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A service dog can change the life of a person with a disability. A service dog opens doors, both literally and figuratively, for a person with a disability. There are many pros and cons to training your own service dog. The following table compares the differences between training one's own dog to be their service dog versus getting a dog that is being trained for you through an agency. Owner Trained Agency Trained Pro's •Dog is yours. •You gain valuable skills which allow you to teach your dog new behaviors as your disability changes. •Your bond with your dog grows the more you train together. •Follow-up is at the owner's discretion. •Most of the training is done for you. •Regularly scheduled communications with training organization. Cons •Training process generally takes 2 to 3 years. •Weekly commitment to attend class. •Daily commitment to work on class assignments. •Expense. •Dog is owned by agency, not the person working with the dog. •2 to 3 week training boot camp. •Long waiting list. Most people think that a service dog retrieves items for a person with a disability and possibly opens doors for them. A service dog can help a person with a variety of disabilities. For instance, there are service dogs that assist people primarily with physical disabilities. There are service dogs that help people who are deaf or hearing impaired. These dogs are called Hearing Ear Dogs. There are dogs that provide emotional support for people who have been traumatized or have emotional disabilities. These dogs are called Emotional Support Dogs. EQuality Dog Training believes that what a service dog can do for a person with a disability is limited only by that person's imagination. The tasks a service dog can perform include, but are not limited to, the following:       • Retrieve       • Assistance with dressing and undressing       • Opening doors       • Making beds       • Helping with laundry - loading and unloading the various machines, pulling the laundry basket from one location to another, etc.       • Medication reminders       • Bracing - assisting a person with a disability with standing and/or walking       • Getting human help when needed       • Dialing a phone for emergency assistance or 911       • Providing a socially acceptable reason to leave the room during the onset of a panic attack       • Pulling a wheelchair toward a person       • Assistance with repositioning of body parts - this can be an invaluable service in maintaining the comfort level and medical well-being of a person with low mobility This list can go on for pages. EQuality Dog Training works with a person with a disability in order to determine the individual's specific needs and wants. A customized training program is then implemented. At this time, EQuality Dog Training is only working with people with physical and/or emotional disabilities. If you have a need for a Hearing Ear Dog, please give us a call and we will refer you to the top local trainers. The trainers at EQuality Dog Training have years of experience in helping people with disabilities to train their own dogs to become service dogs. Patty Fette has been a classroom assistant at the famous local service dog training organization, Handi-Dogs for over three years. Laura Coursey was an instructor at that same renowned organization for over five years. Additionally, Laura was mentored by Debi Davis, a retired faculty member of the renowned Karen Pryor Clicker Expo.

Phone: (520) 878-DOGG(3644)
E-mail: edt@equalitydogtraining.com