Yes. You will need to submit videos of your process training a dog two different skills that are commonly needed in service dog work. Ideally, the dog you use for the course is a dog that you own personally, however, students have worked with clients’ dogs for the course as well.
You need to have daily access to the dog. If you plan on using a friend or client’s dog, training a few times a week will not be sufficient.
The dog does not need to be appropriate for service work. You will not be training this particular dog to work as a service dog. All of the training for the course can occur in your home or in a training facility.
The dog you work with needs to be:
- A healthy dog that is “easy to train.” You will be training advanced behaviors. Dogs who are not food motivated or who do not enjoy training are not appropriate.
- An appropriate age to train. A puppy younger than 6 months is not appropriate for the course. A geriatric dog that has age-related health issues is also inappropriate.
- There is no specific breed requirement. SDC students have worked with various purebred dogs and mixed bred dogs successfully in this course.