Your Service Dog Inc’s P.E.P. Program (Our Prospect Evaluation and Placement Program assisting those who wish to Owner Train a Service Dog) lies at the heart of what Your Service Dog Inc is all about. This unique program facilitates the evaluation, suitable matching and placement of a Service Dog in Training Prospect that has successfully passed the Phase 2 level of training standard set at Your Service Dog School and is ready to begin to assist a disabled person who wishes to obtain a Service Dog.
The SDiT who has successfully passed phase 2 of our training program is already performing a task and working, and therefore can begin immediately to mitigate the disability of their Handler enabling the disabled person to strive to reach their Full Human Potential. Further training is offered FREE of CHARGE at Your Service Dog School to all of YSDI’s Program Dogs.
If you wonder where our phase 2 Service Dogs in Training Prospects come from, the answer is simple: they can come from any source that provides YSDI with a suitable even-tempered puppy or dog who shows potential.
These puppies or dogs come to us from rescues and shelters or from individual members of the public who donate a puppy (or a dog) to us and they also come from our own Breeding Program (where we breed for specific needs such as the needs of disabled persons suffering from allergies etc. ). Initially, most of these puppies or dogs have no training whatsoever.
Phase 1 and 2 of their training begins with our Trainers at Your Service Dog School while these puppies and dogs are still in the homes of our Puppy Raisers.
Phases 1 and 2 are significant steps in these puppies’ evaluation period. The puppies and dogs who show an aptitude for Service Dog work graduate to be placed with a disabled person.
Those who do not display a disposition for Service Dog Work go on to have a career change and may make excellent Emotional Support Animals (E.S.A.). Or they may become a Therapy Dog or an Awesome Pet Dog for an individual or a family, depending on their qualities and traits.
To be considered as a beneficiary for any of our Career-Change Dogs, please get in touch with us through our Welcome Survey or by emailing us at: inc@yourservicedog.org
What does our “Phase 2 trained Service Dog” mean and what has the dog accomplished?
It means that the disabled person receives a dog that has begun the initial stages of his training, is beginning to task and work, and is ready to begin to assist their disabled Handler.
Our Phase 2 Service Dog in Training Prospects will require further training to perfect their performance of tasks and add to these tasks before they can graduate as a fully trained, Full Potential Service Dog.
YSDI Phase 2 Service Dog in Training Prospects are carefully evaluated and selected by the experienced Trainers at Your Service Dog School. For this reason, they are suitable, promising Service Dogs in Training who are already beginning to task and work prior to being paired with a disabled Handler who wishes to Owner-Train their own Service Dog.
Owner Training one of our Program Dogs or Puppies does not mean that we simply hand you a puppy and leave you to sort out the training yourself. We also provide you with the virtual training courses necessary FREE of CHARGE.
Certified Trainers who have spent years studying Lelah Sullivan’s “Training Your Own Full Potential Service Dog®” Method of Training will support you at Your Service Dog School. We don’t just want you to succeed as an Owner-Trainer, we want to provide you with the tools necessary for you you to excel and produce a Top Quality Service Dog that becomes all that you require in order to help you to mitigate your disability and acquire a fully trained SD that we are proud to call a “Full Potential Service DogTM”.
There are several phases in the training process which you will find explained in more detail in Your Service Dog School Program Info.
Why should I train my own Service Dog, you may ask? The Owner Training of a Service Dog has several benefits, especially when you belong to YSDI’s Owner Trainer P.E.P. (Prospect Evaluation and Placement Program). First and foremost, you benefit from having one of our program dogs trained specifically to meet your needs and mitigate your particular disability. Secondly, you do not have to go on a long waiting list to obtain a Service Dog in Training who can begin to assist you as soon as the bonding begins. Thirdly, the YSDI Owner Trainer Program (P.E.P. Program) does not cost you prices that, as a disabled person, you cannot afford, for we believe that those who need a Service Dog and who wish to have one should be able to obtain one FREE of CHARGE.
There is a beautiful sense of achievement when you successfully train your own Full Potential Service Dog with us! It boosts confidence and morale and opens the door to other achievements, enabling the disabled person to explore the possibility of reach their own Full Human Potential.
During Phases 1 and 2 of our Training Program, YSDI retains full Guardianship (ownership rights) of the Service Dog in Training Prospect Dog or Puppy in your care. However, by the end of Phase 3 of the dog’s training, YSDI transfers the Ownership of the Dog or puppy to the new Handler FREE of CHARGE if the dog is working well and is a suitable match for the Handler, and if the Handler is happy to receive full Guardianship of the dog or puppy.
