Training a dog to carry medication without dropping it, assist with dressing, alert to changes in blood sugar or pull a door open with a tether are all important tasks, requiring a level of precision …
Emergency Preparedness for Service Dog Handlers
If a service dog handler collapses at home, is involved in a car accident, or is forced to evacuate due to a hurricane or wildfire, what happens to the dog? How do emergency responders know the dog is …
Continue Reading about Emergency Preparedness for Service Dog Handlers →
Not-So-Basic Basic Training for Service Dog Candidates
When we think of basic training for service dogs, we often think of teaching cues like sit, down and coming when called — in short, the same behaviors taught to many pet dogs. In many ways, basic …
Continue Reading about Not-So-Basic Basic Training for Service Dog Candidates →
Falls and Service Dogs: Essential Considerations for Trainers
While service dogs are trained to assist in many ways — retrieving items, performing alerts, opening doors and turning on lights — helping a person safely get up from a fall involves some unique risks …
Continue Reading about Falls and Service Dogs: Essential Considerations for Trainers →
Barking Up a Different Tree: How My Training Has Changed Over Time
I’ve been training professionally since the early 1990s, and much has changed in the industry during that time. When I first started, positive training methods were largely focused on lure-reward. Of …
Continue Reading about Barking Up a Different Tree: How My Training Has Changed Over Time →
Incorporating Play in Service Dog Training
While training a service dog is important and serious work, incorporating play into the training process benefits both members of the team. Play can be helpful in everything from training tasks to …
Continue Reading about Incorporating Play in Service Dog Training →