Train Your Own Service Dog

For people with a disability who want the dog they already love to become their service dog.

Under the ADA, you have the right to train your own service dog instead of going through an agency. What makes it work is a clear plan and a trainer who has done it before. Mark works with you and your dog in your home and out in public across the Phoenix area, so by the end you can train and handle your dog confidently on your own.

How It Works

• Foundation first: Your dog learns reliable obedience and calm behavior at home, since every other skill builds on it.

• Public access skills: Next comes staying calm and focused in busy places like grocery stores and restaurants, including settling quietly under a table and leaving dropped food alone.

• Task training: Tasks are the specific trained behaviors that help with your disability, and they’re what make a dog a service dog. We map them out together at the start based on what you need day to day.

• Handler coaching: You learn how to train and maintain every skill yourself, so your dog stays reliable long after the program ends.

The program runs 3 to 6 months, depending on your dog and the tasks you need.

Good to Know

• Dogs two years and older. Puppies need time to mature before they’re ready for service work.

• Temperament matters. Service work takes a steady, confident dog, and not every dog is suited to it. Mark will give you an honest read on your dog before you start.

• No registration required. Neither the ADA nor Arizona law requires certification or a vest, and the certificates sold by online registries don’t give your dog any legal rights.

• Emotional support dogs are different. A service dog is trained to take a specific action that helps with your disability. A dog that comforts you just by being there is an emotional support animal, which doesn’t qualify as a service animal under the ADA.

Every Program Includes

• I come to your home. Training happens where the problems actually happen.

• Lifetime support. Issue pops up a year from now? Call me.

• Lifetime group classes. Patios, outdoor malls, dog-friendly restaurants, vineyard outings.

• 7-day text access. Direct to me. Usually answered in minutes.