Papillons in Service

By Debi Davis

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The Papillon dog can we well-suited for service work. Bred for centuries as a companion dog, the Papillon possesses one of the most important assets of a good service dog: he enjoys spending the majority of time with his human partner. It is the ultimate in human-animal bonding.

A service dog is a dog who has been specially trained to assist a person living with a life-altering disability. The person with a disability who uses a trained service dog is allowed to take the dog with them to nearly all public places, to aid the human partner as needed.

Mobility service dogs are dogs who perform tasks for persons with physical disabilities, such as paraplegia, quadraplegia, Cerebral Palsy, Arthritis, etc. Though larger dogs are required for some tasks, such as providing brace and balance, pulling wheelchairs, opening heavy doors, Papillons are still able to perform the majority of required tasks for an amazing array of disabilities.

This might include picking up objects dropped on the floor, such as pens, hairbrushes, keys or coins. Papillons can also learn to make beds, tug clothing from the dryer, put it in a basket and tug it from room to room. They can tug clothing from their human's body, open and shut doors, drawers and cabinets inside the home, bring the telephone when it rings, shut off the alarm clock, and make the beds. From a lap, a Papillon can activate light switches, press handicap door openers, elevator buttons or hand a change purse to a cashier.

A Hearing Ear or Signal dog is trained to alert their hearing impaired or deaf owners of environmental sounds, and to take them to the source of the sound. This might be a baby crying, someone calling the owner's name, a siren, a smoke detector, the alarm clock, the microwave or the telephone. A Papillon's natural alertness makes him an excellent choice as a hearing dog.

A Seizure Alert dog is one who alerts his owner to impending crises, and responds in a trained way. The person living with a brain disorder, such as Epilepsy, is then given a chance to move to a safe area before an episode happens. These dogs can also be trained to respond by seeking help, or bracing their bodies on their humans, or by aspirating fluids from their mouth during convulsions. It is not known how or why some dogs just naturally seem to be able to detect an oncoming seizure, or change of blood pressure. At this point, most efforts are in shaping specific responses in dogs who are already alerting to seizures.

Psychiatric support dogs are also service dogs, and mitigate their owner's disabilities in many different ways. The person living with agoraphobia, PSTD or panic attacks, for instance, may not have the ability to go out in public alone, but if teamed with a trained support dog, may find it very workable.

Though Papillons are well suited for service work, few are called on to perform this vital work. Large programs which train service dogs for people usually handle larger dogs only, as the programs do not know to whom the dog will live until a match is made once the dog has been trained.

They dog may be needed to pull a wheelchair, open heavy doors, or tasks for which a Papillon is not structurally suited. For this reason, we see many Golden Retrievers, Labs, and German Shepherds coming from larger programs. It's a "one size fits all" thinking.

But smaller programs are beginning to see the value of toy breeds as service dogs. And many individuals have trained their own service dogs to assist them. In this instance, any breed or size of dog who can meet the needs of the owner's specific disability can be chosen.

A steady temperament is imperative for the dog chosen for service work, and not all Papillons will be suitable for the rigors and stress of public work. Socialization work is extremely important for a potential service dog, and exposure to people of all ages, sizes, cultures and nationalities is a "must."

In addition, the service dog candidate must not react to the presence of other dogs, large or small, to cats, squirrels or children running and screaming. A rock-steady temperament comes not only from good genetics, but also thousands of hours of training in public, desensitizing the dog to environmental stress.

A dog may perform tasks beautifully at home, in a known environment, but it takes training and constant exposure for the dog to confidently perform the tasks in a public setting.

If the dog is walking along a busy street with his owner, who drops the keys and has cued the dog to retrieve them, the last thing needed is for that backfiring bus to terrify the dog, sending him into the path of traffic. Likewise, in a park setting, the owner does not want the dog to be barking or lunging at squirrels when the dog is needed to remain alert and attentive to their needs.

Several PCA members are now using Papillon service dogs in their daily lives. Others are training their own dogs, or training with an instructor. It can take up to two years for a dog to be fully trained, even when the dog is of the ideal temperament for the job. But, unlike their larger counterparts, Papillons have a long working life, and can assist their owners into their teens, if sound and healthy, while their larger cousins are often forced into retirement at 6, 7 or 8 years of age.

Service Dog Resources

Service Dog On-line Resources

For those wishing to learn more about service dogs, to find out how to train their own dogs, or just know more about what service dogs do, the following URLS will help:

http://www.deltasociety.org
The Delta Society is the largest service and therapy dog information center in the USA, with articles and information on service dogs in abundance, as well as a list of training facilities.

http://home.worldnet.att.net/~care4k9/
Christy Hill's Assistance Dog website, with terrific links. Excellent information on hearing ear dogs.

http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/service.html
Cindy Tittle-Moore's Frequently Asked Questions page on assistance dogs of all kinds.

http://www.xenosoft.com/dogears/
Fred Cisin's website containing great hearing ear info, training articles, links.

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/cguide.htm
Guide to Federal Disability Rights. This site contains comprehensive summary of following laws:Fair Housing Act, Air Carrier Access Act, Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Rehabilitation Act and Architectural Barriers Act.

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/qasrvc.htm
Department of Justice site with list of Commonly Asked Questions by Businesses on service dog access. This is the handout to carry with you in case of access problems!

http://www.wolfpacks.com/a_dog.htm
"Wolfpacks" website for assistance dog vests, capes, backpacks and equipment. Also great links.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/newsletters/v7n2/7n2hende.htm
Excellent website on assistance dog information, with great info on ADA, DOJ, FHA, and Air Carriers Act. Click on "No Dogs Allowed!". A must-see site!

