Committed Canine

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/22) */
We can empathize with the angst the Consumer felt when he was told that his dog's level of aggression was inappropriate for a classroom situationHowever, it is our responsibility to ensure the safety of every student and staff member who is
present during our classesA number of students noticed the aggressive nature the Consumer's dog and you will find their specific accounts belowWhen the dog bit the Instructor, we realized that we were lucky that other students were not injuredFor that reason, the Consumer was asked to remove the dog from classIt did not meet the published description of an appropriate Service Dog In Training
Given his disability, we wanted to accommodate the Consumer's desire to partner with a Service dogHowever, it is our professional opinion, based on over a decade of working with dogs of all types, including rehabilitation of anti-social and aggressive dogs, that this dog should not function as a Service DogBecause his dog was not suited for the classroom situation, we offered the Consumer the option of transferring his tuition to a future class with another, more suitable dog
Details: The Consumer arrived for Service Dog classThere were student handlers and their family members in attendanceThere were two instructorsDuring the practical work in the afternoon of the first day, the Consumer's dog continually triggered on the other dogs and people in the class, and although Instructor was able to demonstrate with the dog how to utilize calm, relaxed, confident energy to reduce the need for intense corrections, the Consumer was never successful at helping the dog reach a state of self-restraintHe jerked and pulled on the dog repeatedly, using the prong collar which was on the dog when he arrivedThe other two handlers were able to move thru the exercises successfully, but the Consumer's dog remained aggressive
On Day Two, the Consumer arrived an hour earlyHe was informed that he would receive one-on-one instruction away from the other students in order to help move the dog to an acceptable level of self-controlAs they discussed the methods, Instructor agreed to show a techniqueThe Consumer handed the Instructor the dog's leashAs the Instructor moved away, the dog balked and without warning the dog lunged and bit the Instructor, fast and hard around the wristIn response, and in self-defense, the Instructor lifted the leash upwards to correct the dog and get him to release his gripOnce that happened, the Instructor handed the dog's leash to the Consumer
Shortly thereafter, Instructor arrived to the buildingShe was unaware of the bite or anything else that may have transpiredAt that time, that dog lunged and barked at her while the Consumer struggled to hold himInstructor explained that the dog's behavior was unacceptable, but the Consumer was unable to make the dog stop lungingThe level of aggression the dog presented was a threat to others in the class, most specifically because the Consumer was unable to control the dogThe Consumer did not argue that pointHe remained calm and agreed with the assessmentInstructor explained that Service Dogs must be held to a higher standard because they will be out in public and that regardless of what you say or do, people will enter your dog's personal space, they will reach to touch it and they will even bend down towards the dog's faceThe Consumer appeared to understandHe was told that the classroom venue was not suitable to address his dog's issuesHe gathered his things and left the building
Our website states: The dog must not have any significant social issues such as fear or dominant aggressive behaviors, excessive shyness, high prey drive / desire to chase or kill small animals
The dog did not meet that definitionWe offered to transfer the Consumer's class fee to a future TEACH class date with a different dog that is better suited to Service Dog workHowever, we do not offer cash refunds
Students /family members were asked to provide an opinion about the dog's behavior
Witness #
I was at the T.E.A.C.Hclass from Dec5-7, On Dec5th, there were three participants along with their family membersI had the opportunity to observe another participant named xxx with his dog xxx at this classThe dog seemed very exuberant and on many occasions in a defensive mannerFor example, when asked to sit, he would sit facing behind his owner like he was on look outThis made many of the participants nervous but the Instructors handled it very wellOn many occasions I saw the dog drag his owner who had to forcibly restrain him from just taking offI appreciated the Instructor's quick decision makingMy son attending the class is disabled and we needed a safe environment for him to learn to work with his service dogWhen we came in the second day we were informed that xxx and his dog would not be continuingI noticed a large bandage on the Instructor's wrist that was clearly bleeding, they let us know that the dog had bitten the instructor
Working with disabled people learning to work with a service dog is not an easy taskThere are many things to consider from the health of the participant to the abilities of the dog and everything in between*** and *** have put together an amazing program in which we can come, learn and be safeWe appreciate their professionalism at all times and their ability to adapt to different kinds of disabilities and situations with respect
Witness #
To Whom It May Concern,
I would just say the dog seemed loud and uncontrollableAnd definitely seemed aggressive during the exercise with the noodles
Witness #
