1) The first task is to socialize your dog with other dogs, people, environments etc so that he remains calm and composed in all situations. Service dogs should patient and not get restless or start barking or get aggressive unnecessarily. He should get familiar with all the places and people around him so that he is at ease while working in different locations and situations.

 

2) Initially, you can train him on some obedience commands thoroughly like “Sit” “Stay” “Fetch” “Down” etc so that he knows the usual commands and can be of big help to the community. Since these dogs usually work with people with disabilities there are chances that they may be required to answer calls, fetch objects, provide warning while coming in face with an obstacle etc. Hence, it is necessary for them to understand all sorts of commands including verbal, hand signals, clickers and other indicators when help is required.

 

3) Also, as a service dog, he should not be shy or aggressive since he would be petted quite often and he should give comfort in these situations. Make sure he is healthy and has regular checkups at the vet so that he does not give any diseases nor catches them from others.

 

4) It is important to praise your dog and give him positive reinforcements. After completing a task, he should be praised and rewarded so that he feels needed and likes the feeling of helping others around him.

 

5) Enrolling your dog to a service dog training course would help both of you brush up and have a strong foundation on all the training. They will also be able to give you pointers on how to mould your service dog to fit a particular requirement smoothly. 

 

Training a service dog requires great amount of time and patience. However, by the end of all the training you will be proud of owning a service dog.