dturm wrote:
I'm curious, how many (what percentage) flunk out of real service dog training? The only experience I've had with them is providing vet services when needed.
Since being teamed up with a service dog, I’ve read and been told that about one out of four ultimately succeeds in training. So three out of four flunk out. Some organizations say four out of five.
Some become “career change” Dogs like my Lab - she was whelped by Guide Dogs for the Blind but had a tiny, breed-typical cataract, so was eliminated from working as a guide dog. The organization offered her (as they often do) to Dogs for the Deaf where she was trained to be a Hearing Dog. I take her to the ophthalmology vet every year, through the ACVO free exam program for service dogs, to monitor the cataract.
Others that don’t make the cut for various reasons are offered for adoption as pets. Some organizations give the puppy raiser right of first refusal.
