ONLINE GROUP CLASSES – 9 WEEK MEDICAL ALERT DOG CLASS, FLYING WITH A SERVICE DOG, BASIC PUPPY SOCIALIZATION, BASIC ADULT OBEDIENCE, PUBLIC ACCESS

We have helped to train over 300 medical alert dogs all over the world through our 4 day in person classes, online video training program and through 1-on-1 in person live video training program.  However, we have had to send our students to trainers throughout their communities for basic obedience classes, puppy socialization classes and public access classes with mixed results.  Sometimes the trainers we can find in peoples geographic areas are great but unfortunately given the state of dog training in the world and the lack of education and experience needed to become a professional dog trainer, it leaves our students with much to be desired.  That is where our online live group classes come in.  As of January of 2018 Service Dog Academy will be using the online platform Zoom to teach classes live, in your home using either your cell phone, pad device or computer.  You will be able to see Mary McNeight as she teaches concepts to you and she will be able to see you as you execute the exercises.   Zoom is used by small companies and large big 10 universities alike to teach classes all over the world using the internet.  Just chose a class below and off you go, learning the most advanced training techniques science has to offer.

Mary is like a breath of sunshine after a stormy stormy winter. She exudes a level of enthusiasm that is infectious. Her love of teaching and training is evident in everything she does.

Intensive Diabetic Alert Dog Student

9 Week Online Medical Alert Dog Class

The Service Dog Academy is excited announce an opportunity for those in need of a medical alert service dog for diabetes, migraines, seizures, narcolepsy, A-Fib atrial fibrillation, POTS postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, dysautonomia and Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis (hypoKPP), Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (hyperKPP), Incontinence and medical episodes caused by Craniocervical Instability and Chiari Malformation.

Since we have students across the United States, Canada and Mexico who could not make our traditional 9 week diabetic alert classes because of distance, The Service Dog Academy is offering a live 9 week online training course over Zoom.

This class will cover the following topics:

  • Alert to episodes in your home
    • low blood sugars
    • migraines
    • narcolepsy
    • pots
    • afib
    • hypokpp or hyperkpp
    • experimental alert
  • Retrieve
    • sugary drinks to correct blood sugar imbalances, insulin, meters
    • salt to fix POTS issues
    • medication to abort migraines
    • cardiac abortive medication
  • Dial 911 on a dog phone
  • Go get human help
  • Raise legs during POTS episodes (if the dog is large enough)
  • Turn off lights
  • Dealing with public access issues
  • Tracking training for documentation purposes
  • Teaching persistence in alerting
  • Getting dogs used to rescue personnel
  • Bracing if the dog is large enough

Class Details:

  • For adult dogs and puppies over 8 weeks of age weeks of age
  • Class fee is $1375 per alert dog team (a non-refundable 3% card processing fee of $41.25 is added to the price of this class if you chose to pay by credit or debit card)
  • There will be a 8 student cap to ensure more student to teacher attention
  • All training is done using only methods approved by the AHA (American Humane Association)
  • You will have 1.5 to 2 hours of live instruction per week.  The live instruction will be recorded for you to watch at a later date in case you miss the live session.  Live sessions cannot be made up.
  • Class registration includes a search for a positive reinforcement trainer in your area to continue service dog related access training.
  • You will be required to do at least 20 minutes of homework every day for for the rest of your life to keep up the training!
  • You will be required to document your training after the class ends so that we can make sure the skills taught in class are being practiced.
  • This program does not guarantee a 100% success rate. Anyone who does is LYING to you.
  • Success depends on a combination of your training skills, your dogs training skills, your ability to follow through with the program, your dogs bond with you, your dogs innate personality, etc.
  • Class registrations will not be considered unless we also receive a signed Class Terms and Conditions contract.
  • If you want to pay by check, please mail it along with the Class Terms and Conditions contract to Service Dog Academy, 1632 Lakeview Dr. Waterloo, IL 62298.  Please put some form of tracking on the envelope with your payment and signed contract otherwise we cannot be responsible for lost or misdirected mail.
  • If you want to pay using a credit or debit card, you will need to fill out the Class Terms and Conditions contract AND the credit card authorization form to Service Dog Academy, 1632 Lakeview Dr. Waterloo, IL 62298.  Please put some form of tracking on the envelope with your payment and signed contract otherwise we cannot be responsible for lost or misdirected mail.  Due to increasing credit card processing fees by processing companies, a non-refundable 3% card processing fee of $41.25 is added to the price of this class if you chose to pay by credit or debit card.
  • We have recently started accepting Zelle as a payment method. Please DO NOT pay by Zelle until we have had a phone conversation with you about you and your dog. All students must be screened before they can enroll in the class. We want to make sure you and your dog will be successful before we receive your funds.
  • Paying for our class from outside of the United States and Canada will require a direct wire transfer from you to our bank account.  We do not accept PayPal or any other type of payment.
  • Meets online over Zoom allowing for individualized instruction and observation of you and your dog by Mary McNeight.  Want to see what a class looks like, see our Week 1 Sample Video here.
  • Class meets once a week for 9 weeks.  The next class will start Wednesday October 9th 2024 at 7:00 PM CST.  Please be advised, we may have to move the class out a week at ANY point so that we may breed our dog.  We have no control over when Mother Nature chooses to visit out household!
  • This class is not intended for service dog or therapy dog certification by the Service Dog Academy. If you want to know why, please watch our video on certification scams.

