About Obedient K9 Service Dog Training

Obedient K9 Service Dog Training is a specialist rather than a general pet trainer, and its Facebook page states the brief in one sentence: "We provide owner/fully trained Service Dogs to meet the specific needs of those with a disability."

Two routes, which matter for cost and time

Owner-trained means you keep and raise the dog while the trainer teaches you both; fully trained means the dog is prepared and then placed. Offering both is unusual and is the first thing to discuss, because the price, the waiting time and how much work falls on you differ enormously between them.

The tasks are shown, not just claimed

The page documents individual dogs learning specific assistance tasks, which is far more informative than a service list. On retrieval: "Widow learning "hold it" this is the intro to retrieval. Retrieval is used for many things such as picking up dropped items such as keys or a phone, getting a drink or meds, helping with laundry, and much more!" On crowd work: "Cozmo learning "circle " Circle is a shot term for crowd control! Crowd control helps a hander have space in a crowded area! The dog will circle the handler to create extra space for them."

Public access is the training ground

Service dogs fail in public, not at home, and the posts are mostly public-access work – a zoo trip, meeting a giraffe, and escalators used deliberately: "Love when the escalators are off, great to gain confidence with! Everyone did great". Group work is run for the same reason: "Had our first group session with out class of 2023 (we're missing a few dogs). Everyone did really nicely and these groups are much needed . They really help the dogs not react to other dogs and get used to being around lots of different dogs in different situations!" One post shows the mix of stages present at once – "One fully trained service dog and three service dogs in training".

Also on offer

Short residential stays for pet-behavior problems appear too: one post describes a dog who "came for a board and train. He was having a hard time listening and chilling when at home." And there is a puppy raiser scheme – "Widow is also looking for a puppy raiser! If your interested in being a puppy raiser or even more information on being a puppy raiser please message us!"

What to ask

Ask about prices, the waiting list, who the trainer is and what certification they hold. For assistance-dog work those are exactly the questions to ask first.