Service Dog Teams

Providing mobility and physical assistance to individuals with physical disabilities.
Trained in 90 commands, service dogs enhance their independence by retrieving items that fall, opening doors, turning light switches on and off, assisting with transactions at stores by placing items on the counter and retrieving objects that have been purchased and more. Service dogs also provide companionship and unconditional love to their handlers. Though a service dog is not appropriate for every situation, qualified applicants may have to wait 2 years or longer to receive a service dog.

All applicants that have completed the application process (which includes their physician’s recommendation for a service dog) and have been accepted to the program participate in a two or three-week intensive training session where they meet their service dog. At this time the recipient bonds with the dog and learns specific training commands and ways to work with the dog. Fieldtrips are included to insure that they are exposed to many of the environments and situations they are likely to encounter. They learn to be responsible and to handle the dog in any public place. Students need to demonstrate proficiency in all these areas in order to get a service dog.

Once a dog is placed, the new owner will be required to cover all costs for the dog’s care including medical and equipment costs. ADH provides ongoing caring support and additional training whenever needed. All local recipients receive several visits during the first year following graduation. Telephone consultations and follow up visits are provided as needed.

Hearing Dog Teams

Improving the quality of the deaf/hearing impaired by increasing their independence. "The Hearing Dog Program" is an in-home training program that enables the deaf/hearing impaired to use "trained dogs" to serve as their ears as well as their companions. A trained instructor makes weekly visits to the home where the dog works and lives and works one-on-one with the potential user to instruct the person and dog as a "Team." Typically, it takes six to eight months of in-home training to complete the program and become a certified hearing dog guide team.

What Is The Dog Taught?

The dog is taught four basic things:

•To work and bond with its owner
•Basic obedience on and off lead
•Public obedience/etiquette
•To recognize key sounds and alert its owner

Each dog is taught four mandatory, in-home survival sounds (door knock, fire alarm, alarm clock and telephone) and one optional sound (Example: emergency vehicle, microwave, water running, tea kettle whistle, etc.)

Social/Therapy Dogs

Providing social interactions and therapeutic interventions to help physical, emotional and mental disabilities.

Facility Teams: Adults who work as rehabilitation professionals, caregivers or educators and utilize an assistance dog to improve the mental physical or emotional health of those in their care.

Therapy Dogs: Trained in the same commands as a service dog but not suited to service dog work, social/therapy dogs help disabled individuals not able or expected to manage or direct the dog’s function themselves. A parent, attendant, therapist, or health care professional is responsible for directing the dog’s service or therapeutic functions and providing for its care. This dog does not have public access rights.