Standards for Service Dog Training

Any service dog trained by Nosey DDP will be trained to the standards and guidelines outlined by the very best professional associations and organizations. Certain training requirements will present different detection standards but all successful canine graduates will be required to meet the very minimal requirements of these organizations.

Allergen and gluten detection service dogs will be trained to the following standards:

The dog will be tested on 10 items: 5 will be non-scent and 5 will contain the scent the dog is trained to detect. Of those 5 scent items 1 will be a strong source, 1 will be a mid-level source, 1 will be trace source, and 1 will be an item that is typically safe but is contaminated with the scent source.

The dog and handler team will be required to pass this test prior to certification. This will be a blind test for the handler, meaning that the handler will not know which items are source and which are not.

The dog and handler team will be tested both in our training facility and in a public venue. This is to ensure the dog and handler team can work in any environment. We will use our own scent items to ensure that we know for certain which items the dog should be alerting on. We will not pull items from the shelf in the grocery store. It is too difficult to know if the package has been contaminated or if the glue or packaging contains the scent.

Diabetic and seizure alert service dogs will be trained to the following standards:

The dog will be expected to alert to the handler when medical issues arise. However with our vow to do no harm, we will not cause the handler to actually have a medical issue to test their dog. We will use scent on the individual to see that their dog is alerting to their medical needs.​

​Psychiatric service dogs including (PTSD) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder service dogs will be trained to the following standards:

The dog will be trained to maintain the handler’s personal space by “blocking” (the dog will get in between the handler and an approaching person).

The dog will be trained to perform deep pressure therapy on the handler to help calm anxiety attacks.  The dog can also be trained for many other tasks depending on the specific handler’s needs.

Additional Task Training

Each service dog will also be trained 2 additional tasks with their scent detection training. These can include, but are not limited to:

• multiple odors
• getting help
• retrieving a medical bag
• using a special phone to call for help
• retrieving dropped items

Combination Training

We can also train a combination dog for a handler. For example an allergen dog with ability to perform PTSD service tasks.