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First, ask yourself these questions: “Is my dog…”
If the answer to all of these questions is “yes,” watch our video, and score your dog honestly. The score your dog gets will help you assess your dog’s likelihood as a candidate. After we get your initial intake form, we’ll get in touch to let you know if we think we’re a good match for you and your dog.
Note: If your dog is a puppy or is a recently adopted adult dog, see below for additional information.
A puppy cannot truly be assessed as a service dog candidate. Dogs’ temperaments often change as they mature. The best clues to a puppy’s suitability are
Some puppies can be ruled out based on these factors, such as if the puppy is timid or if its parents were aggressive. However, in most cases, it’s a waiting game. The absence of obvious issues now is a good sign, but it does not guarantee a suitable temperament at maturity.
Beware any breeder or trainer who tells you that they guarantee a particular puppy will turn out to be an ideal service dog. This would be like saying about a human toddler, “I guarantee she will be a nuclear physicist” or “He definitely has what it takes to be an Olympic skier.”
The age at which a dog completes social maturation varies with the individual and the breed. Generally, the larger the dog, the slower it matures. We typically have a good sense of a dog’s personality by one year old, but personality changes may occur up to two years (especially for large breeds).
Right now, ask yourself this question: “Is my priority…”
1. To get the dog that is most likely to work out as my future service dog?
OR
2. To get this particular puppy that I’ve chosen (and be happy with it as a pet, whether it works out as a service dog or not)?
These are both equally valid goals, but they are not the same goal. The overwhelming majority of puppies will not work out as future service dogs. Even people who are sure they’ve chosen the right breed (or breeder or puppy) are usually sadly mistaken.
If your number one goal is to get a service dog prospect, and you’re willing to lose your deposit on this puppy and start over with your search process, please contact us for a pre-adoption and dog-search support package.
If you definitely plan to get this puppy – and you know there’s a good chance it will not become a service dog, but you’d still like to try – follow the steps below for new puppy owners.
Because we often have a waitlist, the answer depends on your location, your puppy’s age, and whether one of our trainers can start with your puppy right away.
Puppies have a critical developmental period that begins to close at 16 weeks of age. During this period when your puppy easily makes new associations, the number one priority is for you to work with a knowledgeable, rewards-based trainer who will help your puppy make positive emotional associations with new people, places, and things.
Take these steps:
Training with At Your Service from the start will allow us to keep your pup on track with manners, public access, and task training. However, if you’ve been working with another trainer or training on your own, that’s fine, too. Once your pup has completed basic and intermediate manners classes and is at least eight months old, get back in touch with us.
Dogs need time to settle into their new homes. During the first three weeks in a new home, dogs may not display their normal behavior. A dog that seems quiet and calm may become energetic or reactive once he’s over the shock of transition. Older dogs may take longer to truly settle into their new home.
Start some gentle rewards-based manners training with your new dog a week or two after he comes home. But use these guidelines for how long to wait before you assess your dog and fill out our intake form:
Yes. We factor in breed, but we assess dogs based primarily on their behavior, temperament, training, and health. While some breeds are much more suited to service dog training than others, we have successfully graduated some terrific atypical breeds and breed mixes.
If you do not yet have a dog, we strongly recommend you consult us for help finding the right dog.
As pet trainers, over the years we successfully modified behavior in many reactive and fearful dogs – including some SDiTs. Rewards-based behavior modification can be powerful! The dogs showed great improvement. However, when stress increased – when the team returned to public, the handler relaxed on training, or some minor life change occurred – the dog always backslid. The longer they continued to work in public, the more the dog’s behavior deteriorated.
Based on these experiences and discussions with many colleagues, we believe that dogs with fear, reactivity, anxiety, or aggression issues should not be worked as public access service dogs. We do not want to set up the handler or the dog for inevitable failure.
The great majority of dogs – sweet, loving, smart dogs – are not cut out for the life of a public access service dog. We want to give the job of public access service dogs to those unusual dogs that love and thrive on it. But for most dogs, working as a service dog in public is stressful and not something they would choose.
