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But her owners knew their smart dog held promise. They decided, if her nose was getting her into trouble (she was after all, bred to be a hunting dog), why not train her to sniff out something useful?

For the next seven years, Lucy learned to sniff out bladder, kidney and prostate cancer, and was even used in a study. Over the years, she has been able to detect cancer correctly more than 95% of the time. That's better than some lab tests used to diagnose cancer.

Now, Lucy is part of one of the largest clinical trials of canine cancer detection. A British organization, Medical Detection Dogs, has eight dogs sniff out 3,000 urine samples from National Health Service patients to see whether they can discern who has cancer and who doesn't.

Claire Guest is the CEO of Medical Detection Dogs. Her fox red Labrador, Daisy, caught her breast cancer six years ago when she was 45. "She kept staring at me and lunging into my chest. It led me to find a lump," Guest remembers.

The tumor was deep in her breast. Her doctors said that by the time she would have felt it herself, the cancer would have been very advanced.

"Had it not been drawn to my attention by Daisy, I'm told my prognosis would have been very poor," she said.

Dogs have two 'noses'

Dogs' powerful noses have 300 million sensors, compared with a human's measly 5 million. In addition, dogs have a second smelling device in the backs of their noses that we don't have, called Jacobson's organ.

That double smelling system allows trained dogs to detect cancer's unique odors, called volatile organic compounds.

It took humans thousands of years to figure this out. In 1989, doctors at King's College Hospital in London wrote in The Lancet about a woman whose dog persisted in smelling a particular mole on her leg. That mole turned out to be early-stage malignant melanoma.

Over the next 26 years, studies from France to California to Italy have concluded that dogs really can detect the smell of cancer.

Researchers in the current British study have set a particularly high bar. They want to make sure dogs are actually smelling cancer and not something else, such as old age or a particular set of symptoms.

In the study, dogs will circle a carousel holding eight evenly spaced urine samples, one from a cancer patient and seven from patients who don't have cancer. At least one of those seven samples will be from someone about the same age as the cancer patient who had symptoms of cancer but didn't actually have the disease.

Guest, whose group is running the study, said that if studies like hers continue to show the power of dogs' noses, the animals might one day be used in conjunction with existing diagnostic tests, not instead of them. Scientists might also design a machine -- an "electronic nose" -- that mimics a dog's powerful smelling abilities. "It's very feasible," Guest said.

Dampened enthusiasm

But more then 25 years later, the awesome smelling powers of dogs has not met with commercial success.

Dr. Sheryl Gabram thinks she knows why. The Emory University surgeon published a study four years ago showing that a machine, like a dog, could reliably detect the smell of breast cancer from patients' breath samples. Excited about their success, her team sought money for more studies. They failed.

"We submitted everywhere and could never get it funded to move the research any further," said Gabram, the surgeon-in-chief at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and director of the hospital's AVON Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center.

The problem, she thinks, is that while cancer-smelling dogs (or machines) make for great headlines -- one of her own patients received a great deal of publicity -- it's not always easy to envision how sniffing out cancer could be used commercially.

"It would need a lot of years of study and a lot of development," she said. "It's still far from that. People just thought it was too massive to embark on." It's too bad, too, she said, because "I think it's an area of research that's still promising."

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meet the dogs who can sniff out cancer  - cnn

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Meet the dogs who can sniff out cancer - CNN

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But her owners knew their smart dog held promise. They decided, if her nose was getting her into trouble (she was after all, bred to be a hunting dog), why not train her to sniff out something useful? For the next seven years, Lucy learned to sniff out bladder, kidney and prostate cancer, and was even used in a study.

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Your dog just wants to be a good boy. That's what makes him great at fetch and sitting for treats. But it's also part of why he's unlikely to have a job screening patients for cancer.

It's all a game to your dog. He finds the right sample, he gets the treat. That makes dogs great at finding the sample--their noses can hone in on a characteristic pattern of smells associated with certain types of cancers better than any current technology. It also makes them expensive and time-consuming. And if a cancer screen needs to be anything, it's affordable and efficient.

"Mostly with our dogs, we think it's a numbers game," says Cynthia Otto, Director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine. Dogs can learn to identify the odor of cancer, she says, but it requires intensive training and the testing process isn't quick. People in third world countries contact Otto about these studies because their accuracy rates are so impressive, not realizing how much time and money go into training just one dog.

