So you’ve decided to look into the possibility of using a service dog to help navigate the limitations of your particular disability. If you’ve started you’re research you have certainly discovered the web of information about service dogs but you still aren’t sure which path to take toward getting your service dog. It is easy to get tangled in the web of information about nonprofit service dog organizations, owner trained service dogs and independent trainers. While doing my research I found that people cannot agree on”the best” method of obtaining a service dog. The purpose of this post is parse through information about obtaining a service dog to help you make a decision that is right for you and you’re life.
One of the laws driving this industry is the fundamental principal of Economics: Supply and Demand. The service dog industry, because we are dealing with living animals, simply cannot move at the rate of demand. Therefore, the demand is higher than supply. Hold that concept for minute, I’m coming back that in a second.
There are pros and cons to each of these three methods of obtaining a service dog. Note that the following information is not a judgment but merely facts based on my personal research and ability to synthesize information.
First let’s talk about the 3 primary ways in which people can acquire a service dog:
- non-profit organizations
- owner trained
- Independent trainers
Method |
Definition |
| Large Nonprofit service dog organization | an organization with a tax exempt not for profit status usually capable of training large numbers of service dogs at time |
| Owner service dog trainers | people who acquire and train their own service dogs |
| Independent service dog trainers | trainers who are for profit or very small nonprofit entities who work directly with the service dog client. |
More about Non-Profit Service Dog Organizations
More about Owner Training Service Dogs.
More about Independent Service Dog Training Organizations
Bottom Line
What my experience has shown that non-profits are judged for their waiting list and sometimes minimal training time the handlers get with their dogs. Independent trainers are judged for charging the high cost that non-profits claim it takes to train a service dog. Owner trainers are judged as not knowing what they’re doing. The bottom line about the quality of service dogs, is that I have seen excellent quality service dogs come from ALL three of these avenues of acquiring a dog. I’ve seen questionable quality too. It’s like anything else, some manufacturers make an excellent quality product, some do not. It’s no different in the service dog industry either. Someone will cover the cost. Non-profits get corporations and handlers to fundraise to cover their cost of training service dogs. Owner-trainers cover their own cost and can offset higher cost by doing most of their work on their own. And private trainers require the handler to cover the cost. Most handlers who use private trainers rely on fundraising to cover the cost of their service dog. Therefore, in reality the kindness of friends, and strangers cover the cost of the service dog. It does not matter which method you choose, the cost of training a service dog must be covered. That’s just basic economics in a capitalist society. The high cost is driven by excess demand to not enough supply. Until we get more qualified trainers to meet or exceed the demand for service dogs, the cost will remain high.
So what does all this information mean for the individual seeking to obtain a service dog?
- Select the larger non-profit route if:
- a waiting list isn’t an issue
- you’re willing to raise a comparatively small amount of money for the organization
- you’re okay with the possibility of traveling to the facility and covering that cost.
- you just want to know how to handle your dog, without needing all the training skills required for owner trained dogs or
- you do not have the physical ability to train your own dog
- If you want the easier route of having a non-profit to collect donations for. Honestly, it’s easier to raise money for a non-profit than it is to raise money individually. Most people and organizations are only altruistic to causes if they can get the tax deduction. Sad but true.
- Select the owner-trained route if:
- You do not want to wait on a waiting list
- You are willing to put the time into training your own dog
- You are willing to consult with a professional trainer for training advice, and cover that cost. (Beware: professional trainers can cost a few thousand dollars. However, that is a drop in the bucket compared to what you will save if you acquire the skills necessary to train your own dogs).
- You are willing to accept the risk that the dog you selected might not make it to being service dog and you might need to start over.
- You are not interested or able to travel to a training facility.
- You do not want to fundraise
- Select the private trainer route if:
- You have to the money to pay the trainer or
- You are willing to fundraise the amount of money. It will be hard fundraising as an individual without a non-profit organization to endorse.
- You would rather have a local trainer to avoid travel
- You want or need more one-on-one training time
- You want a trainer who will continue to support you and your dog once the dog is placed with you.
- You want to minimize your waiting time.
Each person seeking a service dog must decide which avenue is best for them. I personally, chose the private trainer route because of reasons I will list in my next post. However, if I had a few thousand dollars lying around I would most likely choose the owner-trained route if I had the skills to do so. I would do whatever necessary to avoid the fundraising process all together. Maybe in the future I will be able to go the owner trained route. But for now, the private trainer option is the best option for me and my life.
I do not know the full solution to providing lower cost service dogs. If we lived in a utopic society then either insurance would pay for them, or people would be truly altruistic and donate them to people all together. However, people need to make their own living. Therefore goods and services come at a cost to the consumer.
What I do know for sure is this: Everyone in the service dog world is doing the best they can to provide quality service dogs to people who need them. Yes there are scammers out there, but for the most part honest people are doing the best they can to navigate a complicated system.
Instead of pointing figures at service dog providers, why don’t we try to help each other? Why doesn’t the owner trainer see if they can help someone going through a non-profit or private trainer? Why doesn’t the person using a private trainer donate to the person going through the large non-profit? Owner trainers could help those who don’t have training support from other organizations. We can all share our knowledge, or help each other fundraise. If we can help each other, we can increase the number of people who can obtain a service dog. What would happen if we truly helped each other instead of judging each other?