Mary McNeight and her trained service dog Liame laughing with Dr. Ian Dunbar in one of his dog training Seminars.
The Service Dog Academy is proud to be listed as a provider of service dog training on the Delta Society website, a non-profit human/pet organization based in Bellevue, Washington.
Founded in 1977, the Delta Society’s mission is to advance human health and well-being through positive interactions with animals. Their Pet Partners programs are making a difference in communities around the globe.
In addition to promoting their members many human/animal bonding activities including nursing home and elementary school visits, The Delta Society is devoted to setting stringent guidelines for dog trainers that are based upon kindness, compassion and respect for animals.
The Service Dog Academy not only meets these guidelines, we exceed them in many areas. We endorse humane techniques that are based upon scientific methods that motivate dogs to learn good behavior and not aversive techniques (stimuli that dogs find unpleasant), which are stressful to both dogs and their owners.
Achieving and Exceeding Delta Society Recommendations for Trainers
Exceptionally Trained and Continuing Training
Exceptional training skills, knowledge and experience are the foundation of The Service Dog Academy’s programs.
Dog training is not regulated or licensed by any state or federal agency. Unfortunately this means that anyone call themselves a dog trainer and worse, even a service dog trainer. The Service Dog Academy has professional training credentials that are only provided to certified dog trainers. Read more our dog training credentials and methods.
Our continuing educational efforts are second to none in the industry. We are on the cutting edge of new techniques and receive our training only from the most respected trainers-of-trainers in the business. Read more about our most recent dog training seminar with Dr. Ian Dunbar.
We Respect Your Dog
We understand the social and innate behavior of your dog. We never use physical, verbally and emotionally abusive behaviors in training your dog or assisting you in its training.
Our specialized training enables us to interpret and respond appropriately to your dog’s signals through its body language and behavior.
We understand aggression triggers, how to defuse such behavior and how your dog’s daily life such as feeding, exercise and interactions with you and other humans affect its ability to learn.
We can clearly identify what target behaviors your dog needs help with and what help you need in reaching your dog’s training goals.
By relying on a reward-based training system and giving both you and your dog frequent feedback about appropriate behavior and methods, you can learn together in a fun and productive environment.
We Respect You and Your Privacy
We want you and your dog to be successful and use only those techniques that make that possible. We will work with you to provide instructions and assistance that meet your and your dog’s needs as we understand that one size does not fit all in life or in service dog training.
We encourage and welcome your feedback both during training and after training is completed.
Our classes maintain a high instructor to student ratio to ensure that you receive all the attention you desire and need in class.
We understand that training a dog can be frustrating and stressful to those without experience. We respect your limitations and challenges and provide a supportive environment to meet your comfort level.
We want to help you form a lifetime bond with your service dog and will teach you how to protect your dog from both physical and mental harm. This is a condition that is a mandatory requirement to certifying a service dog for duty by The Service Dog Academy.
We will educate you on the proper use, fit and type of equipment to use on your dog that will not cause discomfort or distress. We will teach your dog how to assist you and become your loyal companion as we teach you how to ensure that no harm come to your dog.
We understand that training fees are not in everyone’s budget. We put your need for a well trained service dog over profits and base our fees upon our clients’ incomes. We make every effort to help our clients obtain training reimbursement through healthcare or social service programs.
All Service Dog Academy client information is stored in password protected databases on password protected computers. The only information we disclose to third parties regarding disabilities or service dog training is the status of the training such as “in training” or “certified.”
In keeping with Delta Society’s mission, you and your dog’s well-being and a positive human/animal interaction always come first at The Service Dog Academy.
We want to make a difference in your life. Contract us today to discuss your service dog’s needs.