The whole point of screening, though, is to be able to test lots of people. And if you're going to test lots of people, you'd better make sure that your screen can distinguish between people who definitely have cancer, and people who definitely don't. Screens that give too many false negatives or positives aren't useful.

False negatives give you a bunch of people who actually have cancer, but are told they don't because the screening test was negative. False positives give you people who don't have cancer, but are told they might, and undergo many more tests only to determine that they were fine all along.

"For a screening test, it is crucial to rule something out," says Klaus Hackner, a researcher and physician who studies dogs detecting cancer in breath samples at Krems University in Austria. "If you can't rule something out, you need to do more tests." He says it's not clear that dogs would be able to provide a high enough accuracy to be a reliable screen, one that wouldn't require more tests.

It might sound obvious, but it needs to be said that dogs are not machines. Some days the dogs work better than others, says Otto. Unlike human judges, dogs work better before lunch than after it, but having a test that doesn't work well after eating seems impractical and unsafe.

"They have all of these influences that can throw them off, and we may not recognize it," she says. "We don't want to risk somebody's life on that."

That's not to say that we can't learn a lot from dogs. Canine noses can detect much smaller amounts of scent than any man-made technology and there is a lot of scientific evidence for dogs' ability to identify cancerous samples. They're clearly detecting something, we're just not sure what it is. Urine, breath, and direct biopsy samples all seem to have some characteristic odor that humans are so far unable to pick up on. By looking at the pattern of smells in samples that dogs can correctly identify as cancerous, researchers can learn what the chemical signature is and design an electronic way to test for it.

They're almost too good at identifying things. Otto says her team has to constantly train with new samples because the dogs start to learn individual scents. You can't explain to a dog that you want them to identify the cancer smell, not the person's particular scent.

Again, it's all just a rewards game to them, and that makes training them a huge challenge. In a screening scenario where at least one of the samples is unknown, you also can't be sure whether to reward the dog or not. "If it wasn't right, you just reinforced the wrong answer," explains Otto.

But that's not how a lot of studies have tested the dogs. Two of the major papers published on canine detection just looked at whether the dogs could find the one cancerous sample out of five. Dogs are great at that task--they score in the 99 percent accuracy range. But it's not a screen.

When tested in a scenario much more similar to a screen, like in Hackner's recent study in the Journal of Breath Research and a prior one from 2013, the reliability drops. Hackner's group found a sensitivity rate of 78.6 percent, meaning nearly one in four samples were false negatives--and a specificity rate of just 34.4 percent, making almost two-thirds of the samples false positives.

Even when dogs are working well, their accuracy isn't 100 percent. Bomb and drug sniffing dogs have an 85-95 percent accuracy rate (not to mention their tendency to unconsciously reflect their handlers' racial prejudices). Search and rescue dogs are generally more effective, but also suffer from emotional problems.

These dogs need the reward of finding people or they can get depressed. During the 9/11 search and rescue effort, emergency responders had to stage fake body finds so that the dogs could be rewarded. Cancer screening dogs need the same thing to avoid stress.

Changes to the methodology--like hiding positive samples in the lineup to give a reward--might help the dogs perform better, explains Hackner. It seems unlikely that they will ever get good enough or require so little training as to be a helpful cancer screen. But researchers remain optimistic about how valuable dogs can be to studying the scent of cancer. We just always have to be conscious of the fundamental truth about our canine friend, says Hackner: "He just wants to be a good dog."

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Your dog just wants to be a good boy. That's what makes him great at fetch and sitting for treats. But it's also part of why he's unlikely to have a job screening patients for cancer. It's all a game to your dog. He finds the right sample, he gets the treat.

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The use of sled dogs as a means of transportation has been steadily replaced by snowmobiles in Alaska. The pros and cons of sled dogs versus snowmobiles (aka "iron dogs") is an ongoing discussion up here. The long and short of that discussion, as far as I am concerned, is that there is a place for both. However, in the National Park Service sled dogs play an essential role that just cannot be filled by iron dogs. Our mission statement calls for us to preserve and protect as well as to educate. By maintaining and continuing to use our sled dogs in the traditional ways, we are keeping an important part of our heritage alive and truly preserving and protecting all aspects of the wilderness character of Denali. Using dogs rather than mechanized forms of transport to travel here allows us to share the experience of dog team travel with our park visitors who might otherwise not have the opportunity to ponder the challenges and rewards of traveling with sled dogs in the cold subarctic winters.

