Service Dog Training
A service dog helps a person with a disability lead a more independent life. According to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), a “service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.” “Work or task” means the dog must be trained to take a specific action when needed to assist the person with a disability. The task performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability.
These dogs are specially trained for the purpose of helping their owner with balance issues, guiding the handler, alerting to sounds in the environment, and alert to a seizure. Retrieving a medication bag, retrieving a beverage to take the medication, bringing the emergency phone to the handler and panic prevention skills are all skills that we can teach your dog to perform.
We recommend One on one Dog Training for the most effective Service Dog Training:
Convenient
We schedule our sessions when it works for you!
Adaptable
We customize our sessions to meet your dog’s training needs and your training goals.
Environment Learning
We train where the problems occur. When we need to practice near children or near other dogs, we meet in locations where there are children or other dogs.
Time Efficient
Your time is valuable. In home training ensures that you get the information that you need in an efficient manner.
Family Friendly
We work with all the members of the family.
Effective
Group dog training classes can be great, but too often the results stay behind in the classroom. Instead, let’s do the training where you need your dog to behave his best—wherever that may be.
Types of Service Dogs
There are three types of service or assistance dogs. The categories are guide dog, hearing dog, and service dog.
Guide dogs help blind and visually impaired individuals navigate the environment.
Hearing dogs help alert deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to important sounds.
Service dogs assist individuals with a disability other than those related to vision or hearing. This includes dogs trained to work with people who use wheelchairs, have balance issues, have autism, need seizure alert or response, need to be alerted to other medical issues like low blood sugar, or have psychiatric disabilities.
Service Dog versus Therapy Dog
Many people confuse service dogs with therapy dogs, but they play two completely different roles that require nearly opposite characteristics.
Service dogs are one dog for one person and perform specific tasks to help that person cope with a disability. Therapy dogs are one dog for everyone—they bring cheer and comfort to hospital patients, assisted living center and nursing home residents, homeless families, and students.
Service dogs must be handler-focused, desensitized to distractions, and highly trained to do specific tasks. They should not be distracted by the public, as they should focus solely on their owner when working. For service dogs, training can last up to two years before they are placed with a client. Service dogs typically wear a vest that identifies them as a service dog and asks the public not to pet them.
Therapy dogs should be friendly and outgoing, yet calm and obedient, and socialized to a variety of people, places, and things. Therapy dogs need to be trained in basic manners and obedience, and are required to take continuing education workshops. Therapy dogs and their owners provide opportunities for petting and affection in a variety of settings on a volunteer basis.