Are donations tax-deductible?

We are currently in the process of obtaining official charity status. Once approved, donations will be tax-deductible. We will update this page as soon as that designation is in place.

Do you train therapy dogs?

Therapy dogs need to be comfortable with a wide variety of people, have excellent social skills, and are interested in meeting and interacting with new people. We can absolutely help you with raising your potential therapy dog to maximize these skill sets, and we can help your highly social and cuddly dog learn how to "read the room" and behave appropriately. We cannot turn a shy dog into an outgoing dog, or certify a pet dog so it can fly on a plane or be permitted in a no-dogs housing situation.

When should I start training?

Your dog begins learning on the day they are born. Everything that happens to them will affect how they perceive and react to the world. So whether or not you are "training" your dog, your dog is learning. What you are really asking, though, is when you should start teaching your dog obedience, and/or service dog skills. Obedience is over-rated in service dogs. We are much more interested in: Social and environmental confidence. Good social skills and etiquette. Competence and self-sufficiency. Good emotional regulation. Their ability to make good decisions. Most of this is much easier to teach in puppyhood. Other things, like sit-down-stay are very easy to teach at any age. Most of the skills a service dog performs rely on abilities that are developed in puppyhood, as well. However, we should never expect a puppy to act or behave like an adult dog. Training must be age-appropriate, but the earlier it starts, the better.

How long will this take?

Everyone wants to know how long it will take to train their dog to become a certified service dog. We cannot tell you. It depends on the age of your dog when you start, your dog's aptitude for learning what they need to learn, and how much time you can dedicate to teaching your dog each day. From puppyhood to certification, it usually takes 1-2 years to train a service dog. Those who start with an adolescent or adult dog can take anywhere from six months to three years, depending on how much we need to untrain and retrain the dog's brain, and depending on the dog's aptitude for the work. Many dogs never reach certification either because they are not suited to the job, they dislike aspects of their job, or because their human partner does not have the time or patience to teach them. Our curriculum is not time-based so much as skills-based. We must start with the skills your dog does have, and work towards developing and improving new skills.

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info@heelingassistants.org

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We are thankful to be able to train on the traditional and unceded territories of the xwməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sə̓lílwətaʔɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

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