The Love Bugs in their Service Dog in Training Harnesses

The Love Bug puppies are two weeks old today, and they’re wearing their tiny service dog in training harnesses!

Why are these puppies already wearing harnesses when they’re too young to go out in public? We start teaching all of our pups to wear the harness when they’re just a few weeks old to help prevent them from developing harness sensitivity. When they’re older, they’ll wear a harness every time they go out in public with their raisers and later their partners. We want our dogs to be completely comfortable wearing it while they work.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service dogs are not required to wear a harness that identifies them as a service dog. However, we require all of our dogs in training to wear our harness and we highly recommend that our partners have their service dog wear one. Why do we do that? Even though it’s not required by law, the harness makes it clear to the public that the dog is a service dog in training or a working service dog. It’s a clear signal to others that the dog is working and they shouldn’t interfere with them, although there is still much education to be done around service dog etiquette. (Please note that the ADA does not cover service dogs in training. However, in Pennsylvania, trainers and dogs in training are given the same access as working service dog teams.)

When working service dogs wear a service dog harness, it also reduces the likelihood that a business will challenge the person’s right to be there with their service dog, making it easier for our partners to go about their lives. The ADA gives people public access with their service dogs, which means they and their service dog can go any place that’s open to the public. This includes restaurants, grocery stores, movie theaters, and more. We want our service dogs to make people’s lives easier, not more challenging. 

So all of our dogs, like the Love Bugs, start wearing harnesses when they’re still tiny puppies. It’s one small step in their service dog training. And as you can see in the photo above, the puppies are already getting very comfortable in their harnesses!

If you’d like to learn more about the service dog law, you can read the service dog section of the ADA, as well as these FAQs aboutservice dogs and the ADA.