Are you looking for a service dog?

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As per ADA.gov, "Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. 

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Under the ADA, State and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is allowed to go. A service animal must be under the control of its handler. Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless the individual’s disability prevents using these devices or these devices interfere with the service animal’s safe, effective performance of tasks. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.

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When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task." 

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Service dogs are something we take very seriously and while any breed of dog can technically be trained as a service dog, there are some breeds with a much better success rate and for most individuals in need of a service dog, that is important. We have successfully trained many service dogs, therapy dogs, and public access dogs to completion as well as assisted in training specifics for owner-trained service dogs. A dog generally isn't considered a fully finished service dog until it is two years old. Any time leading up to then and even afterwards, a dog can "wash out" from the job. Washing out is when a dog is deemed not fit for service work. There are two key essential parts to a successful service dog and these are: (1) the training and (2) the genetic stability and suitability of the dog. 

Because of how important the animal you are starting with is to the success of service training, we include help finding a breeder and puppy to suit your needs in our service dog program. 

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After a breeder and puppy has been matched and the puppy is old enough to come home, you have the option to take the puppy until 16 weeks old for early bonding. After that, the puppy comes to us where it will live and have full spectrum training geared for your needs for the next 1-2 years. Time frame depends on each individual case. During this period, you will come to visit the dog several times to make sure you are learning along with the dog. Pricing varies based on your needs. 

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Our service dog program includes finding the service dog candidate puppy, the cost of the puppy, training equipment and gear necessary for the dog, food and other essentials during the training, and all lessons for you during and after the training process to teach you how everything works.

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You will receive a fully trained public access ready service dog with custom tasks for your needs and lifetime trainer support.