MSAR International Training School for Service Dogs & Trainers Training / Testing & Standards

International Service Dog Standard

MSAR is an International Training and Accreditation / Certifying agency for Service Dog Organizations and Trainers. MSAR currently operates in 13 countries.
To be accredited or certified by MSAR the organization / trainer must follow the testing / certifying process as well as our Service Dog Standard.

Accreditation is given to organizations that meet our international service dog training / testing standards. Our largest international Accredited school is the Dog School of Israel.

Certified Service / Working Dog Trainers must take our training course and use our testing and certifying procedures for service / working dogs

MSAR International Service Dog Training Standard (Note that the updated Standard will be posted after updates this year 2021)
This standard was prepared by a Working Group taking into account comments resulting from a Public Review of a previous 5-part draft standard. It is approved by the Board of Directors of Mehgan Search and Rescue Association (MSAR, Winnipeg).
The objectives of this standard are:
• indicate the pre-requisites to be recognized as a team (that the person has a disability, and the service dog has special abilities [achieved through training] to help the person mitigate their challenges);
• ensure the team is safe in public, and safe to the public;
• ensure the ability of the team to function under normal conditions as well
as unusual circumstances;
• provide guidance to regulators on the factors to be considered and
regulated;
• promote the well-being of the service dog as well as the human-animal
bond;
• give background (rationale) for the requirements provided;
• be useful to trainers as a baseline to be achieved when training dogs as
well as persons with a disability;
• be useful as the basis for certification (of the team).
It is drafted in accordance with the rules of the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission, ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, Rules for the structure and drafting of International Standards. It is written to present performance requirements to the greatest extent possible.
This standard was prepared in the expectation it will be used for certification according to the principles in ISO/IEC 17024, Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons (For more information on the suite of international standards providing best practices, see http://www.iso.org/iso/conformity_assessment). Notes providing guidance for certification are included as informative text.
Note: Certification Bodies (CBs) are not limited to the contents of a standard; they can base their certifications on modified requirements, depending on the situation, and their professional judgment; any differences to the standard will normally be reported. In the end, it is the reputation of the CB (and its acceptance by concerned parties) that is at stake. The CB’s certification should simply indicate that the objectives (as outlined above) are met by the team and the CB expects they will continue to be met for the duration of the certification. It
is envisaged the CB will make a full assessment initially and at 3-year intervals, with appropriate monitoring in-between.
The standard has also been prepared in the expectation that it will be referred to in Regulation as an alternative to repeating technical details in the Regulation and as a means to ensure current best practices are promoted.
This standard is composed of five sections covering various aspects of Persons with a Disability Teamed with a Service Dog; the five sections cover:
Section 1 - General Requirements
Section 2 - Performance in Public
Section 3 - Performance (Enhanced)
Section 4 - Requirements for Response to and Detection of Disability
Related Incidents
Section 5 - Requirements for the Care of the Service Dog

MSAR Testing Procedures

MSAR International Testing for service dogs is a complete and in-depth testing and certification model that includes the following steps / tests.
Copies of these test are available to approved participants.

1. Puppy aptitude test
2. Veterinarian test and confirmation of workability
3. Service Dog evaluation test for initial program entry
4. Public Access Test
5. 3 Day Certification Test
6. For Off Leash Dogs - 5 Day Off leash Certification Test
7. Veterinarian Test and Confirmation for Service Dog Service