We are truly sorry to deliver this news. We know it can be heart-breaking. We truly wish that we could magically make every dog relaxed and comfortable around strangers, dogs, and the other aspects of our constantly changing environment.
We recommend working with a rewards-based behavior consultant or pet trainer to help your dog reach their full potential. If you and your dog love training, you can also contact us about training your dog as an in-home-only service dog.
NOTE: If you are training basic manners or raising a puppy with a pet dog trainer, please give them our free eBook on foundation training for future service dogs.
Private Training
To begin private training – private lessons (online or in person), day training, or board-and-train – fill out our intake form to request a consultation. During intake, we’ll get to know you and your dog, your dog’s current level of training, and your disabilities and needs. After the consultation, we’ll create the ideal training plan for your dog, with the right combination of classes and lessons.
Group Classes
A beginner-level group class, such as our Basic Skills for Therapy & Service Dogs course, is a terrific starting point for any of these situations:
Combination Training (group & private)
In many cases, combining private and group training is most effective. Your dog benefits from the higher skill level and individualized coaching of private training, along with the controlled distractions and affordability of group classes. During intake, we can advise you of which classes or lessons to start with. (Note: Group classes are not always necessary; we do have clients who succeed with private lessons alone.)
Absolutely! Some clients train with us exclusively online. Others train primarily online but travel to train with us as needed. Our regional clients (e.g., Boston, Worcester, Albany, Hartford, Brattleboro), typically have great results with this progression:
Depending on which trainer you’re working with and our current case load, we offer in-home training for Amherst, Deerfield, Easthampton, Florence, Granby, Hadley, Hatfield, Holyoke, Leeds, Leverett, Northampton, South Hadley, Sunderland, and Williamsburg.
You may also come to Hadley to train with us.
We also occasionally meet in other locations throughout the region (e.g., dog friendly stores, etc.) for training sessions, including on public access or puppy socialization.
We primarily train psychiatric service dogs and mobility dogs for people with physical disabilities, but we have also trained dogs for people with traumatic brain injury, chronic illness, hearing loss, sleep disorders, and seizures. Since we custom-tailor each training plan, we can be very flexible about the type of training and the variety of tasks.
We will select your dog’s tasks based on your specific needs, your dog’s tendencies, and other considerations.
We don’t train guide dogs for blind or low-vision handlers. We also do not typically train tasks that rely on scent, such as allergen detection or diabetic alert dogs.
No, we do not provide any dogs. We help people to train their own dogs as potential service dogs. If you don’t have an appropriate dog, we can also help you with the process of finding the right dog to train.
However, when we meet with you for a pre-adoption consultation or an owned dog intake, if we think that you or your dog are not a good match for training your own service dog, we may recommend getting a trained dog from a program instead.
There are a lot of excellent programs, but there are even more mediocre, terrible, and scam programs. A good place to begin your search for a fully trained service dog is Assistance Dogs International, an accreditation and membership organization for nonprofit service dog programs.
If you’re looking for a service dog for a child, Canines for Disabled Kids provides families with information, referral, advocacy, and scholarships.
Make sure to thoroughly research any program you’re considering. Get details about how many dogs they’ve placed, how many years they’ve been in business, and what training methods they use. Ask to tour their facilities. Ask for many references, at least ten, to ensure they do what they say. If you have a bad or uncertain feeling about a program or trainer, walk away.
No, we help owners to successfully train their own service dogs. We occasionally accept advanced adult dogs for board-and-train on public access or task training. See Board & Train for more information.
If you decide to look elsewhere for a board-and-train, please be very cautious and only use a trainer who trains entirely with rewards. Most board-and-trains use harsh punitive methods that often result in physical and behavioral damage, including death. Sadly, we have known some wonderful dogs that died in board-and-trains with other trainers. Never use a trainer that provides a guarantee of training or behavior results. This is a red flag that indicates this trainer does not understand dog behavior and may also go to extreme, possibly deadly, lengths to train your dog. Learn more about the ethics that good trainers adhere to and how to find the right trainer. Two databases that tend to have more ethical/safe trainers are KPA and IAABC.
