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2020-11-01

Successful Service Dog Training – Choose Your Circle of Support Carefully

There was a book published a few years ago that focused on habits of a successful person. This highlighted personality traits and behaviors that successful people share. In dog training there are also traits shared by good dog trainers, and handlers who successfully train their own service dog.

Your circle of support is especially important. It is very important in families where the service dog handler has no support at home. There are many homes where the service dog is considered a waste of time and money.  Self-care is vital and building a solid, supportive, support circle. These can consist of friends, trainers, doctors, and therapists, as well as peers.

Work with Educated Professionals

I understand. A trained service dog can seem incredibly expensive.  Buying an imprinted prospect can seem daunting. Training your own dog can be a burden for a year, or two.  But you need to understand that there are no regulations or laws governing the dog training industry. Nothing!.

A person can never have owned a dog. They may only have owned sport dogs. Maybe they never owned a pet. And, they can open up a dog training center, even a service dog training center.

I have spent over $15 000 on my education. There are some trainers who have spent more. Would you trust a person who has ‘good intentions’ as your doctor? Would you pay university tuition to someone who hasn’t taken the course? Of course not.

A lot of dog trainers are promoting themselves as service dog trainers. Some of these people train under big names. Others take online courses.  Most of them have no education.

There is a saying, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know, until you learn what you don’t know.’ The fact is, many trainers do not understand that their training methods are letting down their clients. Even if someone has trained their own dog, or a few dogs, they lack the education to be able to handle problems.

When problems arise they dismiss that dog from class. There are excuses. A poorly trained service dog can leave you liable for a lawsuit, and put you and your health at risk. The most often outcome of a poorly trained service dog trainer is having a high number of dogs who just quit working. I have heard so many stories of people whose dogs just stopped.  One dog was walking through a mall and just lay down. When a dog chooses to stop, there is no way to bring it back.

Step #1: Look for someone with a background in mental health or medical field who understands the needs of disabled people.

I once saw a woman who was proud of her alert dog. It would sniff her every time she said ‘alert’ and held out her hand. If her blood sugar was low the dog would paw her arm. I’m sure many of you understand the danger of this situation. If your blood sugar is low then you are not thinking straight. You are not keeping time between asking the dog to alert. This can be fatal.

Step #2: What is their Education

If they are not active in the dog training world, attending conferences, taking courses, and working to a higher level with their own dogs then they are not dedicated professionals. If you are a dog person than you are active in the dog world.

If you are not a ‘dog person’ then you are learning your trade at the cost of your clients. This may be okay in obedience training but it is not okay in service dog training.

Step #3: Certification

Certification is affordable and easy in today’s world. The refusal to stand before your peers and earn their approval is reckless.

There is no excuse to avoid certification and affiliation in at least one service dog organization

This applies to both live service dog classes, online classes, and ‘behavior consultants. Challenge them all. Ignore the pride and ego. Ignore the sales pitches. Look for trainers who can back up their skills with their dogs, their peers, and their accomplishments.

What if you cannot find a good trainer? The look online. Look for a trainer at a distance with  experience teaching online.

Last:

Don’t Listen to advice from friends. They are not canine behavior experts. They have no responsibility for your success or failure.

2020-11-01

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