Email Lists

In addition, there are several email discussion lists for service dog users. Here are a few of them:

Service Dogs

A general list for service dog users around the world. Discussions on training, on access problems, laws and changes.
To subscribe, send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Subject: (leave blank)
In body of message type: subscribe service-dogs

HT-AideDogs

Owner-Trained service dogs, a low-volume discussion list for those training their own dogs by many different methods.
To Subscribe, send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Subject: (leave blank)
In body of message type: subscribe HT-AideDogs [your name] write your first and last name, not your email address where it says [your name]. Do not leave in the []'s. A full name is required for subscription.

OC-Assist-Dogs

http://www.onelist.com
A discussion list for those training their own dogs with clicker training, and without the use of physical punishers.
To subscribe, go to http://www.onelist.com and in the open field, type in OC-Assist-Dogs. You will be contacted for info before being subscribed.

From Lap to Laundry

"From Lap to Laundry: Papillon Service Dogs"

by Debi Davis

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"Mommy, Mommy!" the child squeals, seeing my little 9 pound Papillon fetch the cell phone for me. "Look at that doggie. He wants to talk on the phone!"

Talking on the phone is a behavior I haven't taught him yet--it's up there with cleaning out the toilets and doing the dishes. But it's one of the few things he can't do for me.

I'm a double amputee with vasculitis, and I use a wheelchair for mobility. Because I get dizzy when I bend down, Peek has been trained to do ground-floor chores for me. In the USA, dogs like Peek specifically trained to assist people with disabilities, are granted full access privileges to public facilities, the same as guide dogs assisting their blind owners. Peek is allowed to accompany me into restaurants, stores, in airplane cabins uncrated and even in hospital visits, when I'm an in-patient.

In spite of their diminutive size, Papillons make excellent service dogs. They are alert, enthusiastic about learning, and love nothing more than the opportunity to spend every waking hour with the person they love. It's a good life for my working dog, who embraces his job with great enthusiasm.

He loves doing the laundry, pulling out the warm clothes from the dryer, placing them in the basket, then tugging the basket into the bedroom for me to fold the clothes. Quietly munching on his bone until I call him to put the folded clothes away, he leaps to my voice cue to go back to work, and places the folded clothes into the drawers. When all the laundry has been put away, he then takes the basket back to the closet, and closes the door.

In the kitchen, Peek's also a great help. He opens and shuts all the lower cupboard doors, the drawers, and opens and shuts the refrigerator door for me, by pulling on a dishcloth I have fastened to the door handle. He brings me paper towels, carries the kitty litter bag to the trash can, and picks up all the things that have dropped on the floor, like those inevitable pencils, paper clips and pennies.

Tidying up the house is also a breeze with Peek at my side: he picks up newspapers, dirty clothes, errant towels, hair curlers, envelopes and magazines, and places them in a basket to be taken where they belong, saving me the agony of bending over, and getting dizzy in the process.

Out in public, Peek becomes a marvelous assistant. In restaurants, he lies quietly on his pad under the table, and is ready to fetch anything I might drop, such as my napkin, my spoon, or pocket change. When we are ready to leave, he retrieves his pad, gives it to me to put in the backpack I carry on my wheelchair, then scoops up his leash from the floor and places it in my hand.

When my hands are full of packages, Peek opens electric doors by jumping on my lap, reaching up and pawing the handicap door opener button. Once the door opens, he hops off, fetches his leash, and follows behind me until he's through the door, then takes up his normal heel position beside my chair.

When we get home, Peek helps put away the groceries, then puts the folded grocery bags in the bin under the sink for me. Exhausted, we both flop down on the bed, and I usually realize I forgot to ask Peek to make the bed that morning. So before we take a nap together, Peek and I make the bed together. He gets on his side, grasps the sheets, pulls them up, then repeats the exercise with the comforter. He jumps down to the floor, retrieves the feather pillows, and drags them back up on the bed, putting them at the bedstead. I do the same on my side, and in 2 minutes, the job is complete. In 4 minutes we're both asleep.

Peek is one of many toy dogs doing mobility assistance work for a person with a disability. But there are other types of service work that Papillons can do just as well. They make excellent "signal" dogs, or "hearing-ear" dogs, because they are so alert. A signal dog works with its hearing-impaired owner, alerting the owner to sounds in the environment, both at home and in public.

At home, the trained signal dog will paw the owner when the doorbell, the microwave, or the alarm clock goes off. It will also lead the owner to the nearest exit in case the smoke alarm goes off, a lifesaving gesture. Signal dogs also alert their owners to their names being called, and take their owners to the source of the voice. While in the car, the signal trained Papillon can paw the owner if a police or ambulance siren is heard.

The service dog who works with psychological and emotional disorders is also doing a valuable service. Imagine living with agoraphobia, and not being able to leave your house for years. Often, all it takes in such a situation is to have a companion dog along to help get a person back into the ebb and flow of life again.

Not all Papillons are suited for service work, however, just as not all Papillons excel in the breed ring, or the agility ring, or in obedience work. Normally, the dog who enjoys obedience training, has a calm disposition, and is not easily excitable or frightened, has the best chance of succeeding as a service dog.

But even the timid, quiet dog who doesn't care for outside attention can be trained to be a home-service dog, doing retrievals for those with arthritis, with bad knees, with aching backs, or by doing hearing-ear work for those who must take out their hearing aids at night. There is no end to the creative ways our little dogs can help us at home.

Most of us, at some time in our lives, will either be living with some type of disability, or will have friends and family members who are. A Papillon service dog could do wonders for those people, giving them real assistance with daily life, and still get the joy of being a full-time companion. When trained with humane methods, and treated with respect and love, the service Papillon leads a wonderfully fulfilling life. There is no more important job in the world.