What is an Assistance / Service Dog

All Assistance/Service Dogs are also Service Animals, and there is no right or wrong term.  A Service Dog is more commonly used when referring to federal laws in the US, where as Assistance Dog is more commonly used in the States and Internationally.

​When considering training tasks for your pet dog, it's crucial to prioritize their effectiveness in supporting your overall wellness and recovery journey. 

Tasks to assist with activities of daily living (ADL) such as opening doors, aiding in getting dressed, retrieving medicine, are not commonly needed by our clients.  A service dog provides support in stressful situations, and also is trained to prevent them as much as possible by giving the handler a notification of building tension.

Our owner training is aimed at promoting independence and self sufficiency.  Dedicated to understanding the complexities of PTSD or other mental challenges and its treatment to provide the best possible support for you. 

We adhere to the guidelines set forth by the DOJ, ADA, and Title III, ensuring that service dogs are trained in tasks that promote comfort, well-being, and positive interactions with others.  

Our primary focus is on assisting you in learning to navigate and cope with daily life, rather than perpetuating survival conditioning through unnecessary protective behaviors.  To understand the practical implications of our approach, please refer to details provided here. 

Before moving forward with training tasks, it's essential to educate yourself about disability and its treatment or rehabilitation therapy. It is a misconception that we train service dogs with a therapeutic purpose. Mislabeling them as therapy dogs, PTSD dogs, or service dogs on social media can create misleading expectations.

We encourage you to reach out to us for a consultation to discuss how our service dog training program can best support your unique needs and journey towards healing.  It is free and there is no obligation to sign up for training.​