I was uncomfortable from the beginning of class due to the level of out of control behavior and lack of owner being able to stop it, with many overly-aggressive but ineffective attemptsAfter the dog bit the professional handler who rehabilitates dogs for a living, I would not have felt safe with the dog and owner at the table behind me, interacting with the dog, or with asking my service dog in training to do so (as required in training activities)Having worked as a professional social worker with other VietNam, Korean, and OEF/OIF war veterans and others with PTSD with service dogs, I firmly believe in their capacity to work well together toward safety and healing, but have also seen where unsafe dogs with owners too unable to safely control them have ended up in human and dog injury, dogs being euthanized, and human incarcerationI hope that xxx will consider the alternative ways that he might be able to get help to find and manage a safe service dog and also human support in the future
On 12/17/we had a surprise inspection from the Illinois Department of AgricultureWe hold a kennel license to conduct our business, and we are typically inspected annuallyThe Inspector informed us that a complaint had been logged against usWe explained what had transpiredThe Inspector took photos of our facility and of the bite woundWe passed the inspection without any issuesSince we have had our kennel license (2003), we have never failed an inspection or had any outstanding issues which required re-inspection
Regarding the accusations that his dog was injured during its training, please note that the consumer arrived for training with a prong collar on his dog which he was using improperly in our professional opinionIt is wholly possible (and probable) that any injury that his dog sustained was dealt by the Consumer's hand, as he handled the dog significantly more than the InstructorThe Consumer's treatment of his dog was abusive (and others in the class saw that and reported it in their statements)
Regarding his comments about the cats in the classroom; there was one adult cat and four kittens (about months old) in the training building during the classThere were two additional adult cats outdoorsThe fact that he saw over felines causes one to pause about what else he exaggerated or that he was unable to see clearly
We operate our services at our fifty acre working ranch and that information is provided to students via our websiteService Dogs must learn to refrain from triggering on all sorts of distractions like squirrels, small children, other dogs, people, vehicles, kids on skateboards, bicycles and catsWe have a clear intention for training in the presence of catsThere is a sign on the training building door that states "we train with cats" so that nobody is caught off guard when entering the building
As far as vaccinations, we are in compliance with state and county laws regarding the vaccination of animals on our propertyWe are inspected by the Illinois Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare, so that information is auditedAs mentioned above, we have

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/22) */
We can empathize with the angst the Consumer felt when he was told that his dog's level of aggression was inappropriate for a classroom situation However, it is our responsibility to ensure the safety of every student and staff member who is
present during our classes A number of students noticed the aggressive nature the Consumer's dog and you will find their specific accounts below When the dog bit the Instructor, we realized that we were lucky that other students were not injured For that reason, the Consumer was asked to remove the dog from class It did not meet the published description of an appropriate Service Dog In Training
Given his disability, we wanted to accommodate the Consumer's desire to partner with a Service dog However, it is our professional opinion, based on over a decade of working with dogs of all types, including rehabilitation of anti-social and aggressive dogs, that this dog should not function as a Service Dog Because his dog was not suited for the classroom situation, we offered the Consumer the option of transferring his tuition to a future class with another, more suitable dog
Details: The Consumer arrived for Service Dog class There were student handlers and their family members in attendance There were two instructors During the practical work in the afternoon of the first day, the Consumer's dog continually triggered on the other dogs and people in the class, and although Instructor was able to demonstrate with the dog how to utilize calm, relaxed, confident energy to reduce the need for intense corrections, the Consumer was never successful at helping the dog reach a state of self-restraint He jerked and pulled on the dog repeatedly, using the prong collar which was on the dog when he arrived The other two handlers were able to move thru the exercises successfully, but the Consumer's dog remained aggressive
On Day Two, the Consumer arrived an hour early He was informed that he would receive one-on-one instruction away from the other students in order to help move the dog to an acceptable level of self-control As they discussed the methods, Instructor agreed to show a technique The Consumer handed the Instructor the dog's leash As the Instructor moved away, the dog balked and without warning the dog lunged and bit the Instructor, fast and hard around the wrist In response, and in self-defense, the Instructor lifted the leash upwards to correct the dog and get him to release his grip Once that happened, the Instructor handed the dog's leash to the Consumer
