At Your Service Dog Training

At Your Service

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TAMIR and Merlin, Service Dog Consult

September 12, 2017 by

Tamir traveled quite a distance to meet with me (upstate New York, about 2 hours each way) about her German Shepherd Dog service-dog-in-training, Merlin.
Your information and guidance at our meeting was fantastic and I felt charged up to proceed on our partnered canine/human journey. The handouts are a wonderful resource. Also I read your story and was deeply moved by your courage and exploratory spirit.
My goodness Sharon, you are so very, very generous with your reply. I did read all the handouts you gave me and will follow up on all the links you just sent as well. You are right to slow me down, sometimes though I feel I need to do more, but as a 15 months old puppy he is entitled to being just that.
Thank you again for all your detailed guidance and advice.

Filed Under: Service Dog Training

“excited elated and shocked” – Cindi and Zoe the Service Dog

May 27, 2017 by

Cindi started lessons with me because her service dog, Zoe, would only retrieve toys, and she wanted her to retrieve her keys. Here’s what she said after Zoe’s first lesson with At Your Service:

1 day after Zoe’s lesson:

“I have Zoe down to a little piece of cloth picking it up and bring it to me. I decided to put it on my key chain and she brought it to me. Then I put another small one on my phone and she took a couple of times to bring it to me but after a few times she is doing it now….she brings both of them to me now I am going to move out to the deck that has a few more detracting things and see how that goes….I’m very hopeful 😀

2 days after Zoe’s lesson:

“I went to a  ecotarium today with my brain injury group in Worcester. I showed a couple of my friends what Zoe had learned and I told him I was unsure on whether or not she actually do it in a place with a lot of people around and I threw my keys down with the little cloth on the keychain and I’ll be damned if Zoe didn’t pick it up right and gave it to me as if we are sitting at home. I am shocked how fast she learned excited elated and shocked.

“I am doing what you said giving her food as treats.
It’s like got to get that drilled into her head picking things up for me now I’m so excited to figure out what’s the next thing to work on”

Filed Under: Assistance Task Training, Service Dog Training

Cynthia Hinckley from Bright Spot Therapy Dogs

May 9, 2017 by

Hi Sharon,

Cynthia Hinckley from Bright Spot Therapy Dogs here…..

I’ve been meaning to email you since I attended your talk at AA several weeks ago. I thoroughly enjoyed your talk and all the information you offered the group. I feel very fortunate now that I have a highly qualified person I can refer folks to who email me asking about getting or training a therapy dog for themselves or other family member, when they really need a service dog.

Just the other day, we were holding a Bright Spot Therapy Dog event at Western New England University where a woman asked me about therapy dog training for her autistic son…. happily, I was able to refer them to you.

Nice to hear that you will be offering classes now at AA. That’s terrific!

All the best,

Cynthia Hinckley

[Note: AA here stands for Animal Alliances. Not the other well-known AA. -Sharon]

Filed Under: Service Dog Training

Elexy and Hitch – Service Dog Foundations Class

April 10, 2017 by

The suggestion of a cheap bath mat or towel that we could gradually cut smaller has been very helpful. I appreciated that each SD Foundations group class began with working on that– it has become semi-default for hitch while away from home. The time in classes/ homework exercises on zen while standing or moving were next level for us. Look at That has been very effective with both dogs and people, and “Watch me” has become a good indicator of whether he’s “in the game”. I’ve appreciated your encouragement to add tactile cues for hitch. I think these are going to be instrumental in advancing public access skills. The cues I came up with in class were much too awkward, but I’ve come up with new ones to re-cue.

In general, I appreciate your consistency in pointing out mistakes I don’t notice while doing them. while I had familiarity with all of the above concepts that aren’t SD specific, it’s frequently hard for me to notice errors in the moment. This was particularly helpful for missed “clickable” moments.

The location isn’t very convenient for me geographically, but I liked the space itself, and your classes were well worth the trip. I really appreciated the expectation that the dogs pause and wait at the entryway. I also appreciated your clear instructions during orientation on how to take your dog to their spot without getting in another team’s space. If you had some classes further south it would mean I could come more frequently. But, again, they were well worth the trip.

