Service Dogs

Especially talented dogs from our Youth-Canine Program and adopted into our Service-Dogs-In-Training Program. The dogs are selected for their friendly personalities, eagerness to please, and affinity for their jobs. Raised and trained at an early age for basic skills and confidence, most dogs are placed around the age of two when they have the maturity and training to be matched with their new, lifetime partners.

By the end of their formal instruction, assistance-dogs-in-training know over 100 cues to help someone with impaired mobility at home or in public, e.g. retrieving items that have fallen on the floor, opening doors, turning lights on and off at home and in public, and obtaining help in an emergency.

The person who receives the dog also goes through extensive, individualized training, learning how dogs learn and how to best work with his/her new partner. At the completion of training, this successful match is celebrated by a graduation ceremony to recognize the efforts of the new teams, youth involved in the training, puppy-raisers and puppy-sitters, and other volunteers who assisted in the development process. Members of the community are also invited to join in this moving celebration.

In-Home Skilled Companions: We also place dogs with specialized skills with individuals who need these skills. These dogs serve their partner in the home, without public access rights.

Facility Placement: Some dogs are particularly well-suited for placement in a facility to assist a group of people 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.)

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 18 months; 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, schools).

Puppy Sitting: Puppy Sitters foster the service-dogs-in-training for a week or weekend, providing 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 have been determined as 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 skilled for the job, confident in public, physically sound, and enjoy working in their jobs, they are matched with the needs and personalities of individuals with disabilities/special needs. They may be assigned as service dogs, skilled companions or facility dogs.