Dog mushing is the state sport and it has been a key means of travel and way of life up here in the frozen north for a long time. However, in recent times snowmobiles have gained popularity for lots of good reasons. Snowmobiles don't have to be fed and cared for and trained and exercised regularly. You can store them all summer and forget about them until the snow flies again. Snowmobiles can go much faster than dog teams, and they don't get tired and have to rest or have a snack. Snowmobiles can haul impressive loads (dog teams can too, it just goes a lot slower). Sled dogs are a huge commitment and a lot of work, and it is easy to understand why many people have moved towards snowmobiles as the "workhorse" of choice. However, there are a few key things about sled dogs that snowmobiles will just never be able to replace. Our last patrol was a good reminder of that.

When we headed out, we were hoping to accomplish a lot of tasks along the north boundary. First off, the kennels staff needed to gain familiarity with the trails in the area before we go out again at the end of the month to support the installation of a sound monitoring station for our Resources Division.We wanted to haul a lot of the necessary human and dog food in to the park in advance so that we could carry large and heavy sound monitoring items on the next patrol into the area. A lot of replacement cabin supplies and new mattresses also needed to be delivered in to the northern patrol cabins, which are far easier to access overland in winter than in summer. We were very grateful to our Ranger and VIP who willingly volunteered to go with our patrol as a support crew hauling supplies in and backhauling outdated items out. They were loaded down with gear everywhere they rode as they, too, learned the trails and terrain on the north side. Yes, the dogs could have done it all, but it would have taken many more trips and much more kibble along the way, and the Rangers saw the benefit of learning some of the terrain as well. In the end it seemed like a great plan all around.

We left the trailhead with the two loaded snowmobiles in the lead and three loaded dogsleds following close behind. We were quickly reminded firsthand of the pros and cons of each means of travel. Dogs fit well with the character of wild lands. They are a lot quieter than snowmobiles, except when they are barking to be let out of the truck to go run and when they are barking on the trail to start running again. Dogs (and, some would argue, even dog poop) smell better than gasoline fumes. Dogs remind us to slow down and notice the details of the landscape around us. They teach us that life is not all about efficiency and speed. As always, it is the journey rather than the destination that matters.

The machines could have easily left us in their snow dust but they patiently waited along the way for our happily trotting dogs to catch up and keep the group together. About six miles in, one of the snowmobiles started to smell really bad, like burning rubber, and was making a grinding sound. We stopped and examined it and determined that it was not safe to drive any further in. This was the first glitch in the plan. One snowmobile had to tow the other safely back out to the truck and have a replacement machine brought in. The decision was made for the dogs to carry on without the snowmobiles for the night and they would meet us in the morning. We had packed the dogsleds to be self-sufficient just in case something like this was to go awry. This is the first lesson of winter backcountry travel - always be prepared with enough food and equipment to spend several extra nights out. We were. We headed on as the dogs showed us the trails. There were several offshoot trails and I had put in lead dogs that knew the area well. It is amazing to watch their memories at work. Darkness fell and we were getting close to our destination - a cabin I had never been to before.Jess was giving me advice that she could remember from her summer trips to the cabin and everything was pointing to the fact that we were getting close to "home" when Yakone and Gaiter jumped on a hard left turn off the river and into the woods. I would never have seen the tiny trail in the dark, but they remembered it and took us straight to the cabin. I was keenly aware of another advantage of dog teams over snowmobiles. Three mushers and 22 dogs means 25 brains at work to find the way. Two rangers and two snowmobiles is still only two brains to find the way. Snowmobiles are of no help whatsoever in showing you where to go, whereas dogs have repeatedly astounded me with their ability to find and remember trails.

We settled in to the cabin and rested for the next big day of exploring. We had some notes describing the trail we were looking for and again with the help of the dogs we found it no problem. We made it to the next cabin (with some help from a GPS) and back in time to meet our snowmobilers who had gotten a replacement machine and made it to the first cabin with our first load. We were grateful to see them and the kibble, firewood, and mattresses they had hauled.

The following day we set off exploring with the dog teams, maps, and GPS again to find another way to the next cabin. We were learning the trails and terrain one step at a time by experiencing them firsthand. I was grinning from ear to ear as we mushed into a golden sunrise illuminating the snow, while a herd of 20 caribou searched for lichen on the open tundra in front of us and the Alaska Range and Kantishna hills were brightly lit as the morning sun touched each peak. Wow! The dogs panted with steam rising from their bodies in the cold morning air as we drifted quietly across the tundra. Sled dogs truly fit this wilderness landscape.

