Frequently Asked Questions
DO YOU PROVIDE FULLY TRAINED DOGS?
No. Disabled Advantage is a private dog training business, not a service dog program. I am not able to provide anyone with a fully trained dog because the nature of my own disability makes it extremely painful for me to work with dogs hands-on. My teaching model is to teach the owner (you) how to train your own service dog or pet dog.
What about all the dogs in the photos? Those are either my personal service dogs, dogs belongs to friends who participated in demos, or clients belonging to current & former clients.
What about all the dogs in the photos? Those are either my personal service dogs, dogs belongs to friends who participated in demos, or clients belonging to current & former clients.
How does your training work?
I work with clients 1:1 in private, live video lessons weekly or every other week over Zoom. Once you contact me, I'll help you sign up for the courses you need to reach your goals for training, and I'll be with you until your dog has finished training. If you need help finding a dog to train, I help with that process & selection. If you're training a service dog from the very beginning stages to the end stage of working with you in public, you can expect to be learning from me & having my training support for 1 to 2 years. I provide homework logs, session recaps, handouts to help you learn, support between sessions, gear suggestions, and access to an exclusive classroom for extra demonstration videos on multiple exercises.
What types of service dogs do you help train?
All service dogs need a strong base of foundational skills. I can potentially offer this to mobility, alert, or psychiatric teams. I specialize in mobility tasks, CRPS-based tasks, and am always expanding my task knowledge. I specialize in dogs for mobility disabilities or dynamic disabilities such as CRPS, POTS, EDS, Fibro, and others. I offer a variety of tasks, and more and more service dogs are cross trained, so it is hard to narrow down a specific type of service dog.
At times, I am unable to work with someone because their needs are not something I'm able to accommodate given my resources or my own disability impacting how I need to work with or teach people.
I do not train guide or hearing dogs, autism dogs, or dogs exclusively doing medical alert.
At times, I am unable to work with someone because their needs are not something I'm able to accommodate given my resources or my own disability impacting how I need to work with or teach people.
I do not train guide or hearing dogs, autism dogs, or dogs exclusively doing medical alert.
How do you determine what clients you can work with?
When you book a consult, I'll ask you to fill out a questionnaire telling me a bit more about yourself and your conditions. Your answers will give me a better idea of if my teaching style and my own limitations will be a good fit for us to work together. I don't want to have to turn people away, but the simple truth is that I cannot work with everyone on account of my own disability. I may also turn people away if your answers reflect a lack of commitment and drive towards working with your dog. My training is not laid back.
It may also be that I work with a client through all of the obedience, socialization, and public access training, then help with select tasks or refer them to other resources to continue their owner training for tasks if they need a type of service dog I don't have much experience training.
If you're interested in working with me, book a consult here.
It may also be that I work with a client through all of the obedience, socialization, and public access training, then help with select tasks or refer them to other resources to continue their owner training for tasks if they need a type of service dog I don't have much experience training.
If you're interested in working with me, book a consult here.
What training is recommended for a service dog through Dadtc?
By US law, there is no set amount of training, just that the dog be trained to do its job. Major organizations in the field recommend 6 months of formal service dog training (after obedience work), 120 hours of public access training, and estimate 1 - 2 years total of training. At Disabled Advantage, you'll end up spending closer to 2,000 hours training your service dog from beginning to end throughout 1 - 2 years of lessons with me.
- If I help you find a dog, we'll start with a dog search. This has its own pricing. Then we'll go through Puppy Paw Camp or Beginner Paw Camp, depending on your dog's starting age. From there, Foundation Obedience, Advanced Obedience, Fundamental Retrieve (if needed), and finally, Service Dog Life. Plan for $8000 - 9000 for training.
- If you already have a dog, I'll customize the plan based on what learning your team has already done. It's harder to give you an estimate on this, as each team is different.
- If your dog is struggling on fundamentals like "Stay", recalls, or ignoring distractions, I will strongly encourage you to re-take obedience with me to build a more reliable foundation for your dog to grow upon
What training courses do you recommend for an esa
- If you are starting with a puppy, I'll recommend my Puppy Paw Camp course and my Foundation Obedience Course.
- If you're starting with a dog you recently adopted or we find you a dog to adopt, I'll recommend my Beginner Paw Camp course and Foundation Obedience.
- If you're working with a dog you already own, I'll need to ask you more information about what your dog knows and where you need help. It may be that you jump into my full Foundation Obedience course, or that we do session by session work to target specific training areas.
Do you offer discounts or are you able to train low-cost/free?
- I offer seasonal discounts & prior client discounts, granting discounts to clients who've trained with me before.
- I run specials at events, if you attend the event and book a session that day.
- I am unable to provide training for free
- I am unable to offer discounts for veterans or children
Do you work with pet dogs?
Absolutely! I can help a pet owner...
- Find the right dog for them
- Teach basic house & yard manners
- Teach how to go to pet friendly locations with confidence
- Teach leash manners
- Teach Beginning or Advanced Obedience
- Adapt training styles to work with their disability
Do you do behavioral modification?
I can help owners solve common issues such as pulling, counter surfing, selective listening, poor recalls, and poor house manners. I do not work with aggression or reactivity cases. *If a current client's dog crops up with aggression or reactivity, I will do my best to help and may refer you to another trainer.
How does your disability limit you as a trainer?
Primarily, I can't drive. This limits my ability to meet people in person for training sessions. Secondary to that, it would be extremely costly to my day to day pain management for me to handle other people's dogs as they work through mistakes and learn new things. If you have CRPS, you'll understand (hopefully). If you aren't familiar with CRPS, I manage my disability with my service dog's assistance, but also by closely managing potential triggers so that I can better keep my pain levels stable. By nature, working with animals is painful for me. My own dogs have learned how to be gentle with me, but dogs who are learning don't know that. My muscles have adapted to how my own dogs move and respond, and so I can predict what mistakes will feel like and how to weather them. Every dog is different, though. Any time a dog not my own makes a mistake, the pain is fresh, searing, and can hit me harder. I am gifted at training and explaining what to do so that you're able to do the work with your dog. Most trainers are able to both teach and train your dog. My pain forces me to pick between teaching you and helping you understand, or teaching your dog directly. I don't see this as a loss to you, though, because I know the incredible gifts that come when you teach an animal yourself. Your dog has so much to teach you, as do I. My pain is a limitation to the process, but it does not take away from what I can bring to your team as your teacher. Third, occasionally the way my condition impacts cognitive function means I may struggle at times with finding the right word, saying exactly the right thing, or understanding someone with an accent or speech impediment. If a client's own disability makes it hard to accommodate those limitations I have, we're not compatible for training together. Finally, my home base is in no way accessible-friendly. It took me 2 years to adapt to my home environment to be able to function as a disabled person, and a service dog was a key component.