Simply being a paid member of the Dog Scouts of America does not automatically make your dog a Dog Scout. Until you and your dog have passed the certification criteria in front of a certified Scoutmaster, your title is “Member of Dog Scouts” and your dog’s title is “troop member” or “in training to be a scout”.
Once you have passed the certification, and you have submitted your forms and fees, you become “a Dog Scout owner” and the dog can use the title of “Dog Scout” and place the letters DSA after his or her name. Please read below for more information about the Dog Scout title and what that honor entails.
When you pass the certification and your dog becomes a Dog Scout, your dog will receive:
More badges: As a scout, your dog is now eligible to earn more merit badges. The easiest way to earn them is to come to Dog Scout Camp, where we have instructors to teach you a variety of activities and to certify you in each badge. There are also a number of badges that you can work on outside of camp. If you cannot arrange to come to Dog Scout Camp, you may be able to earn badges outside of camp, if you can get a certified Dog Scout Evaluator to verify your achievements and sign off on your merit badge form. The merit badge forms and check-off sheets are available on our website, free for you to download for your own use.
If you wish to work on some of the other badges, but you do not have a certified Dog Scout Evaluator in your area, please go ahead and learn to perform the skills and get the experience necessary to earn these badges.
As our organization grows, there will be more and more Evaluators trained to administer and certify a wider array of badges, and if you have already completed the work, all you have to do is to demonstrate to the Evaluator that you have trained the dog in the manner prescribed by DSA and done so with safety and concern for your dog. Both you and the certifying Evaluator have to sign a form testifying to the fact that this has been done, and they have personally observed this (you may be asked to demonstrate key points from your check-off sheet, if your certifying Evaluator has not observed you performing them). Community Service, Clean Up America 1 and 2, Therapy Work, Letterboxing, Geocaching and Temperament Tested certification are several badges that you can work on outside of camp, using the honor system.
Badge fees: There is a fee of $25.00 for each specialty badge you would like to earn. $20 will be paid to DSA and $5 will be paid to the Evaluator. This fee covers the Evaluator’s time, the cost of processing your merit badge form and entering it into the computer data base as a permanent record that your dog has earned the badge on this date; the merit badge and the cost of shipping it to you; and administrative costs, which include everything from providing the training that your Evaluator received, to developing the criteria for each badge, creating and commissioning the artwork for the embroidered patches, making the forms available online, and other office details.
The badge fees do not include any training fees or classes that may be offered to you to prepare and train you and your dog for the achievement of the badges. If your Leader or Evaluator offers these classes, they are totally separate from the certification process, and any fees charged are paid directly to the person providing this training.
Badge training: If you are seeking training expressly for the purpose of attaining badges, you might want to inquire as to whether the person offering the instruction has been certified (or is in the process of being certified) by DSA to evaluate you for the badge. Many of our Leaders are qualified to teach a number of activities, but if they are not yet certified by DSA to sign off on badge forms, you won’t be able to get the badge until they do.
I don’t want you to mistakenly think that the training equals the earning of the badge. We at DSA feel that new kinds of training and experience is always valuable, and you should strive to learn all you can, even if it means you might not get a chance to prove it to someone with the ability to certify you until a later date. By a later date, I mean that your Leader may advance in the future and be approved to administer additional badges, or you may get a chance to attend a camp, mini-camp, or outing, where you can demonstrate to a certified Evaluator that you and your dog have completed your badge requirements.
Uniform: As a Dog Scout, your dog is eligible to wear the special Dog Scout Uniform. If you would like to order one, on which to display your badges, please ask your Leader, Scoutmaster or Evaluator for the order form. The order form is also available on the DSA website for you to print, complete and mail to DSA.
Extra Patches/Bandannas: You may also purchase duplicates of any of the badges your dog is eligible to wear, so that you can place them on his or her backpack, uniform, bandanna or crate cover. Duplicate patches are $3.00 each, plus $2.00 postage and handling. You may also order additional Dog Scout bandannas for $5.00 each.
Replacement ID cards: If you lose your dog’s I.D. card, or have a change of address or other information, and you wish to get a replacement DSA photo I.D. card, you may purchase a new one for $5.00.
Logo items: There are various other logo items available to everyone, which are mentioned in the Dog Scout Scoop. They include the static cling vinyl window sticker, the circular embroidered DSA patch, the gold DSA logo cloisonné pin and the red, white and blue member pin.
Please don’t impersonate: Your DSA photo I.D. badge makes your Scout look very “official,” which he or she is! However, we do not want anyone to mistake the Dog Scout Identification for anything but what it is: a testament to your dog’s good training and exemplary behavior. If this will get store owners or hotels to allow your dog into their establishment, then hooray for our side! Conduct yourselves in a Dog Scoutly manner and be glad that someone recognized the value of a well-mannered and trustworthy dog on a leash held by a responsible dog owner. However, please make it very clear that this does not legally entitle your dog to any special privileges, such as those afforded a certified service dog, and for you to try to mislead anyone (it’s not hard--most people are ignorant of the service dog laws and would just let in any dog with any kind of “title” and accompanying I.D.) would be a misuse of your dog’s certification and cause for revocation of your dog’s title. Many times, after explaining the nature of the DSA certification, my dogs have been allowed access on those merits alone. Please do not take advantage of situations where an ignorant person may not understand the difference between a dog which has a legal right to be anywhere his owner pleases, and a dog which is basically safe to have in public because his friendly nature and good manners have been certified by passing a test.
Explanation of the titles: When you and your dog pass the Dog Scout certification, your dog is officially a Dog Scout, and when you pay your DSA dues, you are a member of Dog Scouts of America. Becoming a Scout is a title for the dog only, and membership is for the people only.
Lapsed membership: If you let your membership lapse, your dog will continue to be a Dog Scout (if they have been certified).
Re-certification: If you notice, your dog’s I.D. card now has a date of certification. We would like you to get your dog re-certified every five years, to be sure the two of you are still maintaining your training and practicing the Dog Scout laws. This way, your dog’s card will expire if you do not continue to be examples of responsible dog ownership. However, no dog will have his DSA status removed solely because the owner did not renew the card in five years. Some dogs get too old to return to camp, or find themselves in an area of the country where it is not easy to find someone who can re-certify them. This policy is mainly to prevent those rare, worst possible scenarios, where someone gets a dog certified by some miracle, disappears into the woodwork, and for all we know, they could be acting irresponsibly with their dog, like having blatant disregard for leash laws, or letting their dog act aggressively towards people or other dogs.
Revocation: The I.D. card also indicates that DSA has the right to revoke a certification at its discretion. If your dog were to prove itself a menace to society, or unsafe around humans or other dogs, we would not want him or her out in public, posing a danger, and portraying a bad image of Dog Scouts in general. These provisions were set in place to protect all of us responsible dog owners who have well-behaved Scouts, from being associated with the rare individual who may not continue to act responsibly.
Continued membership is not a requirement. However, it is a very good idea, because with your membership, you will continue to be eligible to join in local troop activities, and receive the Dog Scout Scoop newsletter, which contains information about the goings-on at the national level, as well as things happening on a local level around the country. You will be eligible to earn additional Dog Scout Merit Badges, Packdog Titles and participate in other DSA membership programs, and Dog Scout outings. If you maintain your membership, you will not “disappear into the woodwork.” We will know that you have an ongoing commitment to our goals and mission.
Dog Scouts of
Lonnie Olson
Director
