Click on the video below to catch up with Ukie and his boy Oly! https://video.wixstatic.com/video/0e644d_83f68ef446354d1fbbae719656ff4801/720p/mp4/file.mp4 ..read more

We were introduced to the concept of an autism service dog in 2014 when a family member of a student of ours shared their ASDA experience (Austin and Izzie). At the time, we were heavily involved with OT, SLPs, IEPs, social groups and various appointments for our daughter and son (both have the trifecta diagnosis of autism, anxiety and ADHD). As most families, we were anxious to find support – anything that might help our children feel successful; however, the idea of fundraising for our two who were both transitioning to middle school was overwhelming, as was the decision of determining whic ..read more

Once your service dog comes into your care, it’s important to take everything slow to establish a strong bond. In the beginning, the dog does not know your body language, or even the sound of your voice. You may have never owned a dog, or never had one as an adult, and might feel unsure or nervous at times. That’s normal but it’s important to know that dogs pick up on those feelings. In the first few months it’s important to work on establishing a daily routine and spend time every day with the dog in it’s service pack and doing training in and around your house, very easy outings, daily free ..read more

The service dogs have to learn to work with distractions. In this training video I am working with Zeus to stay calm around other dogs and children. https://video.wixstatic.com/video/0e644d_b44f4c80371c42ea89ba511d820b43c6/720p/mp4/file.mp4 ..read more

When our service dogs graduate, they all go through a public access test to assess whether they are ready to work in a public setting. Here you will see Xara working with her new handler and being tested on how she reacts to being distracted and startled. https://video.wixstatic.com/video/0e644d_9304397ddc2144f48fdca9812d139209/720p/mp4/file.mp4 ..read more

A big part of becoming a service dog is being able to ignore distractions and practice impulse control in a variety of situations. In this video Zion and Zeplyn are training in a pet store. You will see our trainer Brooke dropping tasty tidbits and the dogs practicing "leave it" while practicing holding a "down stay". This is especially difficult with a cheese stick in front of them, and a lady holding another dog just over Zeplyn's shoulder! These service dogs-in-training make it look easy, but these are just two of the over 30 commands that they need to master on a consistent basis in many d ..read more

Our service dogs begin their training at eight weeks old. Right away they begin training in a variety of settings. The dogs need to remain calm and focused even in highly stimulating or unusual environments. In the video below you will see the puppy raisers training the dogs around a small farm. The smells and sounds of animals in front of them, children laughing and walking by, cars parking and families making their way to the festivities. The puppy raisers take them toward the animals, pause allowing them to look, then say "let's go!" and turn away. This is a way to teach the dogs to focus o ..read more

Three years sounds like a long time and it is. I don’t think I’ve ever waited for anything that long in my entire life, but as I’m looking at Vienna now, I can’t even remember the difficulty of the anticipation. The bond that I’ve created with Vienna is unlike any I’ve made with any other person or pet. She is my teammate, friend, and confidant. Vienna and I have been together for five months, but it feels like I’ve known her for a lifetime. Things like going to Costco, getting my teeth cleaned, and being in large crowds, suddenly became a lot easier with her. She has changed my life forever ..read more

In this short video you will see Vance training on the moving sidewalk at the airport. https://video.wixstatic.com/video/0e644d_250f5e9fc6dd47a5912b7f47a119813c/720p/mp4/file.mp4 ..read more

The dogs need to learn to stay focused on their job to keep their handler safe. It's really important to teach them impulse control around objects that they are drawn to such as balls and squeaky toys. If a service dog was tethered to a child, and someone dropped a ball and it rolled past the dog, it is a dog's nature to chase the ball. Impulse control is an extremely important skill for the dogs to learn. Watch the video below to see two of the dogs practicing this skill. https://video.wixstatic.com/video/0e644d_778ffa2dcd0b48abbb21bbb050d8aa82/720p/mp4/file.mp4 ..read more