We run a 6-week Group Class Course to see how your dog acclimates to different situations, people, sounds, scents, etc. One hour per week, one day per week. New lessons are added weekly, and old ones are reviewed. We do not dock you for missing a class. Just add it to the back. At the end of this course, your dog should be a certified and insured therapy dog.

This can be done in a couple of different ways.

1) We can find a dog that we feel would make a great therapy dog; you adopt it from us and take it through the classes to learn how to teach it obedience, manners, and what it needs to be a therapy dog. 

2) We can find a dog that we feel would make a great therapy dog to meet your facility’s needs; we train the dog in obedience, manners, and public work. You would then come to some classes to learn to work the dog and use the commands. You then can become certified and ready to work with the dog as a team in your facility. Therapy dogs are trained through our prison programs under the supervision of our professional trainers. 

If it is your personal dog or you want to find your own dog for therapy work, that is fine. We would need your dog for 6 weeks, and the fee for the Board & Train is $3,500.00. It would need suitable temperament to be accepted into the program.

If the dog comes from us, and is one of our trained dogs, rather than one you found, you get the dog, grooming skills, socialization skills, husbandry skills, crate and house training skills, the therapy dog training, the vetting and the certificate, insurance and your training for $3,500.00

3) You can have us temperament test your personal dog (in a group class) to see how fast it acclimates to new surroundings, people, dogs, kids, sounds, and scents. A therapy dog should not be shy, fearful, or timid and want to be loved and touched by strangers. The testing fee is $35.00 for one hour in a group therapy dog class. Then, you can choose either the Board & Train Therapy Dog Program or the Group Class Therapy Dog Certification/Insurance Program.

Our Therapy Dog Class Course requires the following:

       • Clicker and knowledge of why marking and rewarding correct behavior is the best

       • Blankie for the “Go Place” training

       • Leash

       • Yummy treats

       • Body harness that has the leash clipped to the chest area

       • Stress chew toy

       • Poop bags to pick up after your dog

       • Treat bag (Optional – this is for you

       • Stress chew toy

Our training programs do not use shock collars, prongs, pinches, choke chains, e-collars, or retractable leashes. If you are caught using these while under our certification and insurance, your certifications will be pulled immediately.

The 6-week course (1 day per week, 1 hour per week) is $250.00. Insurance is $75.00 per year additional. If you have more than one dog, it is $300.00 for 2 dogs, $75.00 for insurance on the first dog, and $25.00 for the second dog.