SDTSI Public Access Test quality assurance begins with the person who evaluates your Service Dog’s skills and behavior. This evaluation service is backed by more than a decade of SDTSI’s expertise in Service Dog education. We want to help guide you on how best to qualify your dogs’ ability to peacefully and happily accompany you wherever you go.
Find the complete test content in the Syllabus below.
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A service dog public access test (PAT) is a standardized assessment designed to evaluate the behavior, temperament, and obedience of a service dog in various public settings. The test is typically conducted by a certified service dog trainer or organization, and it aims to ensure that service dogs are well-trained and able to safely and effectively assist their handlers in public spaces.
1. Remain calm and focused on their handler, even in the presence of distractions.
2. Walk on a loose leash without pulling, lunging, or straining against the handler.
3. Sit, lie down, and stay on command, as well as maintain these positions until released.
4. Come when called.
5. Behave politely around other people and animals, without exhibiting aggression, excessive fear, or unruliness.
6. Navigate various public spaces, such as stores, restaurants, and public transportation, without causing disruptions or disturbances.
7. Respond appropriately to their handler's disability-specific commands and cues.
No, the Service Dog Public Access Test (PAT) certification and the Service Dog Certificate are not the same thing, although they are related.
The Service Dog Public Access Test is an assessment that evaluates a service dog's ability to behave properly and work effectively in public settings. This test typically covers obedience, temperament, and the dog's ability to perform specific tasks related to assisting their handler.
A Service Dog Certificate, on the other hand, is a document that indicates a dog has been trained as a service dog and is a working partner to their handler, who has a disability.
Please be aware that SDTSI's PAT training is incorporated into all of our online service dog training courses. Upon successfully completing all the assignments, including the PAT test, we will issue you a certificate for completed service dog training.
You will be so proud of your canine partner for being an exemplary model of how dogs can be well-behaved when they are well-trained!
This test is used to assess a dog's suitability within the public area. The bottom line of this test is that the dog demonstrates that he/she is safe to be in public and that the person demonstrates that he/she has control of the dog at all times.
The SDTSI public access test consists of a series of scenarios that simulate real-world situations to test your dog’s mastery of obedience skills. The first chapter includes testing for: 1. Ability to interact with other people and animals; 2. Respecting boundaries and commands; 3. Responding appropriately to distractions; 4. Ability to follow instructions.
Service dogs should be friendly and tolerate strangers. As a service dog team, you should be confident, and respectful and not interfere with the activities of other people. This part of the course is meant to test how your canine interacts with adults, children, and animals.
This chapter is important for assessing general dog behavior around motor vehicles. Transportation is a big part of a service dog team life and your dog is expected to be calm around vehicles. You will be expected to record short video clips that show how your dog copes with a bus, a personal car, and a train/metro.
Entering buildings calmly and exploring them without interacting with other people or animals is a vital skill that your dog should have. We will test how well your dog handles publicly accessible buildings like schools, shops, bakeries, post offices, hospitals, and restaurants. You have to show how your team handles life in the city.
A visit to the restaurant may be a challenge for a dog that has not mastered self-control and for dogs that like to beg for food. We will test how well your dog can exercise self-control and good behavior around food.
Many dogs fear elevators and we recommend that you make your dog accustomed to them from a young age as they are curious and looking to explore their world. We will test how calm and confident your canine is in elevators. Properly trained dogs do not beg for food and do not interfere with the merchandise in shops.
Visiting your local stores is likely to be a daily routine. We will test your dog's self-control and proper public manners around other shop visitors. Misbehaving dogs will be removed from any public setting without regard to their existing certification or not.
Proper toileting will be one of the major training achievements your team will have to work on. Some service dogs can master the "Go potty" command and do their business on cue but others can’t. We will test your dog's toileting habits.
When your dog meets other dogs the most important thing to keep in mind is to let the situation develop naturally. We will test how your dog interacts with other dogs on a leash and off-leash in a play session. Dogs that react poorly to other animals will be considered potentially dangerous and you do not want that label placed on your dog.
At the end of each training session, our tutor team will conduct an online evaluation of your training progress. You will be asked to complete a quiz and submit photos and videos of your dog performing specific tasks and exhibiting proper public behaviors. This method of continual assessment ensures that your personal trainer can consistently monitor your training progress, provide you with assistance throughout the course, and prepare you for final certification and public testing.
All study materials
⊛ 1 videos
⊛ 9 exams
⊛ Certificate upon completion
⊛ Copy of your test for your records
Study and Training Guide
Full Tutor and Admin support
The course fee includes the printable certificate. The digital copy will be sent within 24 hours upon successful course completion.