How to start service dog training?

The dog is probably one of the most popular animals people consider as pets. We rear them from adorable little puppies to an outstanding member of our family who protects us and gives as much affection as we give them. There are dogs that have the ability to lend a hand or should I say a paw when our functions are limited. These dogs are commonly known as assistance dogs. There are different types of assistance dogs trained to do specific duties according to the type of disability the owner has. Guide dogs assist the owner's mobility, hearing dogs alerts an owner who has a hearing disability, the service dog may perform various things from assisting in mobility to getting help in case of an emergency. Properly trained service dogs can fetch things or move the owner out of harms way. These steps can help prepare your dog to assist you with your needs.

• Decide whether to train your service dog yourself or hire a professional. You have the option to have your dog trained by a professional or by yourself. Training the dog yourself can assure you that your dog will know exactly what your needs are and the training will be a continuous process with no time constraints. Hiring a professional may on the other hand, provide better instructions as they can train the dog to respond to commands that are unique to your needs.
• Decide where the dog is to be trained. If you decide to have your dog trained by a professional, he may need to bring the dog to their facility and return him after his training day is done. If the dog is to be trained at home it will be a lot easier since his service will take place in the same environment.
• Drill basic commands. If you decide to teach the dog yourself then you will need to train him to follow basic commands such as sit, stay or fetch and later train him with the more advanced commands when he has gotten familiar with the basics.
• Identify the skills he will need to perform. When you know what functions you will need help with, you can start to train him with those specific skills. Your daily routine will help reinforce these skills set. Further training needs to be done for emergency cases; you may need to drill your dog once in a while to remind him of these special actions.

Your service dog needs to learn various skills and commands. Training your dog yourself or by a professional will both give your service dog the skills he is required to perform for your special needs.

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Obedience training is also required since he will be with you everywhere you need to go.