Episode #246 Service Dogs at Home: BAXTER & Bella + Good Dog! Service Canines

In this episode of the Puppy Training Podcast, we’re diving into the exciting opportunity of training your own service dog from home. Together with Good Dog! Service Canines, we’re helping families shorten the long wait for a service dog by combining BAXTER & Bella’s online puppy training program with advanced service dog finishing work.

We’ll cover what a service dog is, their legal rights under the ADA, and how they differ from therapy dogs and emotional support animals. You’ll also learn why it’s essential to understand your state laws when training a service dog, what the public access test involves, and how task training is completed. Finally, we’ll talk about how to get started with your puppy and build the strong foundation needed for a future service partner.

If you’ve ever considered training your own service dog—or simply want to understand the process better—this episode will guide you through the first steps and introduce you to the support available along the way.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We've recently announced a collaboration
between Baxter Bella and GoodDog Service Canines, and today
we're going to talk a little bitabout that pathway and what it
looks like to train your ownservice dog.
Welcome to the Puppy TrainingPodcast.
I'm Amy Jensen, founder ofBaxter Bella, the online puppy
school.
Here we are all about helpingyou create the best possible

(00:22):
experience raising a puppy, fromtraining tips to practical
tricks, all aimed at fostering ahappy, well-behaved dog who
truly feels like part of thefamily.
So if you are ready to enjoythe journey and strengthen the
bond with your dog, let's getstarted.
Welcome back to the PuppyTraining Podcast.

(00:44):
Today we are diving into areally exciting topic training
your own service dog.
I'm really excited to becollaborating with Good Dog
Service Canines to make thisdream a reality for families who
need the support of a servicedog but don't want to wait years
on a list.
With the right foundation,guidance and commitment, you can
begin this process from homeusing our online puppy training

(01:05):
program, and then you finishwith the advanced task training
and certification supportprovided through Good Dog
Service Canines.
So this is a great opportunity.
Let's start with definitions.
A service dog is a dog that hasbeen individually trained to
perform specific tasks for aperson with a disability.
Now, these tasks are directlyrelated to the handler's

(01:28):
disability and can includethings like alerting someone
before a seizure, retrievingitems or interrupting harmful
behaviors.
Legally, under the Americanswith Disabilities Act, service
dogs are given public accessrights.
That means they can accompanytheir handler anywhere the
general public is allowed to go,so restaurants, grocery stores,

(01:49):
hotels, airplanes you get theidea.
Now there's some confusionaround service dogs, therapy
dogs and emotional supportanimals.
These are actually all verydifferent, so it's important to
understand the differences here,because these terms often get
confused.
A service dog is trained to dospecific tasks for one person

(02:12):
with a disability and has fullpublic access rights under
federal law, so this dog can gowith that one person wherever
that one person goes, withexceptions to private
institutions.
But they get to go with theirperson, obviously to help with
that disability, and they'reprotected under law to do this.
Now, a therapy dog providescomfort to others in group
settings, so they are servingthe community, not just an

(02:35):
individual, and you'll often seetherapy dogs in hospitals with
their handlers or at schools orairports, nursing homes, but
they don't have the same legalrights as a service dog, so I
can't take my therapy dog to thegrocery store or the restaurant
or the movie theater.
They don't have those rights.
An emotional support animal orESA, if you've heard of that

(02:56):
reference offers companionshipand emotional comfort, but again
, they do not have public accessrights.
They may have some housingprotections, which allows you to
have that dog in your apartmentor wherever you may be living
if it's needed, and you have tohave a doctor's note saying that
it is necessary for you.
Now only service dogs trainedto mitigate a disability are

(03:20):
legally protected to go intopublic spaces.
While the ADA sets the federalstandard, every state has
additional laws that you'll wantto be familiar with.
For example, some statesrecognize service dogs in
training as having the samepublic access rights as a fully
trained service dog.
This allows you to bring yourpuppy in training into public
places to expose them to theworld they'll be working in.

(03:42):
Other states, however, are morerestrictive, meaning you'll
need to be selective andcreative about how you provide
socialization opportunitiesuntil your dog is further along
in training.
So make sure you're aware ofwhat your state's laws are Now.
This is why doing your homeworkis key.
Understanding your state's lawswill help set you up for
success and keep you and yourpuppy on the right side of the
rules.

