When the puppy completes the puppy program at approximately 16 – 18 months of age, the puppy’s physical and behavioral health are further evaluated for suitability for service dog work. Puppies who pass this screening leave their puppy raiser’s home and move into our training facility to begin the second phase of their training, advanced skills and task training.
At our kennel, the young dogs work hard and play hard every day. Kennel staff feed, groom, exercise, and play with the dogs daily. The dogs work with our training staff daily to refine their basic skills and learn specific skills such as:
- opening and closing cabinets, drawers, and doors
- retrieving specific objects by name or location
- putting objects into and taking them out of baskets, drawers, and containers
- assisting with dressing and undressing
- operating light switches and automatic doors
- alerting to sounds such as a timer
- finding a specific person by name
- navigating steps, curbs, and underfootings
- assisting with balance when sitting or rising, stepping out of a tub
- assisting with rising from a fall
The dogs learn to assist with a wide variety of household tasks:
In addition to daily one-on-one training, the dogs in advanced training continue to participate in group training classes, practice their skills in a wide variety of public locations several times per week, and represent Hero Dogs at community events on a frequent basis.
As the dogs mature and the trainers learn their personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, individual dogs may start to focus on particular skills. For example, a dog with a slow and steady pace may be trained to wear a mobility harness and specialize in mobility skills. One dog may be more alert and tuned in to sounds while another might live to retrieve. Most dogs will spend approximately eight months in the advanced training phase, although some may mature more slowly. When the dog is ready, the next step is to identify an appropriate placement. Not every dog will be qualified to become a service dog – some may be better suited as facility dogs, skilled home companions, or therapy dogs. Service dogs are matched to clients based on the dog’s temperament, energy level, and skills and the client’s needs, experience, lifestyle, and personality. The matched team then moves on to Team Training.