u/helloheyhowdyhii

This is USA specific as the requirements for service dogs vary by country.

USA has absolutely no controls over service dogs, their level of training, the "tasks" they perform, the person's actual need for the dog, and the reliability and veracity of the dog's performance, and whether or not the "tasks" actually mitigate a disability.

This has led to an absolute epidemic of "owner trained" dogs doing the most outlandish "tasks" and causing mayhem in public. We have fitness influencers yarding their giant dogs onto planes for clout, random dogs in grocery stores and restaurants, aggressive and disruptive dogs everywhere, with staff and management afraid to confront said owners due to the permissive laws in the USA.

We need:

• Establishment of a validating agency with authority to determine service dog standards and issue (and rescind) licenses and public access
• A ban on "owner trained" dogs with few exceptions for those with demonstrated, validated dog training expertise
• Establishment of a realistic, validated list of acceptable tasks that the dog must reliably perform in order to be a "service dog" and testing to demonstrate that the dog actually performs said tasks and that it benefits the person's actual disability.
• Breed, size, and temperament standards
• Licensing and documentation to be carried at all times after the dog has passed standardized testing, including documentation of vaccinations
• Yearly re-testing of all dogs
• Standardized vesting and badging
• A ban on MOST "service dogs" in restaurants and grocery stores
• A system by which handlers/dogs can be identified and reported for violations

It should not be left to hapless managers to monitor and assess whether a dog is a true "service" dog. The current situation in the USA is much too permissive and needs to be brought under control.