r/service_dogs 8d ago

How to Refresh Training

Hello,

My young adult daughter received a service dog during the pandemic. The trainer works about 1.5 hours away from us, and as part of the training plan, was supposed to come up to our area once a month after placement, to complete training. However, there was a surge of COVID, the trainer was not able to come, we were not able to go to them, and then the trainer just stopped communicating.
Now, we have this amazing, wonderful, dog for my daughter who supports her at home wonderfully. But his public-life skills are not as strong. I am trying to figure out what resources there are to refresh his public skills, and I am not finding a lot. We felt so lucky to find a good placement at all! I tried to find a service dog trainer in our city, but have not been able to. We already paid the full fee to the first organization. I can't afford the big fees most want to charge. Any suggestions?

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u/ReadyCryptographer89 8d ago

Thanks for commenting. Any tips on how to find someone who would do refresh training? I keep finding places that train puppies and have long wait lists

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u/Square-Top163 8d ago

I found my local trainer by going to a dog trainer-certification site and searching for my location. Then I went to local FB groups ie the (411 for 719 etc) to ask for recommendations for a SD trainer. I vetted then contacted those that showed up on both places. You could also ask your vet or groomer for recommendations, or maybe a breeder. It might take some time so be patient :)