This series of courses will take you step-by-step through the training of a Service Dog. Dog training does not happen quickly, but is a process. Learning to be patient and systematic in training is the most efficient path to the end goal. There is no way to speed up the training process, and skipping steps will only land you back where you began. These courses are designed to guide you through the steps of establishing reliability in every aspect of training you address.
Foundations Skills for Handlers and Dogs
I. Basics
II. Core Elements
Building Blocks
III. Sum of the Parts
IV. Constructing Tasks
Customizing Training and Tasks
V. Individual Specialization For Persons with Disabilities Training Their Own Dogs for Service Dog work.
Public Access
VI. Working in Public
VII. Multiple Dogs
VIII. Service Dogs and the Law: Federal and State
Who should attend?
Persons with disabilities who desire to train their own Service Dog.
Persons with disabilities who currently have a service dog and want to learn how to refresh or keep their dogs’ skills sharp.
Family members of persons with disabilities who already have a service dog and want to learn how to refresh or keep the dogs’ skills sharp.
NOTE: Professional dog trainers seeking the knowledge and skills to work in the Service Dog Training field (See our Service Dog Professional Trainer Certification program).
The following courses must be taken in sequence.
Section One: Foundations Skills for Handlers and Dogs
I. Basics
II. Core Elements
Anyone with a dog can benefit from the first two courses in this series. All dog training exercises from any venue are based on a solid foundation. By learning key handler skills, and teaching your dog the basic parts, which can then be re-arranged to construct many different exercises, you will have the foundation needed to be successful with any area of training. Handlers often find, in advanced training of agility, rally, obedience, and other venues, that their dogs will reach a plateau and become stuck because their basic foundation skills are unreliable or missing some parts. Whether dealing with behavior issues, or problem-solving advanced agility problems, everything in dog training comes back to having a reliable foundation. Nowhere is a solid foundation more important than in the training of a Service Dog.
Section Two: Building Blocks
III. Sum of the Parts
IV. Constructing Tasks
After establishing how to train exercises though positive and simple steps, learning to observe your dog and yourself to maintain clear and meaningful communication, developing an understanding of how dogs experience space and express their views, creating a mutual respect between dog and handler and establishing reliability on the core elements that construct all exercises in any venue, you will be ready to put the parts together. Expanding on the foundation skills, this section adds many additional moves, exercises, and games to your dog’s repertoire. Most dogs find continuing to learn mentally stimulating and enjoyable. Giving your dog mental exercises is as important as physical exercises. Dogs are happier when they have a way to participate in maintaining the survival of their pack. By developing small jobs and tasks a dog can do for you, on a daily basis, at home, you are maintaining your relationship with your dog, and insuring your dog’s mental well being. Once your dog has attained reliability on the various parts, we can add them together into tasks your dog can perform for you in your home. While every dog may not be able to become a Service Dog, due to temperament, genetics, behavior problems, or previous training, most dogs can learn to do some work in the home to help their human companions. A handler must be objective, and willing to understand the personality and needs of the individual dog. At any point, during the training of a potential Service Dog candidate, a dog may disqualify for full public access. A trainer needs to constantly compare his/her dog’s behavior and performance against objective standards and assess whether a dog is actually able to continue on the path to becoming a Service Dog.
Section Three: Customizing Training and Tasks
V. Individual Specialization For Persons with Disabilities Training Their Own Dogs for Service Dog work.
Becoming a Service Dog is more than doing some training and putting on a jacket. To legally be a Service Dog, the dog must be able to perform demonstrable trained tasks that mitigate the handler’s disability. But a successful working Service Dog does much more. This section takes the prior knowledge gained from the Foundations and Building Blocks sections to begin customizing the dog’s training specifically for a person’s needs. Living with a Service Dog is a lifestyle. A Service Dog participates fully in the handler’s life, and is present and available at all times to assist the handler in tasks of daily living. Here we will examine each person’s abilities, limitations, and needs to fully match the training of the dog with the handler. Specializing a dog’s work for a particular handler is critical to success of the team. Persons with disabilities constantly adapt life to make it possible. We will apply this type of creativity and flexibility to align the lives of the handler and dog. Some positions, movements, or procedures may not be physically possible for an individual. In this course we will work on developing ways each person can effectively work with their canine partner.
Section Four: Public Access
VI. Working in Public
For persons whom are legally disabled according to ADA standards, who are training their own dogs to be public access Service Dogs. When the training foundation is firmly established, and the dog’s tasks have been customized for the needs of the handler, we are ready to begin exploring protocols and techniques used in working a Service Dog in public situations. We will thoroughly explain service dog handling skills and discuss how they are applied to specific locations. Each class will explore different locations and situations a Service Dog and handler will face when venturing out in public.
Section Five: “Other” Service Dog Issues
VII. Multiple Dogs
For a person with a disability, who is dependant upon the assistance of a canine partner, planning ahead is necessary. It takes an average of eighteen months to fully train a working Service Dog. Most dogs have a maximum working life of five to seven years. After the age of nine, most Service Dogs are ready to move into retirement. The physical and mental effort of full-time Service Dog work begins to become stressful. If a particular dog in training disqualifies for full public access work, a handler may need to begin with a replacement dog even sooner. At some point, every Service Dog handler will need to look ahead and begin preparation for his/her next dog. This course explores and discusses how to know when a potential Service Dog candidate needs to be released, and when a working Service Dog needs to be retired. We will review the selection process, and consider how, and when to begin adding a second dog into your home. For some Service Dogs, an alternative retirement home will be the best solution. Other dogs will accept a successor into the home gracefully. Living with two dogs is very different than living with only one dog. Your environment, your schedule, and your lifestyle will all be impacted. This course will look at common problems and solutions, with an eye to pro-active prevention. Basic management will be examined and discussed. Group training exercises for the two dogs together will be introduced. Careful planning is the key to a smooth transition.
Follow Us