We reached the East Fork of the and were met with overflow. Dogs are more reliable in overflow than snowmobiles. A good dog team will travel across glare ice, through slushy overflow and deep snow without trouble. Even a not so good dog team can make it through all of these challenges with a musher willing to walk out front and lead them. A really good dog team will help a musher to find the best trail to avoid all of these things or will pull them out of trouble if they do get caught in deep overflow. The park dogs did a phenomenal job putting in trail up the river despite overflow and glare ice. Snowmobiles, especially when they are hauling a heavy load in a sled behind them, can get bogged down in overflow and be very hard to extract. They can sink in deep snow in no time- it's always good to have a shovel and a winch. Personally, I think dog teams are easier to work with and more reliable in these tough conditions, but if you ask a good snowmobiler they might have the opposite answer.

We spent another cozy night in a second cabin while our dedicated snowmachiners were stuck in the front country again. In the morning we got up to scout the next stretch of trail with skis. Again, the three of us were struck by how lucky we are that our day at the office began with skiing into a sunrise over the Alaska Range. We found the crossings we were looking for and headed back to the cabin to get the dogs and mush back to the first cabin for the night. Happy surprise!! Our snowmobilers were undefeatable and had made it to the cabin with another huge load. It will make our next trip so much smoother to already have the supplies we need in there. The intrepid drivers were covering a lot of ground and could only take a little break to warm up before they needed to return all the way to the trailhead that night. That would have been one very long day and night (or longer) of running dogs. Snowmobiles are a lot faster and more efficient when everything goes well. There is value in efficiency when it comes to getting work accomplished.

We sent our friends off and hooked up the dogs for an hour of running in the beautiful sunset light back to the first cabin for the night. Granted, we had to set up lines for all the dogs to sleep on, take off harnesses and booties. Granted, when we got to the cabin it was several hours of work to melt enough snow on the woodstove to make 20 gallons of water for dogs and humans to drink for the night and next morning. Meanwhile, our snowmobilers could just turn their machines off at the trailhead and call it a night. However, most mushers don't mind the extra work for the dogs. In fact, we enjoy it. It is time to pet their soft furry bodies and tell them what a good job they've done. We can let a few of them in to the cabin for extra love and attention and they snuggle up with us for the night. In the dark morning they greet us with tails wagging and eyes shining, ready for the next adventure.

Part of why the National Park Service keeps its sled dogs is to keep the history and tradition of dog mushing alive. Over the years various park mangers have questioned the viability of the dogs. As machines rapidly gained popularity in the 1950s, the park kennels almost became obsolete. I shudder to think of all that would have been lost if we had let our sled dog program go. These dogs have so much to teach us, not just on a daily basis on the trail, but they also remind us of those larger life lessons that are so easy to forget in our fast-paced world focused on efficiency. Don't get me wrong, I am really glad we have snowmobiles and airplanes and helicopters too, especially when it comes to search and rescue. They each are valuable tools and they have their applications. I am just glad that we also have the foresight to hold on to our sled dogs because they are truly invaluable.

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Sled Dogs and Iron Dogs - Denali National Park & Preserve (U.S. National Park Service)

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The use of sled dogs as a means of transportation has been steadily replaced by snowmobiles in Alaska. The pros and cons of sled dogs versus snowmobiles (aka "iron dogs") is an ongoing discussion up here. The long and short of that discussion, as far as I am concerned, is that there is a place for both.

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Dog Care Facts - Edu Categories - Iditarod

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Dog care is an extremely important aspect of the race and two very important concepts are vital to accomplishing the highest level. It begins with education. Valuable knowledge has been gained through shared years of experience and many proactive research studies. Education of mushers and trail veterinarians provides necessary information with which to make the ...

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Today, the Iditarod announced that 57 mushers have submitted their entries for the 49th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to be held in March of 2021. This number represents 17 more or a 42.5% higher number than was submitted at this time last year.

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By Nicole Pajer

Does this situation sound familiar? You can't walk down the street without people stopping to tell you how adorable your dog is and commenting on the fact that he should be in movies. As you politely accept these compliments, you can't help but wonder if what they are saying is true. Is your adorable pooch destined to have his name in lights?

