Sunflower Service Dogs

What Is a Service Dog?

Service dogs are defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. For example, service dogs can be trained to help people who have PTSD, mobility impairments, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people who have diabetes or many other conditions.

Service dogs are different from ESAs and therapy dogs. Service dogs are trained to perform specific tasks to help people with disabilities. For example, a service dog may retrieve dropped objects, or help the owner find an exit, or alert to signs of anxiety.

At Sunflower Canine Coaching we can help owners train their own service dogs. The types of service dogs we specialize in are psychiatric service dogs (for example dogs who perform tasks to mitigate PTSD) and mobility assistance dogs.

Before reaching out, please review the requirements below for service dog training.

  • To work with us as a prospective service dog owner, you must:

    • have a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

    • be 18 years or older.

    • be able to commit time to practicing with your dog regularly between appointments.

    • be aware that you may end up with a dog that can only help at home or only in places pets are allowed. Up to 50% of service dog candidates in programs are not able to complete training and cannot work in places pets are not permitted.

    • be willing to wait until the trainer evaluates your dog’s suitability and helps you train your dog in foundation skills, before putting service dog identification on your dog and before taking your dog to places pets are not permitted.

    • have support from your licensed healthcare provider for use of a service dog.

  • The prospective service dog must:

    • have no history of aggression towards dogs, people or other animals.

    • be easily trained. Ideally the dog is a breed or mix likely to have characteristics suitable for service work, such as Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Collies, or Poodles. Other breeds (or mixes) can certainly be trained for service work! Each dog is assessed as an individual. It’s just that some breeds are more likely to exhibit characteristics suitable for service work than others.

    • have no history of any serious behavior problems like fear or separation anxiety.

    • be under age 4.

    • be physically healthy.

  • Sometimes a dog is not suitable for public access (going out in places where pets are not permitted) – but can still be suitable for at-home only service work. Because an in-person behavioral evaluation isn’t required for at-home only service dogs, all of the training can be done virtually if need be.

    An at-home only service dog still needs to not have any severe behavioral problems, or any health concerns that would affect their ability to do service work. Even though the dog is not going out in public, they will still need to perform tasks that can be demanding and will require them to be behaviorally and physically healthy.

What Is the Training Process Like?

  • We begin with a virtual initial consultation of up to 90 minutes in length. This is when I will answer your questions, gather information about your dog and your needs, and give you important information about service dog training as well as training recommendations to get started.

    The fee for the initial consultation is $150.

  • I conduct an in-person evaluation of your dog, about 45-60minutes in length. This is when we look at how your dog responds to some minor stressors in a new situation to see if it is appropriate to begin training your dog for service work.

    The fee for the evaluation is $125.
    Evaluations are only offered in north NJ and cannot be conducted virtually.

  • If your dog passes the evaluation, we will begin training for service work. This process usually takes 1–2 years but can take longer. We will meet in-person and/or virtually depending on your goals and location, and work first on foundation skills, then progress to task work and public access work.

    You can pay in advance for 10 in-person sessions at a rate of $1400 ($140/session), or 10 virtual sessions at a rate of $1200 ($120/session).
    Single sessions are $150 per in-person session, or $130 for virtual sessions.

  • I will provide follow-up sessions to help maintain your dog’s training throughout your service dog’s working career – this can include simply reassessing public access skills annually, teaching new skills as needed, or refining existing skills.

    Fee: $150 per in-person session, $130 per virtual session.

Interested in working together to train your own service dog? Fill out the short form below, and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours. If we’re a good fit, I’ll send you a link to schedule your initial consultation.