Service Dog Training

One on One Service Dog Training

A Service Dog will be task trained to help you and provide assistance in performing specific functions, helping you to live a more independent life. A Service Dog is a dog that has been individually trained to mitigate a person’s disability. Tasks may include but not limited to; dogs that pull wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during a panic attack or Psychiatric episode and more. Dogs are task trained to your individual needs.

Specialties include all forms of Mobility Assistance, Psychiatric Assistance, PTSD, Low Blood Sugar Alert.

Learning to train your own Service Dog can be very rewarding for you, and is in accordance with the ADA law on Service Dogs. It will build a better bond as you learn to speak a mutual language. To purchase a fully trained Service Dog can range from $20,000.00 to $40,000.00. Learning to train your own Service Dog with me will be considerably less and a gratifying experience for both you and your dog.

The average owner trained service dog program is approximately 5 to 10 months (depending on the dogs age and your needs), broken down into 4 modules. It includes all testing and certification in accordance with ADA Service Dog law.

At the end of your program we will access if you are able to continue to train on your own or need to continue our training together. A fully reliable Service Dog can take up to 2 years of daily training.

Cost: $675.00 for 6, one hour lessons. Each additional set of 6, one hour lessons is $650.00

My program offers you my personal service (not assistant trainers).

Additional Services:
If you don’t have a dog yet, I can help you find the right one for you
If you don’t live close, zoom is very effective for training
If you’re not sure if your existing dog would be a good candidate for Service Dog work, consultations are available
Refresher Service Dog Training. A program for those who wish to sharpen their SD skills or add additional Tasks.

For Owners and Trainers alike – NEW class for scent discrimination! Click here FMI

A sampling of a few of the tasks that we can train!

Patxi learning to station in a different position to then alert his handler that someone is coming too close. We haven’t finished the behavior quite yet, but this is what we have so far. Next step would be to add in a cue of a person coming too close so he can indicate to her by bumping her thigh with his nose

 

Betty now able to put an object in her owner’s lap without dropping it

Betty taking something from me and putting it in her owner’s lap!

MoTown’s first scent discrimination lesson, to eventually teach him to alert mom to migraines

MoTown’s 2nd scent discrimination lesson!

Betty Learning to pick up strange objects

Betty learning how to turn on/off a light switch

Betty learning how to turn on/off a light switch, Part Two (using her nose)

Betty learning that odd surfaces are okay!

MoTown learning to do deep pressure therapy when mom is having a panic attack or about to have one – lesson #1

Koda learning to alert his owner to the beep on her phone which tells her to take her meds

Koda learning to do scent discrimination, so he can alert his owner when her blood sugar is low

Betty learning to ignore obnoxious people

Testimonials
Pamela Dennison of Positive Dogs is the best!! When I came to Pamela, my SDiT Koda, was about 7 months old. We had gone to another dog school and were having issues with basic skills, let alone the tasking skills he needed to be a service dog. Things were so awful that it was affecting our relationship. Within a few weeks working with Pamela, things were completely different. Koda was able to follow basic skills and had begun tasking – bringing me my pills, phone, insulin pump and giving me alerts for my pills and pump alarms. Koda is now a little over 2 and thanks to Pamela, he can behave properly in public, doesn’t jump on people, and does his task with great enthusiasm. I recommend Pamela every chance I get.
UPDATE!
I have been working with Koda on the scent training and this weekend he had his first spontaneous alert! I was at a dance intensive in PA, and he started staring at me. When I asked him what was wrong, he came over and put his paw on my right leg (the slap behavior we had trained for this). I was surprised and asked him again what the problem was and he repeated the behavior. So I checked my sugar and sure enough it was at 106! Becky Braun

I have periodically trained with Pam since before moving to Florida in 2008 to start my Service Dog Training business.

One of my current clients for whom I trained her Service Dog, a 2 year old Golden Retriever, asked if I could train her dog for Low Blood Sugar alert. I told her that I understand the concept of scent training but have never done it. She asked if I was willing to try? I accepted the challenge.

Her dog Caramelo would stay with me for 4 weeks. I watched several YouTube videos on Low Blood Sugar detection. I did not like any of them and they all said it takes MONTHS!! I did Not have months.

I reached out to Pam knowing that her Service Dog Program includes Low Blood Sugar detection. Dear Pam, HELP!!

Pam is in New Jersey and I am in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She suggested doing two, 1/2 hour Zoom Sessions per week with her. In addition she had me send her daily videos of my training with Caramelo. Every day she would critique each of my sessions. “Your Clicker timing is Terrible. Dog did the right thing but You missed it! Pay better attention. There you go. Great job!” Pam kept me on my toes to keep getting better every day. At the end of my 4 weeks of Board & Train with Caramelo he was recognizing and alerting to the Low Blood Sugar samples provided by his owner.

Thank You Pam Dennison. You have given me the knowledge to continue to work with my client to take her dog to the next level of alerting her to her Low Blood Sugar. Thanks to you I now have my client send me daily videos of her training with her Service Dog, Caramelo.

I will now offer Low Blood Sugar detection as part of my Service Dog Training. I am not ready to do it totally on my own. I will rely on your guidance to train my next Diabetes Alert Dog.

If only Google had a 10 Star option that is what I would give Pam Dennison. THANK YOU PAM. Daniel De La Rosa

Contact Pam for more information