MAP Service Dogs, A Path to a New Life...

Service Dog Training

What are Service Dogs?

A Service or Assistance Dog is a dog who is trained to aid a person with a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Service Dogs help those with Hearing impairments, Sight impairments, Psychiatric Illness, Mobility impairments, and Hidden Disabilities such as epilepsy or diabetes.

Service dogs are a wonderful asset to those with disabilities.  Besides providing aid in doing daily tasks, they give never ending emotional support.  Once you begin working with a Service Dog, life will never be the same again.

How does Training Work?

Service dog training is a process that teaches you to train your dog to be an assistance dog.  Maplewood trainers work with you to customize the training plan to train the service dog that will meet your specific needs.  Together we will discover exactly what a dog can do to help you! 

If you don’t yet have a dog that we feel would be a successful Service Dog, Maplewood trainers will help you to find that perfect canine partner.  We have strong relationships with area rescue organizations, and many high quality breeders of a wide variety of breeds, and we will do everything we can to find a dog that is right for you.

Maplewood strives to maintain a personal and positive approach to training.  We work one-on-one with our students and keep learning as upbeat and fun as possible for both the human and canine.  We believe that service work is a partnership between dog and human and that the only way success will be reached is through a team approach.

We expect that all of our clients enroll in weekly group obedience courses at a dog training school that stresses positive reinforcement training methods, in addition to regular meetings with our trainers.  Clients are expected to cover the cost for group training classes, as well as veterinary care including preventative health screenings such as x-rays and eye exams, and proper dog food, in addition to the cost of service dog training. 

What do Service Dogs Learn?

Dogs in training will learn the obedience commands and task commands specific to your disability.  For example your dog may learn how to help you get up or into your wheelchair, he may learn to open doors or turn on/off lights, he may learn to signal you to rocky pavement or obstructions in your way.  The list can go and an on.

How Long Does it take to Train a Service Dog?

It usually takes 24months to fully train a service dog. 

Maplewood has two systems for training dogs.  One is the Owner-Trainer Program where we meet weekly with you to teach you and your dog the skills you will need to be a successful team.  This program requires daily dedication on your part to work on the tasks at hand. 

The alternative program involves the dog residing at Maplewood for a period of months to train the behaviors.  Once the dog has learned what he needs to know from the trainer, the trainer will then work with you on a weekly basis to transfer the dog to you.  Because of our small facility there is an over 2 year waiting list for a facility trained dog.

What Types of Service Dogs does Maplewood Train?

We have trained a wide variety of service dogs over the years, the only dogs we currently do not train are medical alert dogs including seizure and diabetic alert dogs.

Maplewood Assistance Partners, Inc

katrin@maplewooddog.com