White pitbull lying across lap of someone wearing blue jeans (person's face not visible) with their arms around him. The dog has eyes shut in bliss.Look at That has been very helpful in him being more calm about both upsetting as well as over-exciting things. (Caroline Moore and I actually talked about how Look at That worked miracles for both Hitch and Albee 🙂 )

I also wanted to let you know that I LOVE that the FB group centers around videos. I have spent way too long on there. Thank you so much for adding me/letting me know about it.

Filed Under: Group dog training classes, Reactivity, Service Dog Training

Erica Conlon & pet dog Kyrie

November 23, 2016 by

img_1775This is a fantastic resource. Thank you so much Sharon. I did some more desensitization with the “lotsa treats” approach this morning and she was actually wagging her tail when I showed it to her! Still got ears back on the putting it on part but she shook it off immediately once it was on and we went out to play so I have hope that being consistent with lots of fun and rewards shall help change that attitude. I’m going to work on the new coat training later today. 🙂

In case it wasn’t clear I really loved working with you and look forward to continuing to work with you again in the future. Kyrie is already so much farther along than she was when we started and, more importantly, happier. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

Filed Under: Desensitization and Counterconditioning, Dog body language, Fearfulness or anxiety, Pet dog training

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Testimonials

White cockapoo standing on a bed
White Cockapoo on black leather chairHolly Wilder asked for my help after she moved into a home that had two out-of-control cockapoos named Toby and Coco. Since she lives in California, we conducted consults by phone and email. After two consults, she emailed me: “I didn’t really understand about dogs when I moved here. It felt overwhelming and chaotic with Toby and Coco’s barking, running at the door, jumping on me, and I didn’t know what to do. You made the process easy, told me things clearly, gave me doable steps,… Read more
HOLLY with COCO and TOBY
DiggityDogs-46-XL Sam Legg contacted me in March 2015 to help her turn TJ, a rescued terrier mix, into a service dog. TJ had a long way to go! He had handling issues, reactivity to strangers, resource guarding tendencies, constant hard-mouthing and scratching of Sam, and a bite history. Although Sam had taken several group classes with TJ, including successfully completing obedience and CGC classes, as well as beginner agility, these had not helped with the underlying behavioral issues. Within two months of o… Read more
Sam Legg and TJ
Black and tan husky/shepherd mix lying on a brown couchGail Mason’s dog, Dazzle, never came when Gail called — indoors or out. Dazzle also became very anxious when Gail or her husband left for work, and would jump frantically on guests. Here’s what Gail says after a few weeks of working with At Your Service… “Dazzle is doing great! Anytime I call her, while in the house or calling her in from outside she comes right away. We are also teaching her to lie on a mat when people come to the door, when my husband leaves for work and when she sees a… Read more
GAIL and DAZZLE
A bay horse stretches his nose out to touch a target Sharon is holding in front of him.In August 2015, I went to Mountain Hooves and Paws to collaborate with horse trainers Kinna Ohman-Leone KPA-CTP and Gene Ohman-Leone KPA-CTP. Kinna and Gene have trained several rescue horses who had some major behavioral issues, including fearfulness and aggression. Our focus was to improve my own horse handling and training experience and to help Kinna and Gene take their training to the next level. We all succeeded! How people use our bodies around horses can be a critical part of training… Read more
Kinna and Gene Ohman-Leone with Spirit, Sole, Carson, and Benny
“Thank you for helping my horse and I work through some challenging training. Your timing and insight are perfect! I feel as though we made strides today!” — Maureen Fitzgerald-Riker with Espy
Maureen Fitzgerald-Riker with Esperanza
It’s just brought so much pure joy! My dog and I like each other a lot more now.
Sam Legg with TJ

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What Our Clients Are Saying…

TJ Legg
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"It’s just brought so much pure joy! My dog and I like each other a lot more now." -- Sam Legg with TJ
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"She has worked miracles with my dog!" -- Gail Mason with Dazzle

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