.

For further information see:

http://servicedogcentral.org/

For programs try:

http://assistancedogsinternational.org/s...

For financial assistance for any fees you may be required to pay:

http://www.assistancedogunitedcampaign.o...

Answer 4

You call a trainer to help you.  This isn't something you can fix easily on your own.

Dogs are creatures of habit- You've completely up-ended the dog's life and are expecting him to be the same.  That's going to take time and consistancy.    

Start calling him to you the moment he reacts to a noise.. My choice would be "ACK!" (which for my dogs means stop whatever you are doing IMMEDIATELY) I would then call him to me to perform a trick (all of training is tricks- use one that you know he likes- for my dogs "Sit" and then "feet up" onto something always works to distract and lets them know its time to work now.

Go to the store when its not busy.  My Service Dog got her tail run over in Wal-Mart... talk about afraid of carts!!! What I learned from that was to have her sit further in front of me rather than in the traditional "heel" position.

Realize, the more upset and stressed you are the harder its going to be to overcome this for your dog!!  Calm and consistant are your best approaches...

and find a trainer!!