This means that we ourselves have gone through extensive training through Atlas Assistance Dogs, a nonprofit organization that certifies privately owned service dogs and helps support clients through the final stages of getting certified. Canny Dog will help you through every step of training a service dog, from acquisition of the right puppy or dog to preparation for certification; however, we are very pleased to partner with Atlas Assistance Dogs for the final testing and certification. We feel that it is important that the final certification comes from a well regarded independent organization that meets all the standards set out by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) for service dogs.

Canny Dog helps you with puppy training, basic obedience, service skills, and public asses skills, all the foundations of a service dog, while Altas helps with the final stages of preparing your dog for certification, as well as providing the certification itself. If successful, your dog will still be legally yours, but certified through Atlas and wearing an Atlas assistance dog vest. Another wonderful benefit of working with Atlas is the support they can give clients in the last few months of training. After your dog reaches 14 months of age and has met our training requirements you can apply with Atlas to to be paired with a Team Facilitator. These Team Facilitators are experienced volunteers who help you with the final refinements of skills training, public access, and integrating your service dog into your life. You must work with Atlas for at least 6 months before being eligible for certification. Not only do you get the advantage of all their support and experience – but because they are volunteers it helps keep the cost of that last leg of training down. You would still be working with Canny Dog at least once a month, but the Team Facilitator would be working with you on a more regular basis to help build fluency and confidence as a team in public and at home.

Together we are a team of four: Canny Dog, Atlas, you, and your dog, all working towards the same goal of preparing you and your dog to be a working service dog team.

What It Takes

to Train Your Own Service Dog

It takes a lot of commitment to train your own service dog. You will be doing most of the training. This will be what you are doing when you get home from work, on the weekends, on your lunch break, and any other bit of free time you have. Even if you choose to have us do a lot of the training for you, there is a huge amount of training that has to be done by you in order for your dog to preform reliably in response to your individual needs. This takes consistency and dedication, and a willingness to work hard on your dog handling skills. It realistically takes a year and half to two years to fully train a service dog, and it may take multiple tries with multiple dogs before you are successful. You are also putting yourself in the position of having a giant neon fluffy sign walking next to you that says “I have a disability! Talk to me about it!”. You will have people coming up to you and asking very personal questions, and will have to develop strategies to deal with that. You may also be put in the position of confronting your disability to train your dog. You may need to simulate symptoms during the training process, such as acting out a seizure, panic attack, or low blood sugar episode, and this can be emotionally difficult. Be conscious of your mental health, and honest about whether the process of training a service dog will help your mental state or hurt it.

We do not train dogs for visual impairment, however the client can be visually impaired as long as the service skills expected of the dog are not guide work. If you are unsure whether we can meet your needs, please contact us and we will be happy to confidentially discuss your individual situation. We do not train emotional support animals, and are happy to talk with you about the difference between a service dog and an emotional support dog to help you figure out which one you are trying to achieve.

How much does it cost to train a service dog?

Training a service dog takes a lot of time and a lot of money, even when you are doing it yourself. It usually takes two years to fully train a service dog, so please keep that in mind when calculating the cost. How much you spend on training will depend in part on how much of the work you can take on yourself, versus how much you want to hire a trainer to do it for you. This will often depend on your own skill level, ability to commit time, or what stage of training your dog is in. Another thing to factor into cost is that most people are not successful with their first dog, and may need to try multiple times with multiple dog candidates until they are successful. We cannot give a generic quote as the amount will depend on each individual dog/client team. Please contact us using the contact form, or give us a call, and we will be happy to discuss your individual needs. Below you will find some hourly rates listed that will help you get an idea of the cost. Please note that any of the packages mentioned below are not the full and final cost of training and certifying a service dog team. Most likely multiple training packages over the course of months, or years, will be necessary.

Initial consultation (required for acceptance into training)

2 hours $285

During this consult we will discuss:

• What is a service dog, and is a service dog the right choice for you?

• The legal requirements for having a service dog

• The cost of training a service dog and what your budget is

• Your individual disability, and how a service dog could help you specifically

• The logistics of training a service dog as it pertains to your individual situation

• Selecting a dog, and what the plan is if your selected dog needs a career change

If you are still interested in training a service dog after this consultation, and we believe that you are a good candidate, we will move forward!

Hourly price $150 (for lessons as needed, outside of a package)

Hourly price

COST $150

• For lessons as needed outside of a package

• Most applicable to later in training when we may be meeting less frequently

Dog acquisition assistance

Need help finding a suitable dog? We can help, and actually prefer to be part of the selection process. One of the most important things you can do to be successful training your own service dog is to pick the right dog. We can help you navigate the world of dog selection. We provide information on rescues vs. breeder, what traits to look for and what traits to avoid, what breed best fits your needs, what health checks to get, and much more. We will also administer temperament testing to help select the right candidate.Please be advised that the bulk of responsibility for the search for a dog remains with the client. We are simply here to provide resources on how to find a dog, and feedback on dogs proposed by the client. Our other main role is assessing them for potential suitability for service dog work before acquisition. We do through our work occasionally come across a dog that may be suitable for service work ,but this is not something we guarantee. Please be advised that we do not guarantee that any dog we help you find will succeed as a fully certified service dog.

