Training A Current Dog That You Own To Be A Service Dog.

Often people want to have their own personal dogs to become their service dog. We do not typically allow this because the majority of pet dogs do not meet the service dog selection criteria. A service dog is used exclusively for the individual who is prescribed the dog by a healthcare professional. There is a big difference between a service dog and a pet. The service’s dog responsibility is to exclusively take care of their owner. They do not get left unattended to play with the neighbor’s dogs, or the kids next door don’t walk the dog. A service dog is NOT a family pet. Yes, the dog will be social and friendly towards everyone in the family and strangers, however the dog’s SOLE responsibility is to stay by the owner’s side. If you choose to add an additional dog to the family as a service dog, Canine Composure must meet your current dog and do a behavior assessment on the dog. We will also contact your current vet to make sure that you have been a responsible pet owner.

If you are prepared to turn your pet dog into a service dog, contact us at: CanineComposure@gmail.com. Please read over our Service Dog criteria list, and make sure that your dog meets all the criteria. If your dog meets all the criteria, we will schedule an evaluation at our facility to see what potential your dog has!

Canine Composure WILL NOT train and certify family pet dogs so you can have “fun” in taking your dog everywhere. We want to maintain the integrity for those individuals who actually need these dogs for health reasons. Many people suffer with extreme mental and physical health issues that do not allow them to go out in public comfortably. We train dogs for those people who NEED the dogs.

I Want A Service Dog! How Do I Get One?

Before we will be able to start training a dog for you, we need a letter from your healthcare provider stating your need for the dog. We also need them to state that you possess the mental capacity to provide proper care for the dog, including: walking, taking the dog to the vet, feeding, and grooming the dog. We need this letter in writing and signed by your healthcare provider. We will be unable to train a dog for you unless we have a letter from your provider.

Once you and your provider have decided that you are ready for, and need a dog, you will schedule a consultation with Canine Composure. At our consultation we invite you and anyone you would like to bring along to see our training facility, meet your trainer and talk further about what kind of dog you will need. We recommend that you bring some pictures of dogs that you like! At any given time we have 2-3 dogs in training, so you will be able to meet some dogs and see what they are working on! Once you have decided what type of dog you would like the next step is coming up with a payment plan.

Service dogs are costly to train. We have the price of a Service Dog broken down on our Pricing Page. We do offer several payment options to help you afford the dog. We also encourage people (if they are comfortable) to set up GoFundMe accounts and to do fundraisers. The public is VERY receptive to donating to individuals who need service dogs. Pick a payment option that is best for you! Once you pick a payment option, put down your first month payment, and sign our contract, we will pick your dog out and start training! It typically takes one to two weeks to hand select your personal dog.

Once we have hand selected your dog, the dog will come to our facility and go to the vet to get a complete health check. We want to make sure that your dog is in good health and possess excellent health so your dog can provide you with the services you need. Once your dog meets all the health requirements, training will start. We welcome the new owner to come and visit their new dog after the dog has been at our facility for one week. We will send you progress pictures as your dog is going through training.

Your dog’s entire training process will take approximately 3 months. Each dog is trained at a minimum of 180 hours. During that 3 month process we welcome you to come out and visit with your dog! We do limit visitations to once every 2 weeks to ensure no disruption in the training schedules. We encourage you to take pictures and bring treats and toys for your new dog! During the first two months of training we do not allow you to take the dog alone off the training facility site. During the last month we will schedule training sessions where we will practice taking your new dog out. (This is done at your discretion and comfort level, we do understand that sometimes it takes a while to become comfortable going out into public situations). During the three months your dog will earn three certifications and become a public service access dog.

After 3 months of training (sometimes training time can vary depending on the extend of skills the dog needs to learn to service you), the dog becomes your dog! You will go home with all of the dog accessories (dog crate, bed, bowls, food, leashes, vests, collars etc.)

We always welcome follow up questions after your dog has gone home with you to ensure the smoothest transition possible into their new home. If for some reason you no longer need the dog, or wish to place the dog, the dog will come back to Canine Composure.

There are only a limited number of locations that offer this service. We do train and welcome people from all over the country. Our reputation is extremely important to us, so we will make sure that you receive the perfect dog! Due to the popularity of this program, we are often full and sometimes there is a short wait list. To make sure that we can service you first, we recommend putting your deposit down during your consultation. Once you have put the deposit down, we start looking for your perfect match the next day!

Should My Service Dog Be A Rescue Dog Or A Dog From A Breeder?

We allow this decision to be completely up to you! We feel that there are positive and negatives associated with each decision. We will go through both options with you, and educate you on both options. We truly believe that one option is not better over the other, it just comes down to personal preference! Same thing with choosing a male or female dog. Some people prefer one over the other and others don’t mind what they get.

Interested In Setting Up A Consultation?

If you would like to learn more, meet your trainer, see the facility, and meet some dogs that are currently in training we happily invite you to come to our facility. We are appointment based only. We will e-mail you a list of things to think about prior to coming to the consultation. We really look forward to meeting everyone.

CanineComposure@Gmail.com