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group of four service dogs sitting in line on beach

Paws4people®️

Our Service Dog Training Process

yellow lab puppy in service dog training vest being held by staff member

Birth to 3 weeks

Whelping

The Service Dog training process begins with neurological stimulation and stress control conditioning involves exposing the Puppies to a series of different stimuli, postures, physical restrictions, physical stimulation, and so on for the first three weeks.

3-20 weeks

Puppy Development

Here, the focus shifts on intense socialization and exposure for the Puppies. It is widely accepted within dog training and psychology that the first 16 weeks of a puppy’s life have a permanent impact on their temperament, psyche, and trainability.

black lab puppy in service dog training vest sitting on beach looking up
black lab service dog training with handler walking on beach

5-15 months

Obedience and Skills Training

Specially trained Inmate Trainers at 2 West Virginia prisons are chosen to train Dogs in basic and advanced obedience skills.

12 months

Bump

paws4prisons®️ Program

A “Bump” is the process of a dog choosing their partner from our selected Potential Clients.

two golden retriever service dogs in training touching noses on the beach with two handlers
program for training assistance dogs Wilmington, NC

16-24 months

Public Access or Facility-Based Training

During this stage of training, paws4people trainers certified in Public Access Training take Dogs to many different environments such as restaurants, retail stores, movie theaters, public transportation, etc. as part of their public access training.

18-24 months

Client or Handler Transfer Training

Within the paws4people and paws4vets Programs, service dog training continues with the Client learning to utilize their Assistance Dog to control, regulate, and mitigate™ their symptoms, which is also known as Intervention Transfer Training™ (ITT).

yellow lab assistance dog in service vest sitting on beach shaking paw with handler
golden retriever service dog in vest standing next to handler in wheelchair

Testing

Black and Red or Green Vest Testing

Upon Black Vesting, the Client or Handler receives custody of the Dog. We liken this to their “Learner’s Permit.”

 

Home

Dog Goes Home with Client or Handler

Dogs are owned by the organization for the duration of their career, and are placed with the Client or Handler on a custody basis. 

group of four assistance dogs in service vests with group of five handlers who learned how to get a service dog