# Service dog training curriculum (Useful for raising any dog)



## LilMissSunshine (Jan 23, 2011)

I posted this in my thread and thought that it might be useful/interesting for those raising puppies! This is the very basic curriculum sent by our service dog trainer 

and although the steps are a bit service dog specific towards the end, all the steps previous are just helpful guidelines to raising a happy, healthy, well trained polite well mannered dog!

Oh and the workshops I'm sure wouldn't be that hard to mimic! 

*Step 1: Puppy basics.* (Learning the clicker.. focus, their names, touch, sit, basic come, down, going to their crate, stay and the beginnings of polite leash manners) We will also be addressing things like leash biting, nipping, and other common puppy problems as well as the *no lookie,no cookie* game, where puppies will learn that eye contact and focusing on YOU (and not the treats or anything else) is the way to earn their rewards 

We will also be working on handling. Your puppy should be used to all kinds of handling (paws, tail, petting, rolling over) 

At this stage, it is of course also your job to be a devoted puppy parent and bond and love your puppy! Training should be fun and something they want to do 

+ Socialization (Puppy will go to AT LEAST two social workshops that I plan. These workshops are a safe environment which will include meeting all kinds of people (kids, old people, different races, loud people, scared people, jumpy people.. all armed with plenty of treats and praise) 
These workshops also include play with different floor surfaces, strange objects, and handler/puppy bonding exercises 

- Homework: You will be required to practice, do you own work with socialization and of course you will also be working on potty training

*Step 1.5 :* Your training! You (as your dogs handler/owner) are a big part of this! You will be learning HOW to train, interact, teach and bond with your S.dog 

*Step 2: Adolescent puppy basic*: (Down stays, sit stays, take it, leave it, on/off, fetch, more focus work) 

+ Socialization: now that your puppy has all his shots, you will again attend at least two socialization workshops, same as before except animals involved. We will have friendly calm dogs, other puppies, friendly cats and ferrets for your dog to meet and get used to. We will also have shiny floors, automatic doors, crowds and unstable floors to begin working on.

- Homework: Trust and practice. Take your puppy out a bit more (homedepot, neiman marcus, the park, the airport, the mall..where ever dogs are allowed. Don't push them though. Make sure your dog is still on track and happy about new experiences. plenty of treats and praise)
KEEP WORKING ON YOUR BASICS! Practice all the time, at random times, in different places. and remember to keep training positive and fun! 

*Step 3: Pre-Teen basics*. (Review. Your puppy will now be going through a stage where he/she will probably b a little nutty. this is normal. but keep building up rewards and keep practicing) We will use this time to work on MANNERS as well as their basics 

First we work on some manners. You already should have been doing the work on not giving attention for jumping/barking and other rude behaviors you learned in puppy class, but now we fine tune that. 

They learn when it is OK to say hello ("make a friend" is usually the command used) and if you choose to allow your dog to greet people at the door at home, we will teach how to politely allow them to do this. 

We will focus more work on their "ignore" and focus. Regardless of size, they are still very much babies and its hard for them to not say hello to every dog/person/mailbox when walking.. so we will work on building that up for them. 

at this point your puppy earns his/her first vest. Simply a blue vest. Not yet a "service dog in training" but its enough to let people around you know to leave you be if you are working on focus work or distractions. 
As you know, this vest does NOT give you or your puppy public access! It is simply a tool to let others around you know to leave you be 

+ Socialization: work with focus WITH distractions. Attend two workshops. These workshops will basically be reviews, lots of animals, lots of people, floor surfaces. We will also have our first field trip to the airport ( a great place to start because there is plenty of noise, strange floors, other people etc..)
Homework: keep up with socialization. Take your puppy to fun places and keep up with building your bond.

*Step 4: Teen advanced* (Heel, relaxed loose lead walking, leave it, drop it, take it, stay with distractions)
Your dog will learn their basic casual loose lead walking, as well as their more formal heel for when they are working. (Some people may wish to use a term other than "heel" if you are also doing competitive obedience) 
Stays will also be practiced, but with more distractions and in real life situations. 

+ Socialization: This workshop will involve you walking in a heel while keeping your dog focused on you. We will start with minimal distractions and than add on as you get better. Heel is one of the most important commands your dog will learn. It will be used EVERYDAY and needs to be perfect 

Homework: Work on your heel/loose leash walking in various environments. and learning to WAIT to be told, before going up to greet/sniff/investigate

*Step 5: Adult.* (USUALLY 1- 1 1/2 YEAR OLDS) 
Congrats, your dog has made it where many have failed. Finally a well trained and socialized adult with all his basic commands (sit, down, stay, , come, heel, leave it, drop it, take it, fetch and focus) Take a moment to look how far your squishy little leash biter has become!

*drumroll please* His/her very first REAL VEST! You can pick any color, and it officially has "service dog in training!"

