Already Trained Dogs

After the success of a trial diabetic alert dog puppy board and train session during Christmas of 2011 the Service Dog Academy has launched our already trained diabetic alert training program. If you would rather receive a pre trained diabetic alert dog instead of spending the next year going through our train your own diabetic alert dog classes, please fill out the information below and we will get you on our list to be contacted when the program starts. Dogs should be available as soon as May 2023 and is available for anyone over the age of 13 with a disability we train for.

The puppies have been trained from 8 weeks of age in the hands of head trainer Mary McNeight. From 8 weeks of age these dogs will be taken out in public every day, be obedience trained and worked with diabetic alert scent EVERY SINGLE DAY. Dogs will be delivered from anywhere between 5 months and 8 months depending on the maturity level of the dog to ensure they are enjoying their jobs and are suitable for service work in public.

We are not using the typical “puppy raiser” training philosophy due to the fact that our success rate is exponentially higher if a service dog candidate lives and trains 24 hours a day 7 days a week with a certified service dog trainer from puppyhood. Since this is such an intense training process, we will only be able to provide anywhere between 4 and 6 dogs per year.

Please be aware that purchasing a dog does not mean you will never have to train your dog ever again. You will have to continue training for the rest of your life in order to maintain the dog at the level at which we provide them to you at. These dogs need a daily commitment of at least 20 minutes of training a day to keep their skills up to date.

If you are just looking to purchase a dog and have him work perfectly all the time, we are NOT the company for you. Dogs are living breathing beings and will NEVER catch all of your lows and all of your highs. They are just meant to be another tool to help you manage your diabetes. They are not a be all to end all solution.

If you would like to be placed on the waitlist to receive a Service Dog Academy trained diabetic alert dog, please apply using the application linked and note on it that you want to get a partially trained dog. Please note, if you do not have the funds to purchase an already trained medical alert dog puppy ($15,000-$25,000 plus Illinois sales taxes), do not request this service. We do not have any scholarships or grants available at this time.