Online Communities Share Trials, Tribulations, and Success of Life with Service Dogs

(This review will contain only groups which I have experience with and; therefore, know something about the nature of each group.)


For many people working to train their own service dog, some for perhaps the first time, the process can be daunting to say the least. Is my dog appropriate for Service Dog work in temperament and health? What are the things my dog must know? How do I teach these skills? When should I move to the next skill? What do I do if my dog turns out not to be a good candidate for service dog work? What if my dog works great at home but falls apart in public? These and many other questions occupy the daily discussions on many an online group focused on living with working and training service dogs.


Assistance Dogs hosted by Yahoo Groups

This e-mail list was established to talk about topics concerning trained (or in training) assistance dogs that perform tasks to assist a disabled people with their disability. Therefore, guide dogs for those with visual disability, hearing dogs for those with hearing disability and service dogs for all other disabilities are included. Topics about training or using assistance dogs, access issues, legislative or other issues common to assistance dog teams are welcome. This list is moderated by an extremely experienced professional service dog trainer and you must request permission to join the group.


OC-Assist Dogs hosted by Yahoo Groups

Operant Conditioning training, with emphasis on positive reinforcement (clicker training) for Assistance Dogs (Service Dogs) trainers and partners. All discussions are to be related to the above topic, even writing style will reflect positive attitudes and an open atmosphere for sharing ideas related to the subject matter. This list will be good for children, however, in any list, parental guidance is recommended.

Service Dog Central Community Forum
In-depth forum focused on all aspects of living and working with service dogs of all types. The moderators of this forum are comprised of long time partners and trainers of service dog. The forum and its participants focus on positive training techniques.