How to Train Your Chihuahua Dog to Be a Service Dog

The traditional service dog you may have pictured in your mind is a Labrador or German shepherd guiding a blind person so they can navigate safely. But in reality, service dogs come in all different shapes and sizes, and perform all kinds of different tasks for people with disabilities, even Chihuahuas! 

There is occasionally some confusion regarding service dogs versus therapy dogs; a service dog is registered under federal law, after demonstrating adherence to standards and being certified. A service dog performs a certain task for a disabled person, such as services to help hearing or visually impaired people successfully function, manipulating objects for people with mobility disorders, or alerting people with diabetes, PTSD or epilepsy to dangerous or debilitating episodes specific to their condition. A therapy dog, on the other hand, provides companionship and helps alleviate symptoms of emotional or psychiatric conditions. 

Chihuahuas often fall in the category of therapy dogs but many Chihuahuas are certified service dogs, trained to perform tasks for disabled persons. Any dog can be a service dog regardless of size or breed, they just need the right temperament and ability. Chihuahuas are intelligent, tend to be loyal to one person, and can easily live in small apartments without difficulty, which makes them excellent candidates as service dogs in certain situations.

In order to be certified, a service dog must demonstrate several behaviors in addition to their tasking behavior, that is the task or tasks they perform in order to assist a disabled person. General public access behaviors necessary for service dogs to learn include not being aggressive, relieving themselves on command, not investigating or sniffing, not seeking food or affection, and being calm and not demonstrating excitement or hyper behavior. A dog that is capable of learning these behaviors will need to have a well-socialized personality, be of a calm disposition, and highly trainable. Service dogs that can demonstrate public access behaviors can then learn specific tasks to aid people such as:

• Alerting a hearing-impaired person to sounds.
  
• Alerting a visually impaired person to people and things in their environment.
  
• Fetching objects for someone who is mobility impaired.
  
• Alerting a diabetic person to dangerous fluctuations in blood sugar, obtaining medical supplies or getting help.
  
• Alerting a person with epilepsy to an imminent seizure or obtaining help by signaling emergency services.
  
• Alerting someone with anxiety or PTSD to an imminent attack, getting help, or providing deep pressure therapy during an attack. 
  
• Reminding people with mental impairments to take medications.
  

There are many services a service dog can render, and although some, such as providing physical support, require a large dog, most can be performed by even a small dog like a Chihuahua, providing the correct training is provided.

Although any size or breed of dog can be a service dog, not any dog will do.  A service dog needs to be adaptable, sociable but calm, and trainable. Selecting a Chihuahua with the right temperament is important; a nervous or hyper dog will not make a good service dog. A variety of training methods, including positive reinforcement with treats and capturing behavior with the clicker method are used to train service dogs. Service dogs in training are often given vests to identify them as such, to discourage passersby from engaging with the dog and give the dog more public access during training.