Dear sirs,
I read through and was a bit unsettled by what I read . I see the standard you propose are to have dogs trained to the hearing and guide dog standards. I hope you are not thinking of excluding epileptic seizure dogs . And there are many other physical conditions and mental conditions service dogs can indeed greatly mitigate . Now why not have the owner trained Service dogs get a proof of safety in public . this can be a simple test for obedience and have the person send in a video of the dog doing the mitigating work the dog does for the disability . This might possibly help with the distance issues. Mail it in to a central area in each province to be looked at for is this dog trained? have witnesses sign the tests and give their contact info on the way the dog performed in public.
As I understand it there are not any big service dog training facilities in Ausralia right now. And if the training by service dog agency only service dogs was the only one the government recognized . Wouldn't you be creating a monopoly?? is theri going top be discrimination between disabilities. you can put in effect that all service dogs must be on leash in public . That only just makes sense . What about a uniform caping law or guide harness for the guide doigs?
As to where a shopkeeper could identify a dog easily as a service dog on sight. maybe have a policeman check the dog on safety as to the public for dog or people agression issues and obedience in public with distractions like food on the floor or even someone offering the dog a plate of goodies and the dog must ignore such things. Talk to obedience Clubs as to whether they would take on a way to score dogs for public access testing. Fom up a uniform test as to public access work and then look for as wide a source who could administer the test. veterinarians. Animal controls. Humane societies,Obedience clubs and even in remoter areas some type of law enforcement personel. Then have them turn in the paperwork to a central office in each province to check the results . .
I hope some of these suggestions helped. Bu not all dogs are taught to alert like the hearing dogs do. And guide dog work is quite different from mobiliy work for wheelchair and walking mobility assistance. Seizure alert work for epilepsy is tottally different from all above. There is an innate abiliy for some dogs to alert to a seizure but most dogs cannot. The alert is just molded into a consistent alert . And for each dog will be a bit different. mental disability dog , these can be for brain injured persons for stabiliy , and even for help with confusion issues to lead the person out of a situation and even get them to set down and take a break to calm down or reorient. same with a mental disability like Schizophrenia. the dog can be taught to actively react with subtle cues on command to tell the person whether it is an animal object or person yet with no agression issues. very useful for people night blind too. For depression the dog can force the person to get up. Do medication alerts , Alarm clock wake up alert and get the person moving and bring clothes ect to get them into the day. There is the anxiety tapping a dog can do to tell the handler that they are pre panic , and there is panic alert work they can do like for the brain injured person who is confused . So i would look at Does the dog WORK to miigate .. Or is it just a cofort to have around.