Training your own service dog is a unique and potentially life-changing journey. It is different for every dog and handler. Deciding which training services to use is equally unique. Considerations include your family composition, lifestyle, budget, schedule and available time, training experience and interest, and your dog’s needs, training, personality, and health. This is why we create a unique training plan for each service dog and handler we work with.
Here at At Your Service Dog Training, we help individuals with disabilities and their families to train their own service dog. Our Round Trip Platinum Program is a board & train offering customized for those training a service dog for themselves or their child. (Apply to our board & train program.)
Let’s face it, making sure you have a service dog is one of the most important considerations in your life. Sending your precious pup to be trained is a investment in your service dog’s success. Because we want to help you achieve the best outcome for your service-dog-in-training (SDiT), we’ve written a three-part series on service dog board & train that covers the Why, How, and Who.
- This post, Part 1, addresses “why?” It covers the best reasons to use board & train for service dogs.
- Part 2 covers “what” and “how.” It reveals which skills and behaviors to focus on in a board & train.
- Part 3 is dedicated to “who.” It tells you how to select the right board & train program and which trainers to avoid. (Hint: Only send your dog to someone who exclusively uses kind, humane, positive methods approved by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior.)
Vacation, Illness, Surgery, or Other Lifestyle Disruption
There may be times you won’t be able to care for or train your dog as usual. Board & train can bridge the gap while giving your dog’s training an extra boost! For example, if you are…
- Traveling for work or vacation but taking your SDiT with you would be too much at this stage of their training
- Recovering your health, so you need to reduce stress and physical demands
- There’s a big work or family project that will eat into your training time for a couple of weeks
When Frieda’s handler, Sonya, was recovering from hand surgery, she sent Frieda to us. We kept Frieda’s manners and public access skills sharp (such as by practicing down-stays at my dentist appointment, above). However, Frieda primarily trained on a very advanced skill — guiding around obstacles and stopping at changes in elevation — that would have been very difficult for Sonya to train. We made daily videos for Sonya so she could see Frieda training, such as the video below of Frieda navigating an obstacle course.
Faster Results
Training a service dog takes a lot of time. You know your life will be easier and better with a trained service dog — and you want that freedom and quality of life ASAP! Board & train substantially speeds up your service dog’s training for two reasons:
- Your dog is getting expert training throughout the day, including at times you are not able to train (due to work, disability, or family care)
- The trainer is highly efficient because they have years of training expertise
Even “basic” foundation skills require a lot of repetition. A reliable loose-leash walk and a long, reliable down-stay are service dog necessities, but that doesn’t make them quick and easy for you to train! We have already trained these behaviors in hundreds (or thousands?) of dogs, so we can train your dog more quickly. You can enjoy the results and train on higher-level skills instead.
Katy has seen accelerated training with Bode, her son’s Labradoodle service dog, since he has been in our Round Trip Platinum Program:
Every time he returns from B&T, he has improved his skills…touch, settling, loose leash walking. We love sending Bode to At Your Service Dog Training Board & Train. We get daily updates and he returns to us better trained!
Puppy Raising & Adolescent Training
Some people love the first few months of intense time with their adorable new puppy. Others get a puppy because they want the best shot at a successful service dog, but do not enjoy the 24/7 aspect of the puppy stage. If you have a disability or are raising children, puppy care can be particularly challenging: potty breaks every couple of hours, the vigilance needed to prevent accidents, and constant management of biting, chewing, jumping, and stealing.
You probably also know that puppyhood is a critical developmental period; your puppy’s brain is changing fast and is at its most impressionable. In its first few months, your pup makes associations that will affect its behavior for the rest of its life. It’s critical to prevent negative experiences and lay great foundations.
A nurturing, force-free service dog trainer who can board & train your pup in their loving home environment gives you a break from puppy raising while your precious pup gets the best start in life.
On the other hand, some pups are a dream until they hit adolescence (usually around 8 to 12 months of age). Suddenly they are stronger, more energetic, and less eager-to-please. You may be eager to send your teenager to boarding school to burn off some energy and remember their manners!
Lee trained her black Lab service dog, Shadow, with us. When Shadow got cancer, we helped her select and train Shadow’s successor, Phoenix. While Phoenix was also a black Lab, he was a much more exuberant dog. At 10 months old, he hit adolescence and was bursting with energy just as Lee was recovering from a fall. Lee applied to our Round Trip Platinum Program to keep Phoenix’s training sharp. At the same time he got to burn off energy and learn self-control around Sharon’s other dogs.
For two weeks, Phoenix trained with us Monday through Friday, then Lee did a transition lesson with him and brought him home on the weekend. After he came back home, Lee emailed us, “Thank you again so very much for two really fabulous weeks. I have learned a lot! Rick and I are renewed from some time away from Phoenix and feeling more confident and hopeful.”
Difficult or Advanced Skills
A skilled, force-free board & train program is a great option for skills which would be difficult for you to train yourself. As in the example with Frieda above, a professional trainer can train your dog in advanced or complex skills with greater speed, precision, and accuracy. In some cases your disability (mental or physical) can impact your ability to train a particular skill.
For example, we have trained service dogs for children who are not always able to cooperate in the dog’s training. During board & train sessions, our trainer, Eli, has been able to train the dog to perform the skills with his niece as a stand-in for the child-handler at home.
Public Access Training Or Puppy Socialization Field Trips
One of the most challenging types of training for many service dog owner-trainers is bringing their dog into public. Puppies need socialization outings, especially during their first two months at home. Adolescent and adult dogs need training in different public settings to continue to get comfortable with them and learn to focus and be mannerly around distraction.
Most dogs can easily learn Sit, Down, Stay, and Come in their familiar home environment, but learning to follow those cues in a grocery store, the hospital emergency room, or your child’s high school corridor is a completely different thing! Training for reliability in public requires many training “field trips.”
Many people have trouble navigating public environments due to their disabilities. For example, if you feel anxious in public places or around groups of strangers, you want your dog to learn to be calm and confident in those environments. If you want your service dog to accompany and support you in those moments, your SDiT first needs to learn that those places are safe for them. Depending on how your anxiety affects you, it may not be feasible for you to do this initial training. Someone who can easily and confidently train in those environments will set up your dog for success in the future. If your dog learns the early stages of this training at a board & train and returns to you with that confident foundation, you can take the next steps together without risking “emotional contagion.”
Difficulties Caused by Your Disability
As trainers who specialize in working with people with disabilities, we are always happy to modify training instructions and methods to work for a variety of bodies and disabilities. However, it is also true that mental and physical limitations can make some skills much more difficult to train. A board & train can get your dog started on the new skill, and get the behavior to a stage where you are able to take over the training.
For example, training a precise, controlled service dog retrieve — especially in a dog with no natural interest in retrieving — can be a long, slow process even for someone with no physical limitations. It can require great timing and dexterity. Additionally, during the training process, the trainer often needs to pick up or reposition the retrieve item.
Maizie’s handler, Frankie, used a wheelchair. He applied to our Round-Trip Platinum Program to get Maizie trained on a number of skills that would have been physically exhausting for him. Maizie’s board & train stay focused on loose leash walking, leave it, control and positioning in doorways and tight spaces (back up, follow behind, walk ahead), and retrieve. In the video below, Maizie is learning the foundation for a gentle, controlled service dog retrieve.
Highest-Level Training
Training a service dog is a big goal — with the potential for a life-changing payoff. Training mistakes will hinder the process. Board & train with a credentialed, positive-reinforcement service dog trainer will give you confidence that your dog is on the right track.
For example, Tere had a lot of dog experience — volunteering for rescues, training previous pet dogs, and having lived with her daughter’s previous service dog. But this was her first time training a service dog. To give her Labradoodle, Heidi, the best chance at success, she started puppy training with both a local, all-rewards-based trainer who did lessons in her home, as well as enrolling Heidi in our level one PEARL DISC class online. Then, we set up a series of board & trains so Heidi could periodically get top-tier training at our site, combined with online lessons at home with Tere, that ensured a successful transition of learning before the next round with our trainer.
Heidi’s initial training goals included improved confidence getting in or out of cars, and being calm around strangers and other dogs. After one of Heidi’s first stays, Tere emailed us:
I loved the training video you posted! I love that you started working on the “stay” and working through distraction with another dog. You know those were some of my biggest concerns.
This weekend K and I took Heidi to 3 places. Amazingly, she jumped out of the car! She of course got treats and lots of praise.
I was surprised how well she did at the stores. Whole Foods was crazy busy. I was worried because K was with me, which means that I need to divide my attention. We had to get a cart and K pushed it. Heidi did great not being freaked out by the carts or the noise.
I think the biggest improvement I have seen is that when we first went out, Heidi would go nuts wanting to greet everyone. I have been practicing with her the “not now we are working” and having her sit and look at me (or walk and look at me) and she has done really really well.
You Just Need a Break!
You love your dog! So much! But also, sometimes you might just need a break from the work and pressure.
Not only is it OK to take a break, sometimes it’s actually better for your dog’s training, and for your relationship with your dog! If you’re frustrated, overwhelmed, ill, or just dealing with other things, it is a gift to your dog and an investment in preventing burnout to have a kind, professional trainer take over for a little while. When your dog returns home, you’re refreshed and ready to return to training.
We know Bode is well taken care of while he is at At Your Service Dog Training’s board & train. As much as we miss him, it’s nice to have a little break 🙂 — Katy Ward
The reasons to choose board & train for your service dog are as unique and special as you and your dog.
Would board & train help you train your service dog? We are happy to help. To apply for our Round-Trip Platinum board & train program, please fill out this short application form. If you have questions, email us or use our contact form.
https://atyourservicedogtraining.com/7-reasons-for-board-train-for-sdit/
