I don't have a puppy yet, where do I begin?
Don't panic, this is actually the best place to be! Whether you work with me or another trainer, we typically like to be involved in the puppy picking and purchasing process from the beginning.
There is a lot that goes into choosing the right service dog candidate. I will go into some basic detail here to help guide you in the right direction.
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Please be advised, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you hire the trainer BEFORE you buy the dog. Each trainer is going to want something slightly different, and I can promise you that there is a lot more that goes into temperament evaluation than the average person thinks. Please don't try to save yourself a few dollars by doing this yourself, it will DRASTICALLY increase the risk of your dog ultimately washing out. Also, helping you find the right puppy is part of my service, so you really aren't saving any money by skipping these steps! If you have decided that you will pursue a service dog, please reach out to the trainer and let us help you find the right dog. We understand the importance of this investment on your quality of life and we want to ensure that we are setting you up for success in every way possible!
Step One: Choosing the right type or breed of dog
​​​​Choosing the right breed- it is possible to train a rescue dog, but because we do not know anything about the genetics or trauma history of a shelter dog, these are risky and I typically do not recommend investing is rescues for service dog training.Labradors are going to be my preference as their eagerness to please, pliability, upbeat attitudes and emotional intelligence make them one of the easiest breeds to train for service work. But there are certain situations when a Lab simply will not work- in the case of a mobility dog for example; Labradors simply do not have the height. This is where the doodle comes in. As a Labrador breeder I am supposed to be very against doodles- and I am. Most of the time. But there is a time and a place for this hybrid and this is it; this is what it was created for. Generally speaking the doodle market is a for profit one- meaning that most doodle breeders are not health testing, temperament testing, their primary goal is to make money. I work with a for PURPOSE doodle breeder who performs health testing, temperament testing, goes above and beyond with enrichment, ENS and ESI. I have placed multiple service dogs after rigorous training who came from this breeder and can attest to their professionalism and ethics. And because my commitment to my clients needs come first, it's easy to step out of the purebred box if its what is best for my customers. ​I have worked with breeds other than these and am open to alternate breeds, but Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Poodles and Doodles are going to be some of my top breed recommendations for service work.
Step Two: Choosing the Breeder
Because the key period to tap into a puppy's brain development begins at day 3 and that window begins to close around 16 weeks. Much of this time is spent with the breeder, meaning that the enrichment, trust, resilience and socialization to new stimuli that puppies receive during this time is key in developing them to reach their full potential.
This is why choosing a breeder is so important, you could have champion bloodline puppies and they could be completely ruined by an inept breeder.
We recommend that all of our puppy buyers search for breeders who meet the following basic guidelines:
1. All dogs have health testing performed based on standards for their breed, available online through the parent club website.
2. Parents have been chosen to produce a specific temperament, not based on pedigree or "drive".
3. All puppies undergo a form of Early Neurological Stimulation and Early Scent Introduction.
4. Puppies should undergo sound desensitization training, be potty conditioned, exposed to crates and exposed to adequate physical exploration and enrichment (walking on uneven surfaces, wobble boards, ramps, alternate textures, etc.
5. Breeder places puppies based on temperament evaluation.
6. Breeder is willing to refund all monies paid if a service dog candidate with the CORRECT temperament for the desired tasks is not produced by the litter.
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Unfortunately, this is a pretty difficult list to accomplish. Many breeders are unwilling to set up their picking and deposit systems to assist service dog buyers because it is simply easier to sell to pet homes. If you are in the market for a Labrador I encourage you to check out our upcoming litters page, as we have based our breeding program around meeting the needs of service dog buyers.
Step Three: Choosing the Pairing
Once you've narrowed down your search to a specific Breeder or Breeders, the pairing will be the next important piece. As I have mentioned earlier it is of the utmost importance that we find a breeder who is seeking to produce something specific- a purpose breeder. Their purpose should be improvement, how can I balance out any area where my dog is weak? Unfortunately the US is rampant with "breeders" who are happy to overlook major flaws in temperament, structure or ability. Or breeders who believe that their dog is perfect, unflawed and couldn't improve. We are looking for parents who possess the traits consistently that we are searching for. It's also helpful when working with a professional breeder who is keeping in contact with puppy buyers and individual puppy progress. When a breeder is involved consistently in training the pups they are producing, they have a much better understanding of their production and how they can improve, or what traits combine well or didn't, etc. I believe that this gives me a distinct advantage as a breeder, I get on average 85% of my puppies back for training, giving me a good idea of what I am producing and how I can improve, as we should always be working to fine tune our processes further.
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It can also be counter intuitive to learn that the temperament you might think you would want for a service dog is actually the opposite of what you would actually need. For example, most people believe that a highly emotionally intelligent dog who responds to feelings would be ideal for a psychiatric service dog; when in fact this would be very counterproductive. Because on the morning when this person wakes up and is depressed and doesn't want to get out of bed; the dog will read this, take on the emotion and also become depressed. You actually want a happy go lucky temperament for a psychiatric service dog so that in this scenario, the dog's exuberant personality is such that they wag their tail and happily beg to go outside until ideally the handler giggles at their antics and gets out of bed. This is another reason that it is so important to work with a professional before choosing your future SD!
Step Four: Choosing the Puppy
Ideally an outside temperament tester comes in to perform temperament evaluations at around 6.5 weeks of age. Just prior to entering the fear period. We want to use someone that the puppies have never met and use a room or space that the puppies have never been in before to ensure accuracy of the test. Most people believe that the test is designed to determine which puppy is the least fearful. When in actuality, it is to find puppies who possess resilience- they do experience occasional fear, but they bounce back quickly and take steps to problem solve, investigate and overcome fear.
Individual energy level, drive, interests and attitude will all play a role in choosing the correct dog for your specific needs and tasking list.