I am often asked about the ability to take service dogs into businesses and other public establishments. The rules that apply to Service Dogs are generally governed by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The following information is an outline from the US Department of Justice that sets some standards for service animals and businesses. States typically have rules that also govern the use and training of service dogs for those with disabilities.

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As some of you may know, Maverick is the black Labrador Retriever that we are currently training to be an assistance dog for a young lady that was injured in a car accident. When Maverick came to our kennel for training as an assistance dog, the clients gave us a list of all of the tasks that they wanted Maverick to be capable of performing. The list contained 32 different tasks in addition to the obedience and general manners that he was to be taught. Some of the items on the list included; pulling a wheelchair (see the video), retrieving objects such as phones, keys, etc. food refusal, heeling beside of a wheelchair, climbing steps and turning on light switches. Now we are down to about three itmes left on the list before Maverick officially begins his work as an assistance dog.

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Due to the US pet food recall in the Spring of 2007, many consumers have lost confidence in the pet food industry. As a result many critical websites emerged on the web promoting home made dog food and exchanging dog food recipes. But the disadvantages of making your own dog food are (1) when you lack knowledge and experience, your dog may suffer from malnutrition and develop deficiencies (2) it is more time consuming compared with prepackaged commercial dog food.

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