When it comes to obtaining a service dog, there are two primary ways to accomplish this decision. One is to buy a puppy from a breeder or adopt a young dog, work with the help of a professional trainer (if you are not one), and then train the dog yourself to do everything you need.
The other route is to find a good program in your area that trains dogs from puppyhood to adulthood to be service dogs and then they match you with a dog that meets your needs and energy levels.
People seem to be pretty divided on this subject, some saying program dogs are better others that owner dogs are better, or that one route is more costly than the other. From what I’ve experienced, it’s a little like picking favorite sports’ teams and being a diehard believer in one over the other.
In an effort to explain a bit more about each option and provide my own insights in the pros & cons of each, I write this post to serve as a helpful guide to those in the early stages of deciding to work with a service dog.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Owner-Training
***Please note that this is not all of the pros & cons, and based on my own observations, research, and experience in owner-training***
| Advantage | Disadvantage |
|---|---|
| You pick the dog that you think will be best for you | Can be expensive if you go through a breeder |
| Bonding begins early on in the training | Very Time Consuming |
| You control how the dog is trained & how it experiences new things | If you are an introvert, you’ll need to practice being an extrovert in order to socialize your dog properly. This means asking strangers to help with training exercises, and more. |
| You can change tasks as you go depending on how your condition progresses | If you have CRPS of another type of chronic pain, Very hard on your CRPS pain & energy reserves. The dog will cause initially cause more flares than prevent them. |
| You are able to know your dog intimately. You’ll know their quirks, how they learn, what their signs of needing a day off are, and more. | Rescues & Shelters will be extremely difficult to find a good dog because you won’t know the full history, they will sugar-coat the dog’s bio, & rescue dogs might be learning bad habits at their foster homes. |
Advantages & Disadvantages of Programs
***Please note that this is not all of the pros & cons, and based on my own observations, research, and discussions with handlers who worked with a program***
| Advantage | Disadvantage |
|---|---|
| No training hassle for you, easier on your pain levels to get a dog already trained & ready to assist you | Might not understand the dire need of CRPS for a service dog |
| Work with goldens & labs mostly, which are breeds that are friendly, good energy, eager to please, and excel at service dog work | Typically only use labs or goldens, so if you need or want a different breed you are out of luck (this may not apply to all programs) |
| Obtain their dogs from reputable breeders and bloodlines that reliably produce good working dogs | If you don’t match with a dog, you may have to return the dog and get put back on the waiting list for a new one |
| Dog already comes with health certifications to ensure that they are ready and able to do work (i.e. hip x-rays checked by OFA or PennHIP) | Might not understand that you need the dog to be trained differently – you might not be able to use a clicker, you may need them to never use their paws on you, etc. |
| Many include training sessions where you go to them or they come to you to teach you how to work effectively with your new service dog | Cost may be too high for low income people. Additionally, if you live far from a big city, there may not be a program or charity that will even work with you. |
Things Programs & Owner-Training Have in Common
At the end of the day, both program training & owner-training have the same goal in mind: to produce a finished dog who will perform tasks to aid their disabled handler, behave appropriately in public, and be a good representation for service dog teams everywhere.
While each have their differences, advantages, and disadvantages, they also have a few things in common, including:
- Holding their dogs to precise and impeccable standards
- All dogs should be able to pass the public access and canine good citizen tests
- All handlers will be permitted access with a service dog under the law
- All dogs will have wonderful behavior, skilled obedience, and with any luck, be practically invisible
- The ability to perform tasks in any situation, with any distraction
- Both options turn out qualified, competent, skilled dogs who help their disabled handlers thrive
Is One Really More Expensive than the Other?
- It depends. I wish I could give you a straight answer, but it really does just depend on several factors.
Program Costs
- Is there a charity type program nearby who will work with you on cost? Some charities work with low income families and can help you fundraise for a dog.
- Most program dogs cost upwards of $14,000. Some have payment plans, others are upfront.
Owner-Training Costs
- If you go owner training and decide to start with a puppy, going to a breeder can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand depending on where you live.
- If you do owner-training and adopt, a dog could cost anywhere from $50 to $300 depending on the rescue, shelter, etc.
- Buying a puppy means an extra two years of expenses, and there’s the gamble that when the dog matures you realize it doesn’t have the right temperament for your needs which may mean starting all over again
- Choosing a shelter or rescue dog is a gamble because you don’t know their history & unless they are evaluated by a professional, it can be hard to determine their true temperament from behind a cage
- Working with a professional trainer can be expensive, depending on who you work with
- Very expensive in terms of personal sacrifices you’ll have to make and the amount of time you need to put into the dog
Even after that initial cost of $14,000-20,000 or your decision to go with OT, you still have the cost of caring for a high-valued animal for its lifetime. That means high quality food, expert health care, gear, training aids, emergency funds, and basic dog requirements.
To give you a basic idea of the costs of owner-training that we encountered in our first years check out this PDF below. Please note that this isn’t everything, just a rough summary.
Will a Program See My CRPS as a Qualifying Disability?
This is really two questions.
1) Is CRPS a qualifying disability for working with a service animal in the eyes of the law?
YES. If the pain is debilitating enough to where it interferes with your ability to lead a normal life and it would be beneficial to have an assistance animal (your need cannot just be for emotional comfort), then yes CRPS is a qualifying disability.
2) Will a program recognize CRPS as a real disability?
I would hope so. More and more chronic pain is being accepted as a valid need for a service animal. Some programs even have Fibromyalgia listed as one of the disabilities they work with – Fibro isn’t the same as CRPS, but there are similarities. Fibro just gets more press time. Also, you can probably send them information on your disability and consult with them in person, through email, or over the phone to clarify what you are needing. CRPS service dogs most often do mobility work, sometimes alert and psychiatric work, all things most programs work with.
Doesn’t a Service Dog HAVE to Be Professionally Trained?
This is a sticky question. Here’s why.
In the US, no. Anyone, professional trainer or not, can legally train their dog to be a service animal as long as that person is disabled and genuinely needs the aid of a service animal. In the U.S. there is no national registry or certification required.
That being said, it is extremely difficult to consistently train a dog to the lofty standards and expectations that service dogs are held to. These dogs are not robots, but they have to be rockstars about obedience, strange noises, not sniffing or eating things in public, ignoring everyone but their handler, and so much more. This is not a job for just any dog, and it’s not a lifestyle for just any person. Training is never really over because you have to keep practicing and using your dog to keep them sharp. Many owner-trainers do end up working with a professional dog trainer in the beginning, especially in evaluating the right dog for the job. It’s recommended by many service dog sites and other handlers that you have prior dog training experience before you decide to do owner-training. If you have no experience training animals, this will be damn tricky for you to tackle alone.
Check out this link for Standards for Service Dogs from the International Association for Assistance Dog Partners website. This is also a great site for specific state by state requirements, as well as other countries who recognize the use of service dogs.
Reasons Sally Chose Owner-Training
Experience – I had experience training animals, and knew I could do it with a little guidance at the beginning from another trainer
Cost – While Robbie hasn’t been free, the only program we found that would work with us would have cost about $14,000 which was out of the realm of possibility for us. Owner-training would cost money too, but it would be spread out over time.
Time – My condition was progressing rapidly and getting worse every day. We knew that by the time I’d get a program dog in roughly 3 or 4 years time (or longer depending on the waitlist), that my needs for a dog would probably be very different. So we decided that working with a dog on our own from the start would give us more control on what the dog needed to learn.
Extra Requirements – the program wanted us to travel to them to learn how to use the dog, which totally makes sense, but wasn’t an option since traveling is expensive and extremely painful for me.
Breed – We knew because I am tall, that a labrador or golden wouldn’t be a good fit for me. Some of them can get taller, but it’s a gamble. Also both require intense grooming which is a criteria that would work against my disability. We needed a low maintenance dog in terms of grooming
CRPS – While CRPS is an accepted disability for acquiring a service dog, we feared that many programs might not see my need for a service dog as dire as someone in a wheelchair or visually impaired, for example. We were concerned that as a result we’d be dismissed or have an even longer wait period.
Bond – We were concerned about it being difficult for a program dog to bond with me, whereas training a dog myself would create a natural strong bond early on. Plus if it didn’t work out we wouldn’t be in a position where we send the dog back, get another or wait for another, etc.
Commitment – I knew I would be able to give this venture everything I’ve got. Since I can’t work, we knew that I would be able to spend all of my time working with a dog and bonding with him/her. I wouldn’t have a split focus between work and training, and could focus on doing everything right.
Training – Many programs use clicker or other training methods that I don’t entirely agree with, and upon getting a dog from them I would have to continue their methods. Training myself lets me work with the dog the way I want to & the way that works best for me and the dog. Also, I physically cannot use something like a clicker due to my condition.
I warn against it if you aren’t ready to fully commit. I’m talking about long hours, days where you’ll be convinced you’re a failure, frustrations, moments when you have to not be emotionally involved, and times when you will seriously doubt your decision. It will be worth it in the end, but it is extremely grueling to train a service dog, even more so when your disability is a beast like CRPS. Be prepared for your dog to accidentally cause a pain flare more than once. It’s not just basic obedience and good manners, it’s teaching to not to greet other dogs unless given permission, it’s asking them to ignore that fry under the table, it’s teaching them not to use the bathroom whenever and wherever they want, it’s teaching them to ignore coos of “cute puppy” and people trying to pet them, it’s teaching them to remain calm under any circumstance, and on top of all of that teaching them to perform complicated tasks with any distraction at the first cue, plus so so much more. Your dog can’t be a pet some days and then a service dog other days. Standards for behavior that you hold them to in public must continue even when the vest comes off so as not to confuse the dog. It’s rough on you and it’s rough on the dog, but completely and totally worth it if you can succeed. Program training is a great option for many people, and if you’re on the fence about owner-training, I’d advise that you seriously consider working with a program. They turn out amazing dogs, and obviously have a great track record!