Landing your canine a role on the big screen can be rewarding but is not an easy task. It is a very competitive industry - made even more competitive with the proliferation of blogs and social media - that involves a lot of patience, creativity, money, and advanced training. Before you launch your dog's career on Instagram, Vine, or in traditional show business, here are some things to consider:

The pros

Your dog will learn all sorts of new tricks. Getting your dog ready for auditions will require enrolling it in advanced training programs that focus on television and film set preparation, as well as teaching new tricks at home:

"After Gracie learned about 30 behaviors (she knows 50), you start to think of what else can I get the dog to do? So, I taught her to scratch on cue, I thought if a flea medicine commercial ever comes up, she's a shoo-in," explains Mick Hannaway, owner of dog actor, Gracie.

It's fun to see your dog in movies. Who wouldn't love turning on their television and seeing their dog's adorable face?

The folks at Rat Terrier ResQ recently had one of their puppies featured in Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet. "The pups had a great time and it was awesome to see one of our dogs on TV."

Opportunity to make some money. "As far as money, you are not going to be a millionaire anytime soon, but dog rental can pay up to $300 to $400 per day. If you are lucky and book a four-day job, it's a good chunk of money," explains Joel Norton, head trainer at Hollywood Paws.

Canine actors can become therapy dogs. On-set training helps dogs cope with distractions, which is crucial in training for therapeutic situations.

"Gracie is also a Therapy Dog; she visits hospitals and children's facilities and schools. Therapy dog training goes with animal acting training well, because a dog that can cope with distractions and odd noises as well as do the behaviors we ask, is what we want in a studio dog," Hannaway explains.

Stronger bond between dog and owner. "The best part of training for production work is seeing owners spend more time and bond with their pet in a whole new way. There is an added benefit of much more control that can lead to new hobbies to do with your pet. If you developed the kind of control with your dog, having your dog earn their Canine Good Citizen or Therapy Dog certification is no problem," Norton explains.

The cons

It's a big commitment for both the dog and owner. In order to have your dog involved in acting, or to have a successful Instagram or Vine account for your dog, you'll need to commit to extensive training and keeping your dog and it's coat in perfect shape. You'll need to spend time almost daily coming up with creative concepts for photos or videos that will keep an Instagram or Vine audience engaged. You will also need to be available to rush off to last-minute castings as they pop up.

"If a job for your dog comes up, you have to be willing and able to take it, otherwise someone else will," Hannaway says.

Preparing your dog for the big screen can be expensive. Animal acting often involves costly expenses such as advanced training classes and professional photographs.

It's competitive. Just because you go through all the necessary training and grooming doesn't guarantee that your dog will make it to the movies.

"The hard part in this industry is even of you have all of the necessary training and skill for production, just like in the human acting world, someone else has to pick your dog and decide that it has the look and skills they want," explains Norton.

Having your dog in the spotlight takes away from it being a pet. When you are committing your dog to acting, the focus of your dog/owner relationship can shift from playing fetch and going to the dog park to rigorous training sessions and constant auditions.

"When on set, he couldn't be a puppy and play - it was all work," explains Sophia Petowski, whose dog appeared in a Dog Fancy advertisement.

If you'd like to bond with your dog, further it's training, and earn a little extra income, then involving your dog in acting can be a great adventure for both yourself and your canine. If you are convinced that your dog is destined for the big screen, it is crucial that you find the balance between your pup being an actor and a family pet. Realize that your four-legged friend is probably not going to get his own star on Hollywood Blvd. or earn enough to pay all your household bills. See this as a bonding experience between you and your pet and a fun way to spend more time together.

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The pros and cons of dogs in show business

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By Nicole Pajer Does this situation sound familiar? You can't walk down the street without people stopping to tell you how adorable your dog is and commenting on the fact that he should be in movies. As you politely accept these compliments, you can't help but wonder if what they are saying is true.

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Their neatly affixed vests. Their determined gaze. Who can resist a dog in uniform? And while you admire them from afar (resist the urge to pet them, they're on the job!), here are 12 betcha-didn't-know-that facts about Canine's Finest.

1. Service dogs for people with mobility issues can turn on lights, push buttons on an elevator, pull their partner in a manual wheelchair, open doors, and even retrieve a wallet and offer it to the cashier.

2. Hearing service dogs know the difference between a doorbell, alarm clock, smoke alarm, and even someone calling their person's name--and can communicate that effectively.

3. Hospital wards frequently utilize therapy dogs who offer comfort and companionship to distressed patients, reducing anxiety and blood pressure.

