Service Dogs

By the end of their formal instruction, assistance-dogs-in-training know over 100 commands to help someone with impaired mobility, such as retrieving items that have fallen on the floor, opening doors, and turning lights on and off at home and in public.

Our dogs are selected for their friendly personalities, eagerness to please, and from breeds that love to work. Raised and trained at an early age for basic skills and confidence, around the age of two, most dogs have the maturity and training to be matched with his/her new, lifetime partner.

The person who receives a dog is taught how dogs learn and how to best work with his/her new dog through individualized training. This match is celebrated by a graduation ceremony recognizing the successful efforts of the youth involved in the training and the puppy-raiser and other volunteers who assisted in the development process. Members of the community are also invited to join in this moving celebration.

Facility Placement: Some dogs are particularly well-suited for placement in a facility to assist a group of patients e.g. a school or a skilled care facility. Dogs that provide this service are placed with a primary caretaker who assumes full responsibility for the dog twenty-four hours a day/seven days a week. (The dog stays with its caretaker at home and goes to work with him/her.) We also place skilled companions, dogs that can have specialized skills for in-home applications, rather than working in public.

Specific Service Dog Training Activities

Puppy Raising: Puppy Raisers provide the service-dogs-in-training with the foundation to become skilled dogs that are confident in public. The puppy-raisers take the dogs (selected and provided by Paws and Think) into their home for caretaking and training for approximately two years; attend classes provided by Paws and Think; and, with guidance, socialize their dogs in stores and facilities that the dog’s prospective placement will visit (e.g. grocery stores, banks).

Puppy Sitting: Puppy Sitters serve a much-needed purpose. By fostering the service-dog-in-training for a weekend or week, puppy-sitters provide the primary puppy-raisers with an opportunity to enjoy a break knowing their dog is being well cared for and that the training they have provided will be maintained.

Advanced Training: When the dogs have a strong foundation and it has been determined that they are physically sound, the dogs are placed in advanced training with the puppy-raiser and/or an advanced trainer.

Client Placement: When the dogs-in-training have been evaluated as physically sound, confident in public, skilled for the job, and enjoy working in this job, they are matched with the needs and personalities of individuals with disabilities or special needs. They are assigned as service dogs, facility dogs, or skilled companions.

Dogs that the youth train through the youth-canine programs are adopted as companion animals through the shelters we partner with.

Or our extensive and individualized ‘service-dog-in-training’ program is available for clients who need training for their existing companion dogs is extensive and individualized.