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  • Service Dog Recertification – Horton’s Got Skills

    Posted by deann-r on July 16, 2021 at 2:00 pm

    https://youtu.be/lSlPQMsxSF8

    Having a service dog comes with added responsibilities. Not only do I have the usual needs to tend to like feeding and bathroom breaks, I have to ensure we keep up with our training. With Horton being my third service dog, I should be a pro. I have to say though, out of the three he’s been the most challenging. I’m not sure if it’s the fact my physical abilities have diminished over the years, or if he’s being what I refer to as a turkey butt. Regardless, there are certain requirements we have to meet to retain our service dog team status through the organization I went through, Canine Companions.

    One such requirement is Public Access Recertification. Typically we meet in person at a place like the Mall of America. You might remember a video I did with Roy showing you that https://youtu.be/mJCDbIejg1U. With Covid they aren’t traveling at the moment, so recertification was done virtually. We sent in a video to Canine Companions and had a Skype call instead. In this video you’ll see what the process was like.

    Although we have things to work on, we passed the recertification. That doesn’t mean we can just be done and we’re good. Every day we have to work together to maintain our skills. We might even add something new to the mix. Any good ideas?

    alyssa-silva replied 3 years, 2 months ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
  • 1 Reply
  • alyssa-silva

    Member
    July 18, 2021 at 10:51 pm

    Wow! I’m surprised you have to submit recertifications. I’ve never had to do that from the org I get my service dogs from. What would happen if… God forbid… someone fails? They wouldn’t take the dog away, would they? I can’t imagine breaking that bond.

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