4. Seizure assistant dogs are trained to smell changes in their partner's blood, identifying warning signs of an impending seizure and notifying them with enough time to take precautions.

5. Specialized tasks are taught to service dogs through highly specific training that can last months or years, and can begin in even weeks-old puppies.

6. Any breed of dog can be trained for service work. (That's right, chihuahuas, you too.)

7. The cost of training a highly specialized service dog can be upwards of $25,000, a financial burden often (thankfully!) covered by charitable foundations.

8. Autism assistance dogs provide a calming focus during times of sensory overload for their partners, as well as helping with physical tasks and offering emotional support.

9. Mental health service dogs have shown amazing success with patients suffering from anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, and even PTSD, providing companionship and a release of the brain's own soothing chemicals.

10. Allergy detecting dogs sniff out even trace amounts of life-threatening allergies for kids, offering them a chance to enjoy being kids and not worry constantly about unseen risks.

11. Before being placed in their forever home, many service dogs need foster placement after leaving training. Foster families can help dogs keep up on their training with daily tasks and exercises. (Interested in volunteering?)

12. Rescue dogs are finding a new life as service dogs through a foundation that trains them and places them with various disabled individuals, including children and military veterans.

The Ollie blog is devoted to helping pet parents lead healthier lives with their pups. If you want to learn more about our fresh, human-grade food, check out MyOllie.com.

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Their neatly affixed vests. Their determined gaze. Who can resist a dog in uniform? And while you admire them from afar (resist the urge to pet them, they're on the job!), here are 12 betcha-didn't-know-that facts about Canine's Finest.

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They guide, listen, balance, lead and love. They provide friendship and independence, freedom and peace of mind. They live to serve their handler to the fullest extent of their capability, be it through retrieving dropped items, offering physical support to an unsteady handler or alerting a Deaf or hard of hearing handler to important events. We're talking about Service and Assistance Dogs, and this month, September, is National Service Dog Month. It's all about celebrating the magic these special dogs bring to their people's lives.

National Service Dog Month is all about honoring the hardworking dogs (and the people who helped them become all that they are) that serve individuals with disabilities of all kinds, including physical, mental and developmental disabilities. Per the online magazine DogTime, this month of recognition used to be known as nspired by what he National Guide Dog Month, and it was established in 2008 by Dick Van Patten. DogTime goes on to note that he was "i experienced during a life-changing visit to the Guide Dogs of the Desert facility in Palm Springs, Calif.," and that as a result, "Van Patten launched a fundraising drive to benefit guide and service dog training schools throughout the country."

What initially began as a single fundraiser has since morphed into an entire month of events meant to bring recognition to the Service Dog community, and to help educate everyone about Service Dogs and the life changing work they perform for their handlers. It's also meant to celebrate the hard work of puppy raisers and all of those who support a Service Dog on its way to greatness, including trainers, veterinarians, behaviorists and others who have a vested interested in helping Service Dogs succeed.

So, in honor of National Service Dog Month, we here at Anything Pawsable bring you "10 Things You Probably Don't Know About Service Dogs!"
1. Service Dogs Can Be Any Color, Size or Breed
There's nothing that says Service Dogs can only be Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers or German Shepherds. While those 3 breeds are some of the most commonly seen Service Dogs, absolutely any dog with the proper temperament, good health and structure, and the physical capability to do the job their person needs them to do (as an example, a 30 pound dog cannot do brace and mobility support work) can be a Service Dog, regardless of color, size or breed.
2. Service Dogs Come In Multiple Varieties
Everyone knows what guide dogs are, and most people have heard of hearing dogs. People often know immediately that a dog wearing a special harness and partnered with an individual in a wheelchair is a Service Dog, although they may not know exactly what that dog does for its person. However, there are well over a dozen distinct varieties of Service Dogs, including, but not limited to:

Allergy Alert Dogs

Autism Assistance Dogs

Brace and Mobility Support Dogs

Emergency Medical Response Dogs

Diabetic Alert Dogs

Hearing Dogs

Guide Dogs

Medical Alert Dogs

Medical Assistance Dogs

Medical Response Dogs

Psychiatric Service Dogs

Seizure Alert Dogs

Seizure Assistance Dogs

Seizure Response Dogs

Visual Assistance Dogs

Wheelchair Assistance Dogs

3. Service Dogs Aren't Just For Emotional Support
Service Dogs don't just offer companionship and emotional support to their people. In fact, any dog that does that and only that isn't a Service Dog - it's an Emotional Support Dog. In order to be a Service Dog, a dog has to possess specialized training that mitigates some part of their handler's disability. It can't be a behavior the dog offers naturally, either, since that isn't a trained behavior. It must be a specific, predictable behavior tied to a cue or trigger that the dog performs reliably in order to be considered trained task work.
4. Service Dogs Perform Specialized Work and Tasks For Their Person
Service Dogs possess specialized training that mitigates their person's disability. Depending on the type of Service Dog, the dog may have anywhere from 3 to a dozen different tasks or even more! Some examples of Service Dog tasks include:

Retrieving Dropped Items

Opening and Closing Doors

Turning Lights On and Off

Pulling Wheelchair Up a Slope

Waking Someone With PTSD From a Nightmare

Licking a Seizing Person to Help End the Seizure Via Tactile Stimulation

Burrowing Under the Legs of a Person With POTS to Help Raise Their Blood Pressure

Alerting a Diabetic to Dangerous Shifts in Blood Sugar

Bracing an Unsteady or Unbalanced Handler

5. Service Dog Handlers May Not Be Visibly Disabled
Lots of disabilities aren't visible, including neurological disorders, psychiatric illnesses, diabetes and hearing loss. A person partnered with a Service Dog who doesn't appear to have a visible disability still has a right to their Service Dog, and to not be questioned about their private medical history or diagnoses. A common question asked of people with invisible disabilities is "Are you training her for someone?" If the answer is, "No, she's for me," then it's polite to not inquire further unless the handler clearly welcomes additional inquiries or offers additional information.
6. Service Dogs Aren't Allowed "Everywhere"
Legally, Service Dogs don't have public access rights. Their handler, who must have a disability in order to be partnered with a Service Dog, has the right to access " places of public accommodation " with their Service Dog. There is a difference - it's the person with rights, not the dog. The person has the right to not be discriminated against based on the fact they have a Service Dog. However, having a Service Dog does not magically grant a handler access to places where members of the public aren't allowed. Exceptions to "everywhere" include churches and other places of worship, private/exclusive clubs, certain areas of zoos, aquariums and refuges where the dog's presence could cause danger or stress to the animals within, and places where other people can be excluded, like MRI rooms and radiology, sterile laboratories or factory floors, and the ICU, cardiac and burn units.
7. Service Dog Handlers Can Only Be Asked Two Questions
When in a business or place of public accommodation, if it isn't readily apparent that a dog is a Service Dog, the employees or person in charge may only ask two questions of the team:

1. Is the animal required because of a disability? (This often takes the form of "Is that a Service Dog?")

2. What work or tasks has the dog been trained to perform? (This often takes the form of "What does the dog do for you?")

8. Service Dogs Aren't Required To Wear Gear
In the United States, there is no required gear for Service Dogs. A Service Dog is a Service Dog regardless of what they are or are not wearing, and their handlers possess the exact same access rights with or without their dog in gear. Vests, harnesses and jackets are very commonly seen on working Service Dog teams, but by law, the dog isn't required to wear anything in order to work in public.
9. Service Dogs Aren't Required To Have "Paperwork"
There is no required documentation, registration, certification or paperwork required in order for a dog to be a Service Dog. All of the above is strictly optional, and while offered by many Service Dog programs, it is not necessary by law. A Service Dog team does not have to provide proof of Service Dog status. If their legitimacy is in doubt, the dog's outstanding behavior and obvious training, combined with the handler's answers to the questions "Is that a Service Animal?" and "What tasks is your Service Animal trained to perform for you?" should solve the access challenge promptly.
10. Service Dogs Should Have Excellent Manners and Obvious Training
Service Dogs in public should never be obtrusive, rude, disorderly or out of control. In fact, if a dog is any of the above, and the handler is not taking appropriate action to rectify the issue, the business or place of public accommodation may ask the handler to remove the dog and return for services alone. People with a disability have a right to have their Service Dog with them, but businesses and other places where Service Dogs are allowed have a right to not have their day to day operations interrupted by a dog who isn't ready or who shouldn't be working in public.

Keagen J. Grace CPDT-KA, CTDI is freelance writer, graphic and web designer who specializes in training professional working K-9s. She is widely published in a variety of venues and actively competes in several canine sports. Fun fact: all of her personal dogs possess more titles than they have letters in their name!