3 Testimonial Videos Proving Our Process Works

Flying With A Service Dog

This class will cover the following topics:

  • What to do to prepare your dog before a flight
  • What paperwork you will need have before you get on a flight
  • What supplies you will need to bring on the airplane to help your dog during the flight
  • How to simulate airplane travel to prepare your dog for a good flight
  • Training techniques to prepare your dog for going through security
  • Training tips to prepare your dog to board an airplane and sit in your teeny tiny airplane footspace
  • YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY TYPE OF PROOF YOU ATTENDED THIS CLASS. THIS CLASS IS NOT TO BE USED AS A WAY TO GET CERTIFICATION IN ORDER TO FLY ON AN AIRPLANE WITH YOUR DOG. THIS CLASS IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ANY TYPE OF TRAINING RELATIONSHIP.

Class Details:

  • For dogs over 8 weeks of age
  • This class is no longer taught live and can be viewed as a digitally streamed video. You will need a gmail address to access the recorded video of the 2.25 hour class.
  • Class fee $40
  • Class registrations will not be considered unless we also receive a signed Class Terms and Conditions contract.
  • The class can be payed for using Zelle and sending your payment to our phone number at 206-355-9033. Please be advised it may take up to 48 hours to manually give you access to the class.  Once you have paid for your class, please email us with your gmail address so we can add you to the class recording.
  • This class is not intended for service dog or therapy dog certification by the Service Dog Academy

Second Level Dog Obedience

This class will cover the following topics:

  • Sit, Down, Stand, Stay – hand signals only
  • Stay with distractions
  • Go to rug
  • 2nd level leave it and automatic leave it
  • Back Up
  • Wait at door openings (car and household)
  • Move behind owner, To side of owner
  • Heeling around distractions
  • Come through a corridor of distractions
  • CGC Greet explanation
  • Fading commands and signals
  • Targeting
  • Automatically picking up dropped leash
  • Commands at distance
  • Training games
  • Tricks

Class Details:

  • For dogs over who have attended our online medical alert dog class or dogs with special permission to attend
  • Class fee $450
  • Payment with a credit card is not possible at this time. You can pay through Zelle or you can send a check to Service Dog Academy, 1632 Lakeview Dr. Waterloo, IL 62298.  Please put some form of tracking on the envelope with your payment and signed contract otherwise we cannot be responsible for lost or misdirected mail.
  • Class registrations will not be considered unless we also receive a signed Class Terms and Conditions contract.
  • Meets online over Zoom allowing for individualized instruction and observation of you and your dog by Mary McNeight
  • Class meets for 5 weeks starting May 7th 2024 at 6:00 PM CST for 1 hour of instructional time
  • This class is not intended for service dog or therapy dog certification by the Service Dog Academy. If you want to know why, please watch our video on certification scams.

Basic Medical Alert Puppy Obedience And Pet Dog Socialization Class

This class will cover the following topics:

  • Explanation of puppy developmental stages
  • Basic socialization techniques during a pandemic (this element could be limited for you due to ongoing public access issues during lockdown)
  • Basic puppy obedience – come, sit, stay, down, leave it
  • Loose leash walking
  • Potty training the service dog way
  • Good puppy polite greetings – anti-licking, jumping, ignoring other dogs, shy and scared puppies
  • Puppy handling – such as bathing, clipping nails, brushing teeth, brushing coat
  • Bad puppy behavior – solving puppy behavioral problems such as whining, chewing, digging, barking
  • Impulse control – yes, a dog under 5 months is capable of more than you can imagine!

