What Training Do Service Dogs Need?

This year, select Anthem Medicare Advantage plans will offer members the option to receive support for their service dog (food, leash, vest) as part of their health insurance plan. Anthem, Inc.’s affiliated health plans in more than a dozen states will

In the United States, every Service Dog handler enjoys the right to travel with their Service Dog. However, finding straightforward information about airline policies and requirements, international laws, TSA regulations, security checkpoints, and other commonly encountered situations isn't easy! To help

In October 2019, a trained Military Working Dog (MWD) named Conan helped take down the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, during a special operations raid. K9 Conan and members of Delta Force chased Baghdadi into a dead-end tunnel. Baghdadi

In early 2017, multiple deadly forest fires swept the country Chile. As a result of these fires, 11 people lost their lives, wholes towns disappeared from the map, and over a million acres of wildlands burned. The aftermath of forest

Using a dog training trail mix allows a trainer to offer a variety of high value and low value treats during training sessions. This keeps a dog's attention better than using only one type of treat. Furthermore, a dog training

Halloween 2013 is tomorrow and with it comes fall festivals, parties and trick-or-treating. While Halloween events are fun and exciting for the entire family, this most spooky of nights also carries many dangers, particularly for four-legged pack members. Before heading

Another mundane day in the office; stocking patient rooms, prepping a few IV lines because our intel is that we had 75/25 chance of getting rocketed tonight, sweeping the Iraqi dust out of our makeshift aid station, when suddenly my

If you're ready to invite a new canine family member into your life it's tempting to go out and buy all kinds of treats, toys and more. Before you start over-buying for your new puppy, here's our list of the

Special thanks to Kong Artist Taylor McDonald and her pup Bindi for this awesome fall KONG dog toy recipe with pumpkin spice filler! Follow Bindi and Taylor's adventures at their Instagram, Bindi's Bucket List, where they post canine enrichment ideas

Puppies need exercise and activity. However, growing puppies, especially large breed puppies, should avoid heavy, jarring activities or exercise including lots of twisting and turning. Too much jumping and turning can injure growing bones. In order to preserve your puppy's

Everyone knows puppies need to go outside more frequently than adult dogs. For the first few weeks of having a puppy home, it often seems that all anyone does is take the puppy out to potty! Using a feeding and

The leaves are starting to change, there's bit of a chill in the air, and many people are pulling out their trusty hoodies and apple cider recipes. Fall is a beautiful time of year, but it also heralds the holiday

Many common dog training mistakes get in the way of your dog learning. Most people have no idea these common errors exist, though! While professional dog trainers make dog training look simple, it's far too easy to do it wrong. Dog

When you first bring home a new Service Dog candidate, it's easy to become overwhelmed at the sheer volume of "stuff" that needs to be mastered. While every Service Dog's end job may vary, there are foundational behaviors and concepts

Almost everyone knows it takes a lot of training to become a Service Dog, but few people know how much training or what kind of training. Service Dog training includes several areas of study and can take lots of time.

While many appreciate the beauty of fall colors, from the leaves on trees to potted mums and carved pumpkins, there are seasonal hazards for Service Dogs and their owners to be aware of, no matter what part of the country

Many people have a vague sense of awareness that Service Dogs "help" their person and that they're allowed to be in public, but there's a lot more to Service Dog handlers and teams than meets the eye.

Even though you may be aware that Service Dogs can help wheelchair users to be more independent, you may not know be fully aware of what they actually do to help their partners.

We are always astounded at the variety of jobs that dogs are able to do. The canines at Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C) are no exception. WD4C trains scent detection dogs to help researchers monitor the health of wildlife, catch

“Oh, how cute, look at that face! Sooo adooorable.” For the disabled who use small service dogs, these endearments are unfortunately not met with the appreciative responses one might expect from a small dog owner. To a Service Dog owner

Uber and Lyft have come on the market as an alternative to traditional taxi services. Using a smartphone app, these services instead allow anyone (after initial screening) to use their personal vehicles to provide rides to those who request them

Are you looking for training for your search dog in a real USAR environment? Look no further than the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department Search Dog Team's upcoming Urban Search and Rescue K9 training event and fundraiser, Dia de los Perros.

Some variation of the "DO NOT DISTRACT" patch regularly appears on Service Dog vests, jackets, and harnesses. However, Service Dog handlers still report that members of the public frequently ignore the patch. Distracting a Service Dog is dangerous for both

It’s that time of year again, back to school! As you are hurrying around getting all of your school supplies in order and planning for the year ahead, make sure that you spend some time making sure your Service Dog

When it comes to Service Dogs or Service Dogs in Training with public access, there are definite things Service Dogs in public should and should not do. Learn more about how well-trained Service Dogs should appear and what U.S. Service