This exclusive option is available on a limited basis. Board-and-train is a great option for dogs that need skilled, intensive training for advanced manners, public access, or task training.
B&T is only available for these select dogs:
B&T dogs live with our head trainer and benefit from
When your dog goes home, you’ll participate in online transition lessons to continue your dog’s training before he returns to us for his next B&T.
Full-time:
Part-time:
Location: Anyone who is able to transport their dog to and from Hadley, MA, several times
Cost: (Listed costs include transition lessons between B&T stays)
o Full-time – two sets of 2 weeks (28 days total) is $6720
o Part-time – six weeks – with weekends at home – (24 days total) at $5280
A reputable, experienced service dog trainer cannot give an estimate (let alone charge a flat fee) without knowing a lot more about you and your dog. Some of the variables include…
Given these variables, it may cost anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 to train your own service dog. If the handler is capable and motivated, and the dog is appropriate, it typically costs $5,000 to $7,000 to train an adult dog (including costs for training, treats, and other equipment). For those who want complex tasks (such as a retrieve) or need day training or board-and-train, it may cost much more.
See below to download our sample service dog training package and estimate.
Training a dog to be well-behaved, quiet, and unobtrusive in public is the most time-consuming part of service dog training. In fact, simply finding a dog that is capable of being relaxed in a variety of public settings is often the most difficult part of the process. While it does cost more to train a dog to perform a complex task (such as gently retrieving a variety of objects) than a simple one (such as leaning against your legs), both of these tasks are far easier than training your dog to walk nicely by your side and lay quietly at your feet wherever you go.
We have high standards for the service dogs we train. We offer payment plans, scholarships, and discounts to make training more affordable, but we don’t offer any low-quality training. Our finished teams wear our embroidered patches proudly. People who see our teams know, without a doubt, that that is a real, trained service dog.
The same factors that affect cost (above) also affect time: your dog’s age, trainability, and previous training. Other than that, the biggest factor is how much time you spend training between lessons. Making mistakes will slow training. Not training enough will mean your dog will never finish.
For a highly motivated owner of a puppy with an outstanding temperament, the bulk of the training (manners, public access, and task foundations) can usually be completed in two years, with task training completed by three years old. If board-and-train or day training is used, the time may be reduced by about one-third to one-half.
Payment by debit or credit card is due when you schedule online for a consultation, class, or lesson package. If you prefer to mail cash or a personal check, that can also be arranged.
We provide the following options to people of limited financial means:
Scholarships are only available to people who are training a service dog with At Your Service Dog Training. We do not provide funding for dogs to be trained by other trainers or organizations.
Tubman Scholarship
The Tubman Scholarship offers an 80 percent discount on an intake consultation for both owned dogs and pre-adoption. It is available to people anywhere in the US who are African-American, Black, or Indigenous, OR any other low-income person of color. To apply, please watch our video and fill out our intake form. In the section where it asks if you have other questions or information, indicate that you qualify for the Tubman Scholarship. (You determine your own racial identity. We believe you.) We’ll provide you with a coupon code you can use when you schedule.
Low-Income Discounts
We provide discounts on private training for people who are low-income and on SSI, SSDI, or VA benefits. To request the discount, please watch our video and fill out our intake form. In the section where it asks if you have other questions or information, please tell us which low-income benefit programs you’re on. We’ll provide you with a coupon code you can use when you schedule.
Maimes Fund
The Natan Maimes & Travel Service Dog Scholarship Fund provides as-needed funding to service dog teams to complete their training. The amount of funding we have available varies based on donations. (Donate to the Maimes Fund.)
