About Us

• A service dog is a dog specifically trained to perform work for a person with a disability.
• Service dogs are valued working partners and companions to over 80 million Americans.
• Common service dog breeds include German Shepherd Dogs, Labs, and Golden Retrievers.

Our dogs are integral to our daily lives.  They follow our commands, work with us in various capacities, and act as faithful companions.  Dog ownership has increased dramatically over the last 100 years, and today, dogs as companions and working partners are valued by more than 80 million U.S. owners.  

Studies have shown that dogs provide health benefits, and can increase fitness, lower stress, and improve happiness. Service dogs have these abilities, combined with training to perform specific tasks for individuals with disabilities. During the last decade, the use of service dogs has rapidly expanded.   

As service dogs have become more commonplace, however, so too have problems that can result from a lack of understanding about service dog training, working functions, and access to public facilities.  In response, AKC Government Relations is working with members of Congress, regulatory agencies, leading service dog trainers and providers, and transportation/hospitality industry groups to find ways to address these issues.  

The benefits service dogs can provide also continue to expand.  In the 1920s, a service dog was typically a guide dog, assisting an individual with a visual or hearing disability. German Shepherd Dogs were commonly used as guide dogs. Today, service dogs are trained from among many different breeds and perform a variety of tasks to assist disabled individuals.

A service dog helps a person with a disability lead a more independent life. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service dog is “a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.”   

“Disability” is defined by the ADA as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, including people with history of such an impairment, and people perceived by others as having such an impairment. The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. 

A service dog is trained to take a specific action that helps mitigate an individual’s disability. The task the dog performs is directly related to their person’s disability.  

For example, guide dogs help blind and visually impaired individuals navigate their environments. Hearing dogs help alert deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to important sounds. Mobility dogs assist individuals who use wheelchairs or walking devices or who have balance issues.  Medical alert dogs might also signal the onset of a medical issue such as a seizure or low blood sugar, alert the user to the presence of allergens, and myriad other functions.   

Psychiatric service dogs assist individuals with disabilities such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, post–traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and other conditions.  Examples of work performed by psychiatric service dogs could include entering a dark room and turning on a light to mitigate stress-inducing condition, interrupting repetitive behaviors, and reminding a person to take medication.   

The ADA considers service dogs to be primarily working animals that are not considered pets.