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DELIVERY

Once your new service dog has finished formal training, they will be transported to your home and a Healing Canines trainer will work with you one-on-one for 5-8 days. During your training we will teach you how to care for your new dog and how to motivate and build a great relationship with your new dog. We will review the basic care of a service dog, practice obedience commands, review the service dog tasks and spend a majority of the time working on public access. We want to ensure that you feel fully confident in your ability to work with your new dog and prepare you for the team certification tests.


Each team must pass three tests in order to graduate from our program; AKC CGC (Canine Good Citizen), AKC CGCA (Advanced), and a Public Access Test (PAT). A certificate of completion is awarded at the end of the program and the AKC will send you a title of completion for both the CGC and CGCA tests.

What to expect when your service dog arrives:

  • Daily Exercise - Exercise is an important component to keeping your dog physically and mentally healthy. Dogs that are not exercised on a regular basis can become destructive within the home due to boredom. We will review what your new dog finds motivating, and show you how to safely exercise your dog.

  • Service Dog Health - You will need to be knowledgeable about basic grooming (cleaning ears, clipping nails, brushing teeth, heart worm medicine, and flea and tick preventative). Please look into a local veterinarian prior to your dog’s arrival. Your dog will have a completed health certificate prior to their arrival.

  • Schedule and Structure - You need to have your dog on a feeding, watering, and relieving schedule. You will also need to set aside time for training, and we will discuss how to incorporate training into your everyday life. We will review your dog’s training, feeding, watering, and relieving schedule during the delivery.

  • Consistency is Important - Everyone in the family and anyone who will handle the dog needs to be on the same page in regards to the dog’s training and behavior.

  • Play Time - Even service dogs will still need time to play and relax. Dogs cannot work all day long. Just like people, they need down time to rejuvenate. We will discuss ways to incorporate play and nap time into your dog’s schedule.

  • Create a Safe Environment for Your Service Dog - If you have a fenced-in backyard, make sure that it is safe and appropriate for your dog. If your dog is off-leash trained, we can discuss safe areas for off-leash freedom.

Follow Up Services

We offer free follow up services for the life of every service dog team. We are available via phone, email, zoom, or private in-home lessons whenever a team needs more support. We require a follow up visit around 6 months post-graduation and 1 year post graduation. Additional follow up visits are always available if needed.

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