To apply for the Maimes Fund, you must meet all of these criteria:
If you’re in this situation, tell your trainer. We ask you to complete our scholarship application which asks about your dog’s current and future training. It also includes instructions on how to show proof of financial need. After your application is submitted, we’ll meet to set up a plan to complete your dog’s training.
Below is an example of a training package for a dog that is easy to train, with a handler who is dedicated and able to follow all training instructions. You will see how many lessons would likely be needed in each phase of training and how much it would cost. Remember, however, that since each dog and handler are unique, your individual training plan and estimate will look different.
For more information on these topics, please also watch our video.
An emotional support animal (ESA) is a pet of any species whose presence makes its disabled owner feel better. ESAs are classified as “assistance animals” under the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHA) and are allowed as a reasonable accommodation in “no pets” housing. Although the pet must have a therapeutic effect on the owner, an ESA is not required to have the impeccable manners of a service dog nor to be trained to perform tasks relating to the handler’s disability. (Commercial airlines are no longer required to fly ESAs. Please see the section on flying with your dog.)
A letter to your landlord from your doctor or therapist stating that your pets presence relieves your symptoms or otherwise mitigates the impact of your disability is usually required for housing accommodation. For more information, please see HUD’s very useful document, “Assessing a Person’s Request to Have an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation Under the Fair Housing Act.”
The ADA excludes ESAs from its definition of a service animal, stating, “The provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.” A person accompanied by an ESA has no public access rights in stores, restaurants, hotels, transportation, etc.
A therapy dog provides comfort, affection, or support to people in a specific setting (e.g., hospital, school, nursing home, court room). Therapy dog handlers may be volunteers or professionals (teachers, therapists, police officers) who have trained their own dog to work in these settings. Although therapy dogs undergo training, they are not trained to mitigate the effects of one person’s disability. Therefore, therapy dog handlers have no public access rights and must obtain permission from the facility or workplace to bring their dog.
When your dog has completed training, we will provide you with
However, please be aware that in the United States, there is no legal “certification” of service dogs. A couple of states offer voluntary registries, but commercial websites that offer service dog “registries” or “certifications” are misleading at best, scams at worst. While service dog organization may offer ID cards or graduation certificates certifying that their dog meets their particular standards, they do not confer any legal rights or privileges.
Your dog is legally a service dog when it fulfills these criteria:
However, we understand that it can be useful to have “official” paperwork and gear. We are happy to provide that to our clients whose dogs complete training that meets and exceeds the legal standard for a service animal.
Under the revised rules of the Air Carrier Access Act, airlines are no longer required to fly emotional support animals (ESAs). The ACAA now more closely adheres to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which grants access to disabled handlers who are accompanied by a trained service dog. (Read DOT’s Frequently Asked Questions on service animal rules and the Federal Register document which includes the training attestation forms).
While the legal requirements for flying with ESAs have changed, the training, behavior, and handling requirements are the same. If your dog is small, well-behaved, and comfortable with flying, check which airlines allow you to fly small pets in a carrier that fits under their seats.
If you would like to fully train your dog as a service dog, we are happy to help just as we would for anyone else who wants to train their dog to become a service dog. This requires that
In this case, watch our free video on service dog training and then fill out the initial intake form. After we receive the form, we will get in touch with more information.
Once your dog is accepted for intake, if you’re on SSI, SSDI, or VA benefits, you may email us a copy of your award letter or another document from the SSA or VA (such as a check stub) that shows that you receive that benefit. This will also let us know you’re eligible for discounted private training services.
If you’re not on disability, we’ll provide you with a letter that outlines what we need to know from your treating healthcare provider (who has met with you several times and has known you at least 6 months). In addition to giving a diagnosis, the letter must also affirm that your condition is disabling as defined by the ADA, meaning that it substantially limits your major life activities.
Should I train my own service dog or get a trained service dog from a program? I don’t know how to find the right program. What are the characteristics of an appropriate dog? Can you help?
