Autism Service Dogs for Children Part 2

From Service Dog Training

This is the second part of a series on the risks of autism service dogs for young children. Links to other parts of the series:

Introduction: The Lassie Phenomenon

Part 1: Tethering

Search and Rescue

Some autism service dog schools advertise their dogs as being trained in search and rescue, or as being able to track a child who has run away. I find it hard to believe that these schools are providing dogs that are suitably trained in search and rescue because of the high demands associated with SAR training. For instance, to train an air-scenting SAR dog to a level of basic proficiency, it takes a minimum of a year of consistent training with a knowledgeable trainer. Many dogs take more than a year. Basic tracking skills can be taught in a slightly shorter period of time, but that does not address the additional challenges of variable surface tracking over surfaces such as asphalt, concrete, gravel, and grass or the difficulty of teaching tracking in high traffic areas such as shopping malls or large outdoor events. Training a dog to track or trail in high traffic, variable surface areas can take years of intense work with a skilled handler. In addition, both air-scenting and tracking dogs need regular ongoing training to maintain their skills.

If a family needs a dog to reliably locate their child for them, they would need to practice 2-3 times a week without fail to maintain the high level of training that is needed for a life-or-death situation like a missing child. Another issue is the parent or guardian's ability to use a SAR dog proficiently and to maintain this training. Most autism service dog schools spend 7-14 days working with families on all the skills the dog has been taught. This means there is a very limited amount of time available to thoroughly train the parent or guardian in the intricacies of air-scenting or tracking methods and to teach the handler to work effectively with the dog and maintain the dog's training.

In short, a family with a missing child would have a much better chance of success by calling in a professional search dog team instead of wasting valuable time attempting to find the child with a dog whose search and rescue training is very likely not sufficient to search or track in anything but the most basic of environments. I have yet to see an autism service dog with a tracking title or SAR certification, or an autism service dog trainer who has titled dogs in tracking or has significant field experience in canine search and rescue.

Preventing Escapes

Another common task assigned to autism service dogs for children is preventing the child from leaving the home when the child is not being directly supervised. Many parents have found that their child is able to master complex series of locks and get out of the house during the night. Three general uses for the dog are usually given as a solution for this situation. Either the dog would physically block the child from going through the door, the dog would bark to alert caregivers that the child is leaving, or the dog would go with the child to keep him safe. Each of these methods has critical flaws.

A child that has the creativity and initiative to get around door locks and alarms will certainly figure out how to get around a dog attempting to block their exit. The child will learn quickly to throw the dog a treat, tie the dog to a chair, or lock the dog in a closet. There is also the risk that a child that very deeply wants to exit the house may hit or kick the dog to make them move.

Asking a dog to bark to indicate the child is leaving is probably the best of the three possibilities, but it also has many problems. As with the dog physically blocking the door, the child may learn ways to keep the dog from barking by giving it treats or shutting the dog in a room where the barks are less likely to be heard. The child may also learn to sneak past the sleeping dog to get out of the house unnoticed.

The third method, having the dog go with the child to protect him, has absolutely no benefit whatsoever. Autism service dogs are not guide dogs, and children are not trained to work with the dogs as a guide dog handler would work with a dog. An autism service dog alone with the child is unlikely to keep the child out of streets, swimming pools or other hazardous areas as programs indicate the dog will. The majority of autism service dog work is based on the presence of an adult handler to direct and instruct the dog. Without that adult present, the dog receives little or no direction and cannot be expected to perform as a working dog. This method has no benefit above that of the child running off with an untrained pet.

Finally, all three of these methods to prevent or mitigate the effects of escapes from the home have one flaw in common. This can be boiled down to the statement "dogs are dogs." The average dog, regardless of training, has the mental development of a toddler. Expecting a dog to work independently of the handler to restrict the motion of a child means the dog has to choose the reward of work over the reward of whatever else he is doing. If the dog is eating, sleeping, playing, or chewing a bone, it may simply choose to continue doing those things if it perceives the benefit to be greater than working. Now, a well trained dog that enjoys his work will not do this often, however, in a situation where lives are at stake, the dog only has to choose pleasure over work once there to be disastrous consequences. In short, if you would not trust a 3 year old to babysit your child, don't expect a dog to do it either.

--To Be Continued--

--Tiffany Huggard-Lee 09:34, 3 October 2009 (CDT)