Service Dog Training
Service dogs are medical equipment for individuals with disabilities. Good Lead Dog Training assists those individuals with training dogs for their medical needs. Good Lead Dog Training is not a 501c3 and training is not associated with any organizations that train service dogs for free. Training service dogs is a large financial, time and emotional commitment. It typically takes 2 years for a service dog to complete training from scratch.
What does it take?
Training service dogs is a huge undertaking and should be taken seriously. The national average for training service dogs is between $15,000 and $20,000. The cost changes depending on what kind of tasks are needed for the disabled individual, the age of the dog and the current training the dog already has. It is important to note that service dogs, are not emotional support animals.
Emotional support animals require NO training.
Any dog training facility attempting to charge for emotional support animals is a scam. Emotional support animals do not have public access rights, and due to people abusing the airline laws are no longer allowed to fly with their disabled owners. There has been an increase of 'fake' service dogs and states are implementing ways to punish those who are misrepresenting their dog.
Good Lead Dog Training will only assist those with disabilities who need a service dog and have exhausted all other options. If you are a disabled individual with a current dog that you would like trained, please note that the retirement age for service dogs depends heavily on the work they do daily, and breed. Typically, service dogs retire anywhere from 8 and 11 years old. To assess a current dog we do provide an evaluation up front for the likelihood of a dog's success rate with service dog training.
We do not support training disabled dogs as service animals. Examples: deaf, amputee, serious skin conditions, allergies, etc. It is important that all dogs training to be service dogs are in the best health for their owners.
Good Lead will also support finding a prospect puppy for potential clients at no additional cost. We promote ethical dog breeding, and it is important for service dogs to have the best possible start. Typically, when we search for a puppy for a client it will be one of these breeds (based off of owner's needs): Golden Retriever, Standard Poodle, Labrador Retriever or Rough/Smooth Collie. The purchase of the puppy is at the expense of the client. We also assist our clients with any documentation that they need a long the way, and keep notes for legal purposes. We are here for lifetime support.
Good Lead has a standardized approach for training service dogs that includes passing all Canine Good Citizen exams. Our service dog program encompasses 2-3 programs tailored to your dog or puppy. It will include a series of private coaching, board and train, and public access. The program is broken down into groups so that if your dog 'washes' then your dog's training is concluded at that point. It is important to note that a dog can wash at any time, and Good Lead will not continue training the dog towards service work as we do not believe the dog is a good candidate for service dog training.
Funding for Good Lead Dog Training's Service Dog Program is funded completely by the client.
Any persons who are misrepresenting themselves or their dogs, will be permanently blocked from training with Good Lead Dog Training or services offered.
Service dogs give disabled individuals the means for accessibility and freedom.
Not for you to take your dog into the store.