(04:02):
Let's talk about the publicaccess test and task training.
A fully trained service dog isexpected to pass a public access
test.
This is a standardizedevaluation to ensure the dog is
calm, safe and under control ina variety of public settings.
Things like walking politely onleash, ignoring distractions,
settling quietly under a tablewhile you're out for dinner and

(04:24):
remaining composed around otherpeople and animals are all part
of this test, and remainingcomposed around other people and
animals are all part of thistest.
On top of that, a service dogmust be able to complete
specific tasks related to theirhandler's disability.
These tasks are what set themapart, legally, from other types
of support animals.
With good dog service canines,you'll get the guidance needed
to teach and refine theseadvanced skills, ensuring that

(04:44):
your dog is not only obedientbut also truly helpful in daily
life.
Now let's talk about how you canget started.
If you've decided, yes, aservice dog is what I'm looking
for.
I'm looking to train this puppyor this dog to do specific
tasks for someone in my familyor myself, then your journey is
going to begin with puppytraining, and that's exactly

(05:04):
where Baxter and Bella shines.
Our online puppy trainingprogram will give you all of the
tools you need to start yourpuppy off right, teaching
foundational skills like thebasics sit, stay, recall, polite
leash walking and cratetraining.
We help you house train thispuppy.
We help you teach leave it,drop it so many basic cues and

(05:24):
behaviors that you're going towant your dog to do.
We also focus on critical lifeskills such as patience, impulse
control, resilience andconfidence, which are all
important building blocks forany dog, and especially for one
preparing for service work.
Our program is designed to fitinto your everyday routine and
it's accessible anytime,anywhere.

(05:46):
It's not training all day long.
It's literally three minuteshere, five minutes there,
another two minutes here,whenever you can fit that in,
and we're helping you achievethe ideal of having this puppy
be part of your home and family,but also being able to train
them to do these importantskills that they'll need for
service dog work.
Now, once your puppy has thatstrong foundation, you'll

(06:08):
continue into the service dogspecific work with Good Dog
Service Canines.
Together, we'll help you bridgethe gap from puppyhood to
partnership, which is going toprepare your dog to not only
behave beautifully in public butalso perform those
life-changing tasks that youneed, and we're here to help
with bumps along the way.
Recognize when we talk abouttraining your own service dog,

(06:29):
not every puppy wants to doservice dog work.
It takes a special puppy to beable to do this and we can help
you with that.
We can help you find a goodbreeder.
We can help you find a goodpuppy in that litter that is
showing signs that they aregoing to be maybe that puppy
that's willing to do it.
But recognize, when it comes totraining your own, that there
is risk involved.
We might get a puppy and westart the training process and

(06:51):
they have zero desire to doservice dog work.
So we like to tell you that upfront and be aware of that,
because it is a risk.
But there are also many successstories of people being able to
in fact train their own servicedog and we're here to help you
the entire way.
By collaborating with Good DogService Canines, we here at

(07:12):
Backstrom Bella are able to helpmore families bring service
dogs into their homes withoutyears of waiting.
We believe that with the rightstructure, support and training,
people can build thatpartnership themselves right
from home.
So whether you're justwelcoming a puppy into your life
, or you're exploring thepossibility of training a
service dog to support you or aloved one.
We're here to walk that journeywith you.
If you'd like to learn more,head on over to our website,
baxterandbellacom.

(07:33):
In our members area there's aservice dog toolbox.
We'd like you to start thereand then also go to Good Dog
Service Canines and check outtheir program.
You can get on a call to talkwith Laura today to get your
questions answered and to figureout your best pathway.
All right, you guys.
Thanks for tuning in.
Have a great rest of your week,happy training.
Thanks for tuning in to thepuppy training podcast.

(07:57):
I hope today's tips help youfeel more confident and excited
about raising your dog.
Remember, with a littlepatience and consistency, you
can create a loving bond and awell-behaved pup who's a joy to
have in your family.
If you found this episodehelpful, be sure to subscribe,
leave a review and share it withfellow puppy parents.
For more resources, visitBaxter and Bella online.

(08:20):
Until next time, happy training.