Class Details:

  • For puppies under 20 weeks of age
  • Class fee $250
  • Class registrations will not be considered unless we also receive a signed Class Terms and Conditions contract.
  • If you want to pay using a credit card, you will need to fill out and mail the following authorization form to Service Dog Academy, 1632 Lakeview Dr. Waterloo, IL 62298.  Otherwise you can send a check to Service Dog Academy, 1632 Lakeview Dr. Waterloo, IL 62298.  Please put some form of tracking on the envelope with your payment and signed contract otherwise we cannot be responsible for lost or misdirected mail.
  • Meets online over Zoom allowing for individualized instruction and observation of you and your dog by Mary McNeight
  • Class meets for 6 weeks starting Monday January 11th at 7:00 PM CST for 1 hour of instructional time
  • This class is not intended for service dog or therapy dog certification by the Service Dog Academy

Basic Medical Alert Dog Obedience And Service Dog Socialization Class

This class will cover the following topics:

  • Explanation of developmental stages, including how to deal with fear periods
  • Socialization techniques to help dogs to become comfortable with accessing the public as a service dog in training
  • Basic obedience – come, sit, stay, down, leave it
  • Loose leash walking
  • Good puppy polite greetings – anti-licking, jumping, ignoring other dogs, shy and scared puppies
  • Puppy handling – such as bathing, clipping nails, brushing teeth, brushing coat
  • Impulse control

Class Details:

  • For dogs over 20 weeks of age
  • Class fee $250
  • If you want to pay using a credit card, you will need to fill out and mail the following authorization form to Service Dog Academy, 1632 Lakeview Dr. Waterloo, IL 62298.  Otherwise you can send a check to Service Dog Academy, 1632 Lakeview Dr. Waterloo, IL 62298.  Please put some form of tracking on the envelope with your payment and signed contract otherwise we cannot be responsible for lost or misdirected mail.
  • Class registrations will not be considered unless we also receive a signed Class Terms and Conditions contract.
  • Meets online over Zoom allowing for individualized instruction and observation of you and your dog by Mary McNeight
  • Class meets for 5 weeks starting October 25th at 5:45 PM CST for 1 hour of instructional time, skipping Thanksgiving Day November 22nd
  • This class is not intended for service dog or therapy dog certification by the Service Dog Academy. If you want to know why, please watch our video on certification scams.

Service Dog Public Access

This class will cover the following topics:

  • Rights and responsibilities of a service dog
  • What vest to use and how to get your dog used to it
  • How to deal with authority figures challenging your access rights
  • How to deal with the public inquisition
  • Potty training the service dog way (for long airplane travel)
  • Greeting the public, or how to say no to petting politely
  • Teaching your dog to say no to petting
  • Expanding on basic dog obedience commands into real world reliability (ex: teaching stay outside of the home)
  • Public transit – airplanes, busses, trains: where do you put your dog, how to fit them into small spaces, how to get the best seats
  • Greeting other dogs
  • Teaching your dog to come back to you when his leash is dropped
  • Life skills: using the restroom with a service dog, learning to become one handed, going to a buffet/picnic, elevator or escalator
  • Service dog etiquette
  • Service dog equipment

Class Details:

  • Your dog must have basic obedience skills or either have taken or are concurrently taking one of our basic online obedience classes.  Basic obedience will not be discussed in this class.
  • Class fee $250
  • If you want to pay using a credit card, you will need to fill out and mail the following authorization form to Service Dog Academy, 1632 Lakeview Dr. Waterloo, IL 62298.  Otherwise you can send a check to Service Dog Academy, 1632 Lakeview Dr. Waterloo, IL 62298.  Please put some form of tracking on the envelope with your payment and signed contract otherwise we cannot be responsible for lost or misdirected mail.
  • Class registrations will not be considered unless we also receive a signed Class Terms and Conditions contract.
  • Meets online over Zoom allowing for individualized instruction and observation of you and your dog by Mary McNeight
  • Class meets for 5 weeks starting October 25th at 8:15 PM CST for 1 hour of instructional time, skipping Thanksgiving Day November 22nd
  • This class is not intended for service dog or therapy dog certification by the Service Dog Academy. If you want to know why, please watch our video on certification scams.