SERVICE DOG TRAINING

A service dog is defined as a dog individually trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability.   A disability is any physical or mental condition that substantially limits a major life activity.  Service dogs are working dogs.

If you have a disability your dog may be able to learn assist you. Some of the tasks a dog may do are:

Alerting to sounds that you may not hear.

Picking up objects and delivering them to you.

Finding another person in the home when you need assistance.

Locating an object such as the phone and bringing it to you.

Assisting with limited mobility.

Many things need to be considered in training a dog to assist an individual with a disability as a service dog.  An evaluation is needed to determine the strengths and weaknesses of any dog that will be expected to work in public. 

Many dogs can work successfully in the home.  When we add the pressures of working in public we need to be certain we are not asking too much.  A service dog must be able to perform a needed task yet not draw attention to itself because of inappropriate behavior.  An individual with a service dog must be able to control the dog at all times.

If you are interested in your dog learning to assist you  only in the home please contact me for more information.  Many dogs enjoy learning these tasks and they may become very useful to you.  

If you are interested in finding out if your dog could be trained as a service dog an evaluation would be needed. Also, verification from a physician indicating that you would benefit from a service dog is necessary.

Please contact me for more information. 

                                                            414-282-7534