Training a service dog is a little like learning Japanese.

A lot of people would like to do it. Quite a few start it. Very few actually do it.

About half of the time, it’s because the person doesn’t have the right dog. If you have the right dog, everything tends to be much easier than if you have the wrong dog. Those who have the wrong dog may struggle for years over problems another dog wouldn’t have had – attention barking due to being impatient, getting over a nervousness of heights, or barrier frustration. Problems like these can eat months or years of training time, which is why most service dog schools don’t even bother with these dogs.

There are three kinds of potential serviced dog:

Ideal candidates. Everything (with the exception of adolescence) flows pretty smoothly. The dog is ready in a year or two.

Hard Work candidates. The dog will enjoy the job and/or be good at the job, but it’ll take you years to work through some sticky points in their personality.

It Would Be Cruel candidates. The dog is simply not suited to learning this job and insisting on it/continuing to ask it of them is likely to negatively affect their physical and mental health and cause you constant problems through the lifespan of the dog.

We won’t take that third, red flag dog into our programs at all. We warn clients heavily about the second kind and let them make an informed decision.

But half of the time, even with ideal dogs, the team doesn’t make it.

And that’s because the person thinks they want to train a service dog, but they actually don’t, or simply… can’t.

Would you enjoy training a service dog? Is this something you’re likely to accomplish?

Find out with our quiz: