Service & Therapy Dog Training Flashcards

A mobility assistance dog is being trained to brace for a handler who uses the dog to rise from a chair. At minimum, the dog should weigh approximately what percentage of the handler's body weight to brace safely?

Answer: 25–30%

Industry guidelines recommend the dog weigh at least 25–30% of the handler's body weight to provide safe, effective bracing support without injury risk.

Under Fair Housing Act (FHA) regulations, emotional support animals differ from ADA service dogs in that:

Answer: ESAs are covered in housing regardless of whether they perform trained tasks

The FHA provides housing accommodations for ESAs based on a disability-related need documented by a mental health professional, with no requirement for specific trained tasks.

A courthouse therapy dog program requires the dog to remain calm while a child testifies about trauma. The MOST important ongoing care consideration for the dog is:

Answer: Regular mental health monitoring and structured decompression time after sessions

High-stress environments like courtroom testimony can cause cumulative stress in therapy dogs; regular monitoring for behavioral changes and structured rest is essential.

Which scent training method is most commonly used to train medical alert dogs for conditions like epilepsy or low blood sugar?

Answer: Scent discrimination using biological samples from the handler during episodes

Medical alert dogs are most reliably trained using actual biological samples (sweat, saliva) collected during episodes to teach the specific scent change associated with the medical event.

A service dog that alerts its handler to an oncoming migraine by pawing before it starts is performing which category of trained behavior?

Answer: Proactive medical alert

Proactive medical alerts occur before the medical event begins, providing the handler time to take preventive action.

When a therapy dog visitation program is evaluating a new dog-handler team, which test component specifically assesses the dog's reaction to medical equipment?

Answer: Unusual equipment exposure subtest

Therapy dog evaluations typically include an unusual equipment exposure component to ensure the dog remains calm around wheelchairs, IV poles, walkers, and other medical devices.

The '3D' proofing framework used in service dog training stands for:

Answer: Distance, Duration, Distraction

Distance, Duration, and Distraction are the three variables trainers systematically increase when proofing any trained behavior for real-world reliability.