As the spooky season approaches and neighborhoods immerse themselves in all things eerie and fun, both humans and pets prepare for Halloween. However, for our four-legged friends, it might also mean a period of heightened stress and anxiety.  The strange sights of ghouls, witches, and monsters, coupled with unusual sounds and bustling activities, could perplex and unsettle even the most easy-going pooch. This article looks into the important strategies you can implement to prepare your dog (be they pet or service) for Halloween, focusing on recognizing stress signals, selecting appropri ..read more

As a pet or service dog parent, taking your fur baby to the veterinarian for vaccinations and an annual physical is an important tool for keeping an eye on a dog’s overall health. But what happens if, at some point between this year’s exam and next year’s physical, your dog needs medical attention? Small disturbances can easily evolve, sometimes rapidly into serious health issues. Often, when caught quickly, your vet will be able to intervene before a situation spirals out of control. Observation by pet parents can make quite a difference in anticipating potentially serious and fatal health ..read more

Many people are canine fans, so it stands to reason that when they meet a dog, their initial reaction is to want to interact with or pet the pooch. But service dogs are special canines, even when irresistible. They are among the elite trained professionals of the canine species, and as such, need to be respected, especially when involved in professional duties. The rule to follow when you meet a service dog is “Do not touch or distract a Service Dog”. This rule should be necessarily applied whether the dog is officially in service or being trained to enter service. These dogs are fundamental ..read more

This summer, Atlas had the joy of welcoming Michelle, an intern from Princeton University. Throughout her internship with us, Michelle worked on a wide range of important projects. Her talent, dedication, and hard worked shined in everything she did. We are extremely grateful to have had her join our team. Here is what Michelle has to say about her time as an Atlas summer intern and what she learned about service dogs and disabilities. What I've Learned as an Atlas Summer Intern “For my first two days as a remote intern at Atlas Assistance Dogs, I had the opportunity to virtually attend At ..read more

Training your own service dog is by no means an easy feat. It takes time, consistency, patience, and a lot of compassion towards yourself and your dog. There will be great days where you see huge strides in your dog’s training, and there will be hard days too. To ease training frustration and better see your success, here are 5 tips to help you set realistic goals when training your own service dog. 1. Create a Training Plan As you are working on training your service dog, you likely have plenty of ideas for what behaviors and skills you want your dog to achieve. But it can be daunting to ..read more

A service dog can play a crucial role in the life of a disabled person, and there are many incredible tasks that a dog can be trained to do that will enable their handler to live a more independent and safer life. But what does it take to become a service dog? And what does the life of a service dog actually look like? Keep reading to find out what being a service dog is all about, and the journey that dogs and their handlers go on together.  A Service Dog Must Be Well Behaved in Public Service dogs and their handlers have public access rights. This means that they can go anywhere ..read more

Service dogs are trained to provide assistance with a host of tasks to help mitigate their person’s disability. They can help retrieve items for people with limited mobility or sense an impending seizure or cardiac episode. They can even detect if their owner’s blood sugar is at dangerous levels and alert others if it’s a medical emergency.  If you use a service dog, you probably know your rights about bringing your dog to public places. But what if you need to find a place to rent with your service dog? In this post, we’ll take a quick look at renters’ rights, exceptions to the guideli ..read more

We are proud to announce that Atlas Assistance Dogs has earned candidacy with Assistance Dogs International (ADI)! ADI is a worldwide coalition of non-profit organizations that train assistance dogs. They have become a leading authority and have set standards and best practices within the international service dog industry, and we are proud to be one of the few owner-trainer organizations recognized as ADI candidate members.   Learn what this exciting news means for us, our clients, and what the next steps are towards becoming fully accredited with ADI.  What This Means for Atlas ..read more

If you are a service dog handler, trainer, or part of the disability community, this may be a no brainer for you. But if you have never truly seen the impact(s) that a service dog can have, you might wonder why service dogs matter. Many people are familiar with guide dogs and their ability to help blind people navigate, but not everyone is aware of the wide array of skills a dog can learn, and how many people they can help. Service dogs not only perform life-saving tasks such as alerting someone with diabetes to dangerously low blood sugar, or calling 911 if someone falls, but they have also ..read more

“Where’s your service dog today? If you don’t have him with you all the time, then you must not really need him.”  Let’s unpack this! Many service dog handlers choose not to take their service dog with them every time they go out. There are a variety of reasons why someone might choose to do this. It does not mean they do not need their service dog. It is more than okay to not take your service dog with you everywhere, all the time, and it should be no one else’s concern to tell you otherwise. Good Health Days Disabled people have good days and bad days and may need to rely on their d ..read more