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National Service Dog Month: 10 Little Known Facts About Service Dogs

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National Service Dog Month is all about honoring the hardworking dogs (and the people who helped them become all that they are) that serve individuals with disabilities of all kinds, including physical, mental and developmental disabilities.

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The canines involved in search and rescue missions are heroic dogs that optimize their natural abilities to help distressed people.

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Search and rescue dogs are awesome because when disaster strikes, they don't hesitate to risk their lives for the sake of others. Special training makes search and rescue dogs valuable assets in rescue efforts such as wilderness tracking and locating missing people resulting in thousands of human lives being saved every year. These adorable heroes deserve some attention and we're going to give it to them. These are 25 Facts About Search And Rescue Dogs You'll Want To Know.

Lists Going Viral Right Now

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25 Facts About Search And Rescue Dogs You'll Want To Know

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Search and rescue dogs are awesome because when disaster strikes, they don't hesitate to risk their lives for the sake of others. Special training makes search and rescue dogs valuable assets in rescue efforts such as wilderness tracking and locating missing people resulting in thousands of human lives being saved every year.

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Any of the Books Along the Dry Erase Board

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Any of the Books Along the Dry Erase Board

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The fact that Twitter, the social networking and microblogging site which enables users to send 'tweets' or 140 character messages to their followers is popular, is no secret. However so far the service was being used only by humans. Now it appears that some sharks that frequent the coastal regions of Western Australia have also joined the fray.

But before your imagination runs wild, these fish are not swimming around with mobile phones and using their fins to type messages. Rather, over 330 of them have been tagged with electronic devices that remotely send out a tweet through Surf Life Saving Western Australia's Twitter account, if they get to within a kilometer of a local beach.

Besides warning them about the presence of the shark, the tweet also provides details on its size and location. it is hoped that this instant information will give swimmers and surfers enough time to steer away and avoid a confrontation.

Though this a great first step to helping both fish and humans, the researchers caution residents from getting too complacent. That's because only a small number of sharks have been tagged and the electronic devices only send out signals when they are within a specific radius.

Besides using the sensors to help against attacks, the researchers are also hoping to gain more insight into shark behavior and movements, with the help of an extensive network of monitors that have been placed on the seabed around the coastline.

Though Western Australia is considered to be the most dangerous in the world for shark attacks, the numbers are actually quite small. In 2012, the area recorded just 14 attacks and only a total of 64 fatal ones have been recorded worldwide, since 2001. However, the perception and fear of the fish is so high that measures like this are deemed necessary, to provide residents some comfort.

In addition, conservationists are also hoping that it will help save the fish whose numbers are already greatly reduced, thanks to human activity. That's because a recently passed Australian law allows professional fishermen to kill sharks that are larger than three meters, if they appear in certain zones. As if that is not bad enough, the law also stipulates that sharks that come close to the beach in the summer can be baited to locations one kilometer offshore, and killed. Hopefully the 'tweeting' sensors that will last for a decade before requiring replacement, will help prevent unnecessary killings.

Resources: thespec.com, bbc.co.uk, npr.com

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In Western Australia Even Sharks Send Out 'Tweets'!

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The fact that Twitter, the social networking and microblogging site which enables users to send 'tweets' or 140 character messages to their followers is popular, is no secret. However so far the service was being used only by humans. Now it appears that some sharks that frequent the coastal regions of Western Australia have also joined the fray.

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The Iditarod is a dog sled race that begins the first Saturday in March each year in Alaska. In this race mushers (dog sled drivers) force their dogs to run 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome in 8 to 16 days over a grueling terrain. This is the approximate distance between New York City and Miami. Mushers press their dogs to run at ever increasing speeds, so that the dogs get little rest or sleep. Mitch Seavey holds the speed record of 8 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes and 13 seconds. This is less than half the time it took to run the first Iditarod race. No dog wants to run so far or so fast, or can do it without enduring great suffering.

At times, Iditarod has been described as an exciting contest of man against nature. These descriptions do not tell us about the dogs' untold suffering. Dog deaths and injuries are common in the Iditarod, and when they are not racing, the dogs live under inhumane conditions.

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The Iditarod is a dog sled race that begins the first Saturday in March each year in Alaska. In this race mushers (dog sled drivers) force their dogs to run 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome in 8 to 16 days over a grueling terrain.

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Go! Dog Go! (Blue Houghton Mifflin Book Page 54-57)

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Surf dog Ricochet grants Make-A-Wish for Caleb