Faithfully K9’s mission is to empower individuals with disabilities to train a dog as their service dog transforming both their lives.

 

Dog training strengthens the bond between you and your best friend. Clicker training allows you to mark your dog's behavior giving them a better understanding of what it is that you want. Creating a positive atmosphere for learning gives your dog the opportunity to excel. Pawsitive training - connections from the heart!

 

Faithfully K9 trains dog teams for individuals with PTSD and mobility issues.

 

We are very experienced in working with dog teams who are seeking to experience more independence and to enrich both the lives of the human and their dog partner.

 

References are required from a medical professional indicating that a service dog would help to mitigate a prospective client's disability.

 

If you believe your dog could become your service dog, there are a few things you should consider. It takes a certain temperament for a dog to be comfortable in public.

 

Training is $85.00 per one hour session which is approximately 1/2 of our cost. As a struggling non-profit, we appreciate any donations made above our session fees. Our veteran, active duty, and 1st responder clients have given so much to our country, therefore we do not charge them for training. Sponsors and donors offset costs for veteran and 1st responder training. Sponsorships for  service dog teams are $10,000 - this covers the total cost of training a service dog. Additionally, a one time $17.00 fee will be charged for a background check, regardless of status.

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To be successful in our program, you must be willing to work with your dog a minimum of 30 minutes every day. We train you to train your dog using clicker training with treats. We only use positive re-inforcement, we do not use e-collars, choke collars, pinch collars etc. Training with your trainer is once a week for an hour. The majority of training is done in public with a minimum of 30 hours in public,15 of those hours must be with your trainer. Completion of our program requires 100 hours of training including those 30 minutes you work with your dog every day, completion of the manual training, video training, required location evaluations, passing the AKC Good Citizens Test, and passing our public assessment. There are many locations that are required for training insuring that your dog is exposed to as many environments, noises, and people as possible. Service dog teams must be in the program for a minimum of 6 months. 7-12 months for adult dogs is a good estimate, and over a year for puppies, however sometimes it takes longer if any issues arrise.

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Here is a checklist to help you decide if your dog would excel and be happy as a service dog.

• Does your dog enjoy being around people? A service dog must be relaxed around children, toddlers, people wearing hats, flowing clothes, people in wheelchairs, with canes etc.

• Does your dog love people too much? A service dog must not solicit attention from people.

• Does your dog get very excited when children are running or screaming in play? A service dog must be calm and ignore their surroundings.

• Does your dog bark at people or at other dogs on leash? Service dogs must be quiet and not react to people who are inappropriate or dogs who are  growling or barking at them.

• Is your dog afraid of sudden loud noises? Service dogs can have a quick reaction but must be able to readjust quickly.

• Is your dog comfortable in public? Does your dog tuck their tail, lick their lips or have sweaty paws when in public? These are signs of stress.

• Does your dog pay attention to you? Service dogs have to be more interested in their person than on their surroundings.

• Does your dog have a strong prey drive? Service dogs should ignore squirrels, rabbits and other animals.

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Application below

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