Yes, we detail the pros and cons of owner training versus programs in our webinar, “How to Find Your Future Service Dog.” The webinar explains which option tends to fit better for different situations, including the handler’s disability, the age of the handler, household composition, lifestyle, etc. We also provide guidance on how to select a program – what to look for and what to avoid, as well as recommending some programs to start with – and helpful information about costs and timelines. After watching the webinar, you’ll be empowered to make the best choice for you and your family (and avoid unscrupulous or poor quality programs).
If owner-training is a better match for your needs, the webinar provides a treasure trove of necessary information for the search process – and you’ll get the information for free! When you set up a private pre-adoption consultation after watching the webinar, we’ll send you a coupon code to deduct the cost of the webinar from your consultation fee. The webinar and all the follow-up materials is only $75.
To access our webinar, “How to Find Your Future Service Dog,” please contact us and request the pre-adoption webinar. We will send you an invoice to pay online with your debit or credit card using Square. If you decide to move ahead with the search for a service dog, you may contact us in December to set up a pre-adoption consultation and dog search support. At that time, let us know that you watched the webinar and we will deduct $75 from your consultation and search support package!
Yes, we detail the pros and cons of owner training versus programs in our webinar, “How to Find Your Future Service Dog.” The webinar explains which option tends to fit better for different situations, including the handler’s disability, the age of the handler, household composition, lifestyle, etc. We also provide guidance on how to select a program – what to look for and what to avoid, as well as recommending some programs to start with – and helpful information about costs and timelines. After watching the webinar, you’ll be empowered to make the best choice for you and your family (and avoid unscrupulous or poor quality programs).
If owner-training is a better match for your needs, the webinar provides a treasure trove of necessary information for the search process – and you’ll get the information for free! When you set up a private pre-adoption consultation after watching the webinar, we’ll send you a coupon code to deduct the cost of the webinar from your consultation fee. Email us to learn more about our webinar, “How to Find Your Future Service Dog.”
We understand that it may feel strange to consult with a trainer before you have your dog. For a pet dog, getting the dog and then finding a trainer typically works fine.
However, for a potential service dog, preparation and selection are key. We have seen a huge difference in results with clients who work with us to find the right dog versus those who contact us after they already have a dog.
Our process is individualized and comprehensive.
This sets up you and your dog for success.
Over the years, we have seen a consistent pattern of good results when we work with a client from the beginning to identify a dog that will truly meet their needs, and then help them find that dog.
While we could theoretically offer the services you’re asking about, in practice they tend not to work out. It generally is not possible to assess a particular shelter dog because they are usually adopted too quickly, the shelter may not be able to allow a stranger to assess one of their charges, and because dogs in a shelter are under stress, we also know they are may not be exhibiting their typical behavior.
Similarly, for a litter of puppies, the breeder may not be comfortable with an unknown person handling her puppies; it may be impossible to schedule the several hours needed to test an entire litter within the timeframe needed; and there’s a good chance that the particular litter you’re interested in does not contain the right candidate for you. It’s a sort of “backwards” approach to finding the right puppy. It would be like setting up your course schedule at a college before you had even selected or applied to the college.
We will create a specialized training plan for your dog. Please see our Service Dog Training page.
Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of information about service dogs, dog behavior, and how to select a candidate is woefully inadequate to help most people locate a likely service dog candidate. Sadly, this is equally true whether the information comes from the news media, social media, friends, family, healthcare providers, and even from most dog professionals (veterinarians, breeders, and even trainers). There are a number of reasons for this:
Yes, the most affordable option is our webinar, “How to Find Your Future Service Dog.” This webinar provides detailed information on temperament, breed, age, and other factors. This will help you select a dog that is more likely to succeed as a future service dog.
We hope this information is helpful. Please learn about service dog training with our free video, get started training by registering for online or on-site group classes this fall or winter, or check back in December for private training intake.
All the best on your service dog training journey.
Sincerely,
Owner and Head Trainer of At Your Service Dog Training LLC
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