Finding the right trainer for your service dog is crucial to your success. ?where do you start?
what should you look for? What are your options? a fully trained dog? a puppy?
A few trainers are listed here. Email rachel@diabeticalertdog.com for further details - I can
put you in touch with clients from each organization.
Getting to know the founder and director of training, Peggy Law, has been a joy. She is
a person of integrity in the service dog industry with an established and respected
service dog orgnanization. Service Dogs of Va uses positive methods to train their
dogs and has a well developed puppy raiser program. SVA Service Dogs are REALLY
fully trained when they are placed, in accordance with standards set forth by ADI. They
are new in the Daibetic Alert sector of Service Dog work, but both dogs placed thus far
are working wonderfully in home and in public. Serves only clients in VA.
I only have very positive reports from Cares. Located in Concordia, KS, Cares has an
innovative puppy raising program. Not only do they have special puppy-raising families,
but they also make use of specially approved qualifying residents of juvenile
correctional facilities as well as qualifying prison inmates. Inmates are carefully
selected, and the CARES staff regularly visits the facility to provide training sessions
and to answer questions regarding training or health issues about the adult dogs and /
or puppies. The inmates raise money to help pay for equipment, supplies and health
care. The puppy's training is completed at CARES by qualified staff.
Dogs placed by Cares are fully trained with obedience access skills and scent
detection skills.
There is a special place in my heart for Liz Norris. Liz gave of her time and energy to
'redirect and refocus' my entire family after a horrid experience with another service
dog company. Pawsibilities Unleashed uses primarily postitive reinforcement methods
to train their service dogs. PUPT places autism, seizure response, seizure alert,
hearing, mobility and diabetic alert service dogs. Their program for DADogs primarily
uses puppies of superb breeding for both temperament and scent abiliity. The future
handler is invited to a week long class focusing on teaching them how to recognize the
dog's response to BG changes and how to continue to use positive methods to train
thier dog.
I have much respect for Rita Martinez. She is a private, in home trainer with a specialty
in working dogs - focusing on helping each pair to truly become a TEAM. Her methods
are completely force-free, fun, and innovative. One of her primary objectives is to
prepare the handler to view their assistance dog as their partner and thier teammate -
to help build a RELATIONSHIP between dog and handler.
Rita has a tremendous amount of experience and education in canine scent
discrimination and has helped many DAD teams to further thier scent work. Rita holds
conferences or workshops regularly to provide further education to DAD teams.
Wildrose Kennels is a new name to the diabetic alert dog
world, but a very established and respected name in the finest
breeding and training of a superb dog, the British Lab. The
British lab is of ideal size, temperament, and scent ability for
diabetic alert dog work. Mike Stewart and his team are
developing an intensive training program for their DAD
program. Wildrose is known for their spirit of excellence in all
that they do and their rapport with their clients is
commendable - they are indeed an organization that can be
trusted! Each of thier dogs will be Public Access Certified and
trained with consistent and distinctive alerts for both high and
low blood glucose levels.
Dee Bogetti is also a new name in the diabetic alert dog world. Ms Dee is a
full-time dog trainer in Richmond, VA, specializing in service, therapy and
companion dog training, as well as behavior modification. She uses positive
training techniques, including clicker training, to enhance the bond between dog
and handler.
Dee has helped several of the existing diabetic alert dog teams in areas of
obedience and scent work. She and her lab, Murphy are well-known AND
well-loved in the Richmond area for their therapy dog dog work. She is also the
host of Bark-Radio, a podcast for info about dogs and dog interests. Dee has
been a source of great encouragement to my family.
Those of us who are frequent visitors of the diabeticalertdog forum know and love
Ida McCabe. She has been an encourager to all of us - offering guidance, advice
and a kind word as we seek to become better teams. Originally a diabetic alert dog
trainer with another organization, she brings some experience aong with her own
ideas into her new business. Having worked with Diabetic Alert Dog teams, Ida
understands the level of commitment needed by both the new handler AND the
trainer. Ida is committed to placing only mature dogs with adequate public access
hours, obedience training and a clear alert signal. Her dogs are raised and trained
in her home until they are placed with their future partner.