Service Dog FAQs

Service dogs: your questions, answered

Canines 4 Hope can train a Service Dog to meet a client's exacting needs. We will be glad to answer any questions you might have.

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A boy kneels in a supermarket pet food aisle with both arms around a tan dog lying beside him in a black service dog vest with red ID panels.

Cost

What it costs, and what that depends on

Both answers come down to the same thing: cost varies with the client, the service desired, the location, and how soon it is required.

Training costs vary based on each individual client's actual needs and condition.

The cost will vary upon service desired, location and how soon services are required.

No Long Waiting Lists!

Canines 4 Hope offers pre-trained service dogs, alert dogs and assistance dogs that can be tailor trained to your specific needs in 3 to 6 months.

Call 1-855-885-6262

There are not-for-profit services and assistance dog training programs available, but most of these wonderful organizations have a waiting list for up to 3 years.

Choosing the dog

Which dog does the work

Some clients start with a dog we help them find. Others start with the dog already lying at their feet.

There are several breeds of dogs that can assist you in a variety of ways. Our experienced staff will be able to advise you to find a dog that best suits your particular needs.

Your dog would have to be evaluated to make sure your dog is able to be trained and perform the tasks you require.

A man sits on a brown couch at home with his hand resting on the head of a German Shepherd lying beside him, a leash across his lap.
Evaluation comes first: whether a dog can be trained for the tasks you require is a question about that dog, not its breed.

Alerting and response

Seizures and blood sugar

Seizure work and blood sugar alerting, answered directly.

Service Dogs can be trained for seizure response. The bonding experience between the service dog and companion will determine how the service dog responds to a potential seizure and how the dog will alert the companion.

Yes, we train “hypo alert dogs”, also known as Diabetic Service Dogs, to help diabetics: to warn if your blood sugar is too high or too low, alert you, retrieve medication and help if needed.

Seizure Alert Dogs Recognizing and responding to seizures Epilepsy Alert Dogs Part of our alert dog training Diabetic & Hypo-Alert Dogs Blood sugar highs and lows Seizure Response Dogs Trained for response, not prediction

Access and travel

Where a trained service dog can go

A properly trained service dog accompanies its companion. Here is where that applies.

The American Disabilities Act states that a trained service dog can go anywhere with its companion. That includes movie theaters, restaurants, buses, airplanes, school and work.

Yes, trained Service Dogs are allowed in hospitals. As a matter of fact, a properly trained service dog can accompany their owners anywhere: airplanes, restaurants, supermarket and more.

A trained service dog can go anywhere with its companion.

As stated in the American Disabilities Act

Places these answers name

  • Movie theaters
  • Restaurants
  • Buses
  • Airplanes
  • School
  • Work
  • Supermarkets
  • Hospitals, even by your bedside

One condition runs through all of it: the dog must be a properly trained service dog. Therapy dogs are not considered service dogs and do not have the legal access rights that service dogs have.

In an airport waiting area, a young man seated in a wheelchair tips his head back toward a yellow Labrador in a red vest patched Service Dog, while a woman crouches behind them beside the luggage.
A woman and about a dozen young children gathered in a classroom around a yellow Labrador in a working vest, in front of a whiteboard and a November calendar board.
A girl sits cross legged on a supermarket pet food aisle floor with her hand on a large white curly coated dog lying beside her in a service dog vest with a red panel.
A woman in a red coat with a pink backpack stands on a sidewalk outside an ice cream shop while a large cream coloured curly coated dog in a red Service Dog vest rests its front paws in her hands.

Therapy dogs

A different job, and different rules

Canines 4 Hope trains therapy dogs as well as service dogs. The two are not the same thing, and the difference matters before you plan around it.

Yes, we train therapy dogs that are great companions and allowed to go in nursing homes, hospitals, special needs centers, and schools.

Therapy dog training

Therapy dogs are not service dogs

Therapy dogs are not considered service dogs and do not have the legal access rights that service dogs have.

Still have questions

We will be glad to answer any questions you might have

Canines 4 Hope is located in Palm City, Palm Beach County, and the Treasure Coast of Florida, but our dog training services are available to clients in any state.

Service DogsPTSD, psychiatric and depression, autism, wheelchair and stability, seizure response, medical alert
Alert DogsDiabetic and hypo-alert, seizure alert, epilepsy alert
Therapy DogsAffection and comfort in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice facilities, schools and shelters
Dog TrainingObedience, behavior, puppy classes, in home training, board and train, boarding
Service Dog FundraisingA step by step guide to funding a service dog
Contact Canines 4 HopeAsk a question that is not answered here
Over 20 years of training service dogs IACP, International Association of Canine Professionals SARA, Service Dog Animal Registry of America AKC Evaluator by the CGC Evaluator Committee

There is hope!

Canines 4 Hope can train a Service Dog to meet a client's exacting needs. Call and talk it through, or send a message and a trainer will follow up.

Call 1-855-885-6262 Send a message

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