Tier one dog search

What's included:

• Weekly phone call, up to 1 hour

• Interview breeders, shelters, Facebook groups particular to working dog adoption, and

  rescues, asking them the questions you may not know to ask (up to two

  organizations/breeders a month)

• A shared Google Classroom with all relevant resources, where trainer and client can

  document our respective research and communicate about prospective candidates

• Temperament testing of three dogs that look promising at no extra cost (normally $360

  for each temp test)

• Cost: $480 a month. If a dog is found mid month, you will be refunded the remainder of

  the fee.

Tier two dog search

• Phone call, up to 1 hour, every two weeks

• A shared Google Classroom with all relevant resources, where trainer and client can document our respective research and communicate about prospective candidates

• Interview breeders, shelters, Facebook groups particular to working dog adoption, and rescues, asking them the questions you may not know to ask (one organization/breeder a month)

• Temperament testing of two dogs that looks promising at no extra cost (normally $360 for each temp test)

• Cost: $280 a month. If a dog is found mid month, you will be refunded the remainder of the fee.

Puppy/dog evaluation

Before being accepted into training all puppies/dogs must go through an evaluation. No dog that fails an evaluation will be accepted into training. If your dog does not pass, we can discuss at that point whether you would like assistance finding a new dog. Evaluation is done in two sessions, the first one held at your house, the second held in a public space such as a busy park or store that allows dogs. The first is a formal standardized temperament evaluation. This will be filmed and then scored after the fact. The second is simply an observation of your dog's behavior in a busy public environment. If your dog does not pass the first evaluation, we will not move to the second. This assessment will also be repeated at crucial times throughout training to assure that the dog is developing in the right direction to become a service dog.

• Session one: formal eval at home, 1.5 hours plus 30 min scoring time. Cost: $240

• Session two: observation of dog in a public space, 1 hour. Cost: $120

• Total for both evaluations: $360

Depending on the age of the dog and what the behavior is, mild behavior issues may be accepted. If it is a problem that is determent to be due to a lack of training rather than an underlying temperamental incompatibility, we may proceed with that dog.

Puppy socialization and early training (for puppies under 16 weeks)

• Length: 4 Weeks

• Three 1 hour puppy only lessons per week, where we train the puppy for you and go

  on crucial socialization outings to help prepare them for service work.

• Two 1 hour lessons per week with you and the puppy, to get you started training your

  own service dog.

• Shared record keeping of all sessions and progress, useful resources, plus weekly

  homework through Google Classroom.

• Text, email, video analysis of you working with your puppy, and phone assistance

  between lessons as needed.

• 20 hours of training total (12 with puppy and trainer only; 8 with you, puppy and the

  trainer)

• Topics covered:

  • Socialization 101

  • Potty training/potty on cue

  • Appropriate chewing

  • Crate training

  • Problem behavior prevention (reactivity, jumping, biting, possessive aggression)

  • Introduction to leash harness and vest

  • Introduction to grooming and husbandry

  • Foundation behaviors (name recognition, touch, come when called, sit, down, loose

    leash walking, mat work, engage/disengage, focus around distractions)

• Total cost: $2,400 ($120 an hour)

Day School

This is our most intensive training package and is perfect for starting or refining obedience skills, service skills, and public access skills. It is particularly valuable when you do not feel confident in some area of training and need a professional to step in.

• Length: 1 week minimum. A single week may be sufficient to achieve a single goal like establishing the foundations of a new service skill, or you and the trainer may decide that multiple weeks will fit your team's needs better.

• Dog spends half a day (four hours) with the trainer, five days a week (Tuesday- Saturday), working on the goals established before the start of the day school package.

• Shared record keeping of all sessions and progress through Google Classroom

• Text, email, video analysis, and phone assistance between lessons as needed

• This package must be purchased in combination with a day training package or private

  lessons to transfer the skills to you and show you how to continue the training

• Total cost: $2,000 a week ($100 an hour, 16% discount from normal package hourly pricing)

Day training

This is in between the intensity of day school and private lessons, and is often a good package to graduate to after day school.

• Length: two week minimum.

• Three 1 hour lessons of day training per week, where we train your dog for you.

• Two 1 hour lessons per week with you and your dog, to get you training your own dog

• Shared record keeping of all sessions and progress, useful resources, plus weekly

  homework through Google Classroom.

• Text, email, video analysis of you working with your puppy, and phone assistance

  between lessons as needed.

• Total cost: $1,200 for two weeks, $600 a week after that ($120 an hour)

Private lessons

Hourly private lessons are where you and the trainer work together with your dog. They are perfect for when you and your dog are progressing really well through your training plans and don't need intensive help, or for when your dog is in a less intensive part of their training. This is also a great option for very frequent training where it is valuable for both you and the trainer to participate, such as when teaching a dog to perform a service behavior in response to your real life disability, or introducing you and your dog to public access training.

• Can be as frequent as five days a week, or as infrequent as once a month.

• Sold in packages of 5 lessons.

• Cost: $600 for five lessons ($120 an hour)