Building the Right Service Dog Starts with the Right Dog‍ ‍

A successful service dog begins long before advanced training. It begins with selecting the right canine partner for the individual.‍ ‍

At Klaus K-9 Training LLC, we take a highly personalized approach to service dog development. We work with breeders across the country to assess and select dogs based on temperament, confidence, physical ability, activity level, and overall suitability for service work while considering the individual needs, lifestyle, and goals of each client.‍ ‍

Once selected, the dog begins a comprehensive training journey designed to develop the foundational obedience, confidence, public-access skills, reliability, and individualized task work needed to assist their future handler.‍ ‍

Our Service Dog Program is built around five intensive and progressive stages of training, available through either our Full Service or our Hybrid Service Dog Training Program. Each stage builds upon the last, allowing the dog to develop the skills, maturity, and consistency expected of a working service dog.

‍A dog is considered ready for service work only after successfully completing the entire program and meeting our testing and performance standards. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there is no federally recognized service dog certification or certificate required. We provide a graduation certificate to clients from our service dog training programs once the dog has completely passed phase five and tests. ‍ ‍

Full-Service Dog Training Program:‍ ‍

Our Full-Service Program offers the highest level of professional involvement from selection through completion.‍ ‍Your dog lives and trains with the professional team at Klaus K-9 Training LLC throughout all five stages of our program. This immersive residential approach allows us to carefully develop the dog’s skills, confidence, behavior, task work, and real-world reliability in a structured and professionally managed environment.‍ The complete journey typically takes approximately two years, giving each dog the time and experience necessary to mature into a dependable working partner.

‍Rather than rushing the process, we focus on building a service dog that can confidently perform when it matters most.‍ ‍

Hybrid Service Dog Training Program:

‍Our Hybrid Program combines professional residential training with hands-on handler education, allowing the client to become an active part of their dog’s development. ‍The dog progresses through all five stages under the guidance of Klaus K-9 Training LLC staff, alternating between periods of residential training with us and approximately 30-day periods at home with the client.‍ ‍

During each home phase, we teach you how to properly handle, reinforce, and continue the skills your dog has learned. Two private training sessions are also provided during these periods at Klaus K-9 Training LLC or another designated training location.

‍The goal isn’t simply to train your dog, it’s to teach you and your dog how to work successfully as a team.

‍Because service dogs are still developing during the Hybrid Program, following your trainer’s guidance is extremely important. Experiences outside of training, such as uncontrolled interactions with unfamiliar dogs, dog parks, stressful environments, or situations your dog isn’t ready to handle, can create setbacks and may affect the dog’s confidence or progress.‍ ‍

For that reason, we provide clear direction about what your dog should and should not be exposed to during each phase. Clients participating in the Hybrid Program are expected to follow those recommendations and consistently maintain the training established by our professional trainers.

Our priority throughout the process is simple: protect the dog’s progress, build the handler’s confidence, and develop a reliable service dog team prepared for real life.

Service Dog Pricing:

Every service dog and every client is different, so there isn't a one-size-fits-all price. The amount of training, specialized tasks, length of the program, and individual needs of the handler all play a part in the final cost.

Full Service Dog Training Programs start at $45,000 and our Hybrid Service Dog Training Programs start at $25,000.

Final pricing is determined after we meet with you, learn what you need from a service dog, and assess the level of training required.

Our goal is to do more than train a dog. We work to develop a dependable service dog that fits your needs, your lifestyle, and your everyday life.

‍ ‍

Service Dog Training

Tasks that we train include:

  • Medication, Water and Item Retrieval / Pick-up

  • Deep Pressure Therapy (DPT)

  • Assisting with Position Changes

  • Assisting with Wheelchair Transfers

  • Retrieval of Medical Equipment (ie. cane, walker, oxygen tubing etc.)

  • Alert to phone ringing, doorbell, knocking, etc.

  • Crowd Control

  • Interrupting Crying, Disassociating and Freezing Behaviors

  • Alerts to Intruder

  • Counter Balance

  • Assist with Grounding

  • Carry Grocery / Shopping Bags

  • Carry Items Up and Down Stairs

  