Am I Allowed to Have a Pet with Your Service Dogs?

Yes, you can have other dogs (or pets) with a service dog. Allowing other pets in the home is another major difference between Total K9 Focus and other service dog training companies. The reason many companies don’t permit this is, they don’t know how to make it work. We do. It’s not even complicated but elusive for trainers stuck in a 1950s behaviorist mindset.

A Different Service Dog Transition Process

Having other pets in the home requires a different transition approach. With our program, you have multiple home visits for your dog, each with a different focus. During the initial visits, we will ask you not to let your other pets interact with your service dog in training. However, that will ease as we move through the process, and all animals live together in harmony. Your service dog will be bonded to you instead of your other pets.

Other pets only change HOW the transfer of the service dog into your home is structured. That’s the only difference.

Your dog and you have to become a harmonious team. You have to form the right kind of relationship. Once the connection is where it needs to be, your dog will not seek out other pets over its person. That doesn’t mean your service dog can’t or won’t be able to play with other dogs. At the right time, they absolutely can. It’s just about doing it the correct way. That makes all the difference and allows for it.

The risk is your dog could bond more with other pets than you, when the process is not structured correctly. But with the correct approach, it’s not a problem. Most things don’t work well if you do them incorrectly.

Relationship Basics

Relationships between animals and people are not different from inter-human relationships. Once you have developed a great relationship with someone, other relationships you may have with other people don’t take away from that. The friends you enjoy playing with the most don’t lose their status just because you also have other friends you do other things with. This is the same here. Once you and your service dog have formed the right kind of relationship, playing with another dog in the home here and there is not a problem. In fact, it is actually helpful to have this outlet. It makes it even easier for your dog to ignore other animals when it is at work.