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Welcome to Obedience Unleashed

Guide and Service Dog Assessments

Effective April 1, 2024 Obedience Unleashed will be coordinating Guide and Service Dog Assessments in BC, on behalf of the Security Programs Division | Ministry of Public Safety & Solicitor General.  

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Frequently Asked Questions

Certification Program History

Recognizing the great demand for Guide and Service Dogs in BC, the BC Government pioneered and launched a Guide & Service Dog Certification program in January 2016.

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 This program allows dogs that have not been trained by an ADI or IGDF accredited organization to apply for and take a standardized public access test with a Certified Validator in order to be certified as a Guide and/or Service Dog in BC. Several other provinces, including Alberta and Nova Scotia have adopted the testing standard as well. Here is a link to the BC Government News Release of the Guide & Service Dog Certification Program.

How to apply for certification

All privately trained canine teams must submit the following documents to Security Programs (Ministry of Public Safety & Solicitor General) in order to take the certification assessment offered by Obedience Unleashed Dog Training Inc.

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– A completed Application for a Guide and Service Dog Certificate. 

– A Medical Form Confirming Requirement for Guide Dog or Service, completed by a B.C. Physician or nurse practitioner. 

– Written confirmation from a B.C. veterinarian that the dog has been spayed or neutered. 

– A passport size and quality photograph of the applicant. 

For a full description of the BC Government Service Dog Certification program and Certification test click HERE.

Example of a Certificate iD card

As of April 12, 2016 the current guide dog and service dog certificates will be upgraded with new security enhanced ID Cards

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Obedience Unleashed involvement 

 Andy Krzus (Obedience Unleashed Dog Training Inc.) was contracted by the Ministry of Justice in 2015 to assist in writing the Certification Test and hiring/training the program validators. Effective April 1, 2024, Obedience Unleashed will be coordinating the Guide & Service Dog Assessments.

The Assessment

The certification test consists of 40 exercises and assesses whether a dog demonstrates the high standard of training required of guide and service dogs. The team must pass all of the exercises in the assessment. The cost is $200.

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The guide and service dog  assessment administered by Validators assesses whether a dog demonstrates the high standard of training required of guide and service dogs . It also evaluates if:

  • The handler has control over the dog
  • The dog is safe to be in public
  • The dog is calm, stable and reliable in situations commonly encountered by dog and handler teams.

Assessments are performed while the dog is on-leash. An occasional tight leash is acceptable. However, a dog is not ready for an assessment if it displays behaviour requiring major restraint or a continuously tight leash to perform a task (unless the tight leash is required for mobility limitations). Only regular collars are acceptable. Correction collars such as pinch collars will not be accepted.

The assessor will follow the team but will communicate only when required as a part of an assessed task. The team must pass all 40 tasks in the Assesment to be certified. You are welcome to view the assessment here

 

Available testing locations

There are validators available to perform tests in Prince George, Kamloops, Langley, Coquitlam, Creston, Castlegar, Trail, Cranbrook Nelson, Victoria and Nanaimo

Program contact info

For any questions regarding the Service Dog Certification program please contact the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General – Guide & Service Dog Program. Tel. 1-855-857-0185 Option 5 or Email guideandservicedogs@gov.bc.ca

other support animals

Therapy Animals and Emotional Support Animals, including dogs, are not eligible for certification through the Guide & Service Dog Program

Visitors to BC

Certification is voluntary. Valid service dogs exist outside the BC Certification program and are protected under the BC Human Rights Code

Sample Video of a service dog assessment

Video coming soon

The assessment consists of 40 exercises and tests whether the dog/handler demonstrates a high standard of training. 

Meet the Validator team

Andy

Andy

Validator - Lower Mainland

Marie

Marie

Office Manager

Trever

Trever

Validator - Lower Mainland

Rob

Rob

Validator - Vancouver Island

David

David

Validator - Vancouver Island

Daymon

Daymon

Validator - Kamloops

Diana

Diana

Validator - Kootenay / Interior

Victoria

Victoria

Validator - Northern BC

Richard

Richard

Validator - Lower Mainland

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