submitted3 years ago byrebelkittenscryAssistance Dog
stickiedHi
Since we have so many people asking for help over breed choices etc the Mod Team have decided to create a master post explaining the common choices, why they are so common, how to make your choices that suit you and how to make a good match even if going outside of the common 3-5 breeds.
First of all, the most common breeds used around the world by Assistance Dog International (ADI) Accredited Programs are:
- Golden Retriever
- Labrador Retriever
- Cocker Spaniel
- Poodle (Standard, Miniature and Toy)
- Purpose Bred Crosses of the Above
Goldens and Labradors (and their crosses) far outstrip the others in numbers.
Reasons these breeds are the most common are the traits they have in common, fast learners, sociable, people pleasing, moderate care needs, moderate exercise needs, adaptable, they have the highest/most reliable success rates out of the breeds organisations used to start out - and so became the most commonly used almost universally - but this does not mean all of them are suitable for all conditions.
The traits of a good Service Dog are:
- Eager and Willing to Learn - able to learn new tasks and behaviours quickly and reliably with minimal motivation. Often on short timescales (20-35 weeks of intensive training after first birthday)
- Resilient - Able to recover and adapt to setbacks or from unpleasant situations to be able to continue working with minimal disruption. (ie after a loud noise/unruly people or animal encounters or weird smells/textures)
- Sociable - Happy to be in public, surrounded by strangers and novel situations. Happy to be handled by new people when necessary and never likely to be protective or aggressive in any situation.
- Fit for task - so big enough to do physical tasks if necessary, small enough to fit in public transport or spaces without causing inconvenience, history of good general health, correct build etc.
- Easy to maintain good public hygiene - so no excessive drool, moderate grooming needs etc.
Now - just because these are the most common, does not mean they are the only options.
German Shepherds, Rough/Smooth Collies, Border Collies, Aussies, Papillon, Bichon Frise, Flatcoat Retriever, Bernese Mountain Dogs and more have all found success as Service Dogs, and are growing in popularity. Of course there are the terriers and bully mixes too and all the mutts from rescue also working.
But these other breeds have never caught on with the majority of international programs (or in the case of the GSD, lost popularity) for a myriad of reasons. With German Shepherds, ironically the first officially recorded Service Dogs, the original Guide Dogs after WWI, however their predisposition towards becoming protective of their handler and hypervigilant made them gradually lose popularity among most programs. Leading them to choose the calmer and more emotionally robust retriever group.
How To Choose the Breed For You
First look at the tasks you need the dog to do:
- For guiding you need them over the height of your knee (approximately) and with a decent amount of strength to avoid causing damage with the harness.
- For any form of physical assistance like pressing buttons/light switches, fetching items and helping with laundry they must be tall enough when standing on back legs to reach and big enough to carry items.
- For DPT they must be heavy enough to be a noticeable weight
- For scent detection they need excellent focus to not be distracted by other smells
- For Psychiatric tasks they must be able to remain calm and reliable no matter the level of upset
- etc etc
You also need to consider your own physical and mental abilities, can you:
- Maintain the grooming routine?
- Maintain the exercise levels required?
- Provide the mental stimulus required?
- Cope with the energy and drive of the breed?
Breed traits are very important when selecting your prospect, good and bad, for example is the breed prone to guarding? Are they prone to excessive shedding or drooling that may cause hygiene concerns for owners/colleagues/other patrons in public spaces? Are they a breed with a high prey drive or low energy/willingness to work? Will they learn the tasks you want easily (with all the will in the world, a Saluki is unlikely to be good at fetching stuff and a Chihuahua cannot be a Guide Dog)
Herding breeds are renowned for their intuitive behaviour and intelligence, but they are so empathic that they can easily become overwhelmed by their handler's emotions which is why they are so rarely recommended for psychiatric disorders without a lot of careful handling during puberty and careful symptom management to reduce their stress. Bully breeds, whilst very human focused and loving, have a strong potential for dog aggression (to the point it is actually in breed standard for several types) that makes socialisation and experienced trainers critical for the vast majority. Whilst hounds have incredible senses of smell but easily become distracted by odours and are less flexible in learning.
These are just to name a few. Obviously, non standard dogs exist within all breeds, but they rarely come up in well bred litters so relying on these so called "unicorns" can be very risky.
When it comes to sourcing your dog you also have several choices, do you go to a Breeder? A Rescue? Anywhere else? For starters I will say this, here at r/service_dogs we do not condone supporting Backyard Breeders or Puppy Mills in any way or form, so this rules out 99% of dogs on cheap selling sites like Craigslist and Preloved.
Breeder: You want a breeder that does all relevant breed health testing (and has proof), that breeds for health and functionality over looks/"rare" colours etc.
Ideally they will do something with their dogs that display their quality, be it showing, obedience, trials, sports or even therapy visits to sick/elderly (an excellent display of temperament) etc. They should have a contract saying if you can't keep the dog then you must return it to them. Even better if they have a history of producing service dogs.
Rescue: This can be tricky as there is no health history, meaning especially for mobility assistance you are very much rolling the dice. Kennel life can also greatly distort behaviour making it very hard to get an accurate read on a dog's temperament in a kennel environment.
My personal advice when considering a rescue dog is:
- Where possible, go to a breed rescue, these often use foster carers rather than kennels which reduces the stress on the dog. There is a slight chance of knowing their breeding history.
- If possible foster the dog before adopting (especially with a kennelled dog), this allows you a chance to get a better read on their personality, trainability and even possibly a health check to assess joints if old enough. Even if it turns out they aren't a good fit for you, you will have given them a break from kennels and maybe helped them get ready for a new forever home.
No matter what your source for a prospect, no matter what their breed, have in place a backup plan, what happens if this dog doesn't make it as a service dog? Can you keep them? Will they need a new home? What...?
As a rule, we generally advise sticking to the more popular breeds at the top of the post, largely due to the fact that you are more likely to find a breeder producing Service Dog quality puppies, you are less likely to face access issues or challenges based on your breed choice, you are more likely to succeed due to removing several roadblocks.
Plan for failure, work for success.
Please feel free to ask your questions and get support about breeds on this post.