Shortly thereafter, Instructor arrived to the building She was unaware of the bite or anything else that may have transpired At that time, that dog lunged and barked at her while the Consumer struggled to hold him Instructor explained that the dog's behavior was unacceptable, but the Consumer was unable to make the dog stop lunging The level of aggression the dog presented was a threat to others in the class, most specifically because the Consumer was unable to control the dog The Consumer did not argue that point He remained calm and agreed with the assessment Instructor explained that Service Dogs must be held to a higher standard because they will be out in public and that regardless of what you say or do, people will enter your dog's personal space, they will reach to touch it and they will even bend down towards the dog's face The Consumer appeared to understand He was told that the classroom venue was not suitable to address his dog's issues He gathered his things and left the building
Our website states: The dog must not have any significant social issues such as fear or dominant aggressive behaviors, excessive shyness, high prey drive / desire to chase or kill small animals
The dog did not meet that definition We offered to transfer the Consumer's class fee to a future TEACH class date with a different dog that is better suited to Service Dog work However, we do not offer cash refunds
Students /family members were asked to provide an opinion about the dog's behavior
Witness #
I was at the T.E.A.C.Hclass from Dec5-7, On Dec5th, there were three participants along with their family membersI had the opportunity to observe another participant named xxx with his dog xxx at this classThe dog seemed very exuberant and on many occasions in a defensive mannerFor example, when asked to sit, he would sit facing behind his owner like he was on look outThis made many of the participants nervous but the Instructors handled it very wellOn many occasions I saw the dog drag his owner who had to forcibly restrain him from just taking offI appreciated the Instructor's quick decision makingMy son attending the class is disabled and we needed a safe environment for him to learn to work with his service dog When we came in the second day we were informed that xxx and his dog would not be continuingI noticed a large bandage on the Instructor's wrist that was clearly bleeding, they let us know that the dog had bitten the instructor
Working with disabled people learning to work with a service dog is not an easy taskThere are many things to consider from the health of the participant to the abilities of the dog and everything in between*** and *** have put together an amazing program in which we can come, learn and be safeWe appreciate their professionalism at all times and their ability to adapt to different kinds of disabilities and situations with respect
Witness #
To Whom It May Concern,
I would just say the dog seemed loud and uncontrollableAnd definitely seemed aggressive during the exercise with the noodles
Witness #
I was uncomfortable from the beginning of class due to the level of out of control behavior and lack of owner being able to stop it, with many overly-aggressive but ineffective attemptsAfter the dog bit the professional handler who rehabilitates dogs for a living, I would not have felt safe with the dog and owner at the table behind me, interacting with the dog, or with asking my service dog in training to do so (as required in training activities)Having worked as a professional social worker with other VietNam, Korean, and OEF/OIF war veterans and others with PTSD with service dogs, I firmly believe in their capacity to work well together toward safety and healing, but have also seen where unsafe dogs with owners too unable to safely control them have ended up in human and dog injury, dogs being euthanized, and human incarcerationI hope that xxx will consider the alternative ways that he might be able to get help to find and manage a safe service dog and also human support in the future
On 12/17/we had a surprise inspection from the Illinois Department of Agriculture We hold a kennel license to conduct our business, and we are typically inspected annually The Inspector informed us that a complaint had been logged against us We explained what had transpired The Inspector took photos of our facility and of the bite wound We passed the inspection without any issues Since we have had our kennel license (2003), we have never failed an inspection or had any outstanding issues which required re-inspection
Regarding the accusations that his dog was injured during its training, please note that the consumer arrived for training with a prong collar on his dog which he was using improperly in our professional opinion It is wholly possible (and probable) that any injury that his dog sustained was dealt by the Consumer's hand, as he handled the dog significantly more than the Instructor The Consumer's treatment of his dog was abusive (and others in the class saw that and reported it in their statements)
Regarding his comments about the cats in the classroom; there was one adult cat and four kittens (about months old) in the training building during the class There were two additional adult cats outdoors The fact that he saw over felines causes one to pause about what else he exaggerated or that he was unable to see clearly
We operate our services at our fifty acre working ranch and that information is provided to students via our website Service Dogs must learn to refrain from triggering on all sorts of distractions like squirrels, small children, other dogs, people, vehicles, kids on skateboards, bicycles and cats We have a clear intention for training in the presence of cats There is a sign on the training building door that states "we train with cats" so that nobody is caught off guard when entering the building
As far as vaccinations, we are in compliance with state and county laws regarding the vaccination of animals on our property We are inspected by the Illinois Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare, so that information is audited As mentioned above, we have