Gentle Persuasions
Dog Training
Service Dog Training
An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.
A Service Dog is defined in the Americans With Disabilities Act as "any guide dog,
signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the
benefit of an individual with a disability."
Through her work with local organizations, Sami has experience training or supervising the training of a variety of service dogs including mobility support dogs, handy dogs, PTSD dogs, psychiatric service dogs and alert dogs, among others. She would be happy to help you in the training of your service dog by either training the dog for you or assisting you in training your service dog yourself. The time frame for training depends on the type of service training needed, the learning ability and train-ability of the dog, and who trains the dog. Dogs boarded and trained by Gentle Persuasions Training can be expected to be trained and ready for work within 6 months to 18 months, depending on the age of the dog, previous training, and service training needed. The cost is $4,000 - $20,000 depending on the duration of the dog's stay and level of training required.
Therapy Dog Training
Therapy dog training is now available for dogs that have the temperament to make either volunteer or professional therapy dogs and just need a little extra polishing to reach their full potential. Volunteer therapy dogs visit nursing homes and rehabilitation centers and offer much needed emotional, psychological, and tactile therapy for the residents. Professional therapy dogs accompany a licensed therapist during their work day and provide valuable assistance with the patients.
Therapy dogs can be any age, size, or breed so long as they posses the correct temperament and training. This includes (but is not limited to):
Being well behaved and nonreactive around other dogs
Accepting a friendly stranger
Not jumping on people
Staying calm for petting (including petting by children)
Remaining confident and nonreactive around distractions
Walking on a loose leash
Coming when called
Obeying all commands given by handler including sit, down, and stay
Walking calmly through a crowd
Not being afraid of the infirm, people walking unsteadily or of medical equipment
It is also recommended that all dog owners wishing to have their dogs trained for therapy work first have them tested for their Canine Good Citizen Certificate.
This is where Gentle Persuasions Training comes in!
We will teach your dog everything they need to know to pass the CGC and the Therapy Dog Certification test. While Gentle Persuasions does not perform therapy dog evaluations, we will make sure you and your dog are ready to pass it with flying colors! Once you're ready, we can help you decide which Therapy Dog organization would be the best fit for you and your dog and get you set up for the certification test.
If your dog is already a certified therapy dog, but he/she needs a tune up for re-certification, we can help with that also.