We will begin working on more field trips including: the airport, outdoor flea markets, shopping malls, bus stations, Pet stores, parks. Your dog should be able to walk with you without fear and we will continue to work on focus and our leave it
We will also begin working on being around/ignoring other not so well behaved dogs and crazy kinds of people and objects/noises.
Your dog will have to learn to ignore/deal with barking, jumping, whining behavior around them without becoming involved or distracted

We will also be starting work on our emergency recall. Your "come!" should be solid but we still train an emergency recall just in case! Sometimes come is so overused that some dogs in training will ignore it, but our emergency recall is a new and fun command with rewards that are too good to resist! 

*Step 6 Adult basic*: (rock solid recall, stay with distractions, walk with distractions, stay close, take it, heel, picking up dropped items, recognizing/retrieving basic items)

+socialization: Even more work on ignoring other dogs/distractions (like other people calling them, dogs barking) Remember, we ALWAYS REVIEW THE BASICS! Practice all kinds of commands, not just the new ones 

LEARNING PATIENCE. this is a huge part of your training process. we will be teaching them "settle" very important when you need your dog to just relax while you are in class or at work.

*Step 7 ADULT ADVANCED*: this is it. The final.

your dog will learn the things specifically tailored to YOU. Now that you have the foundations of a well trained, ready to learn, socializaed, well adjusted dog.. We will begin work on their service dog specific skills. 

(*please note, that this step is here for seizure response. for many other kinds of service animals, service specific training starts earlier*)

Your dog has learned the most important thing.. how to learn, how to trust and how to listen and understand, so now its just on to what you NEED your dog to know how to do.
Don't be fooled by this being a tiny section.. this is a HUGE PART of your dogs education. But curriculum is too specific to be tailored into an outline 

and finally...

*GRADUATION* Your dog will receive his/her official vest and his/her diploma as well as an ID card and your memory book/videos of your progress! 

*EVERY OTHER STEP... 
Keep on training, keep on practicing and keep on learning! The learning/training process is NEVER OVER *


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## Molly's Mum (Apr 1, 2011)

This is very useful information, thank you for sharing  We would like to train our puppy well and are hoping that she may have the skills to become a hypo alert dog for our daughter. I not sure we'd be able to have her "qualified" as an assistance dog (not sure how to go about that or if it's possible) but certainly if she's well trained and able to detect hypos she may be of invaluable help at home. If it turns out that she doesn't have the skills then that's okay, we'll love her just for being a pet and part of the family.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

That sounds very similar to what my sister does as a puppy raiser for Guiding Eyes for the Blind.


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## LilMissSunshine (Jan 23, 2011)

Oaklys Dad said:


> That sounds very similar to what my sister does as a puppy raiser for Guiding Eyes for the Blind.


There are a few trainers who work with the program, and a few of our "guest trainers" (who come around to do evaluations/give advice) work with guide dog schools
The curriculum was developed by all of them, so thats probably why there are quite a few similarities  



Molly's Mum said:


> This is very useful information, thank you for sharing  We would like to train our puppy well and are hoping that she may have the skills to become a hypo alert dog for our daughter. I not sure we'd be able to have her "qualified" as an assistance dog (not sure how to go about that or if it's possible) but certainly if she's well trained and able to detect hypos she may be of invaluable help at home. If it turns out that she doesn't have the skills then that's okay, we'll love her just for being a pet and part of the family.


No problem, and thats great that you want your dog to help your daughter, even if nothing else, these steps will help you towards a well mannered pet


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## desi.n.nutro (Mar 18, 2011)

Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, it confirms that my little Miss Maggie Mae is a flunky or a drop-out. She could never nail the emergency part or Steps 6 and 7 +. She is so darn cute that I have long since forgiven her. The sad news is that I could still use a service dog. hehehe


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## Marita (Mar 15, 2011)

LilMissSunshine - Thanks for pointing me towards this thread of yours, it is super helpful, and very informative! I think I will be trying to implement all of these beginning steps in training Wombat. I wish there were even more detailed training tips for service dogs/very well-mannered dogs...but I suppose that's what puppy classes are for!

The only thing that worries me, is that with the vet I am going to, she wants to spread the vaccines out to every 4 weeks, and I figure that that means that I can't take Wombat to a class for some time... So I really need to be able to start training him properly at home. Oh well, there is tons of great information on here. I look forward to reading about your training adventures, and any further informative posts! Thanks again!


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## SterlingValleyGoldens (Jun 13, 2011)

Thanks for this. We are currently training our 2 year old golden to be a service dog for our daughter who has mitochondrial disease. She is dong wonderful, but of course, still needs continuous training. Wonderful resource you have posted. Thanks!


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## kiki (Jun 21, 2013)

Thank you for sharing. Kiki will join our family in 4 weeks and I am trying to learn as much as possible now.


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## meadows (Aug 13, 2013)

This is great info - I'm not training our puppy to be a service dog but I would like for him to behave in the calm manner that they do. This has some really good guidelines. My pup is almost 8 weeks old and he is already quite good on a leash and has met a variety of different people which is good. Thanks so much *lilmisssunshine*


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## Mom of Maizie (Nov 11, 2011)

Thanks so much for this very valuable information. It will be a help to us in raising well mannered 'kids'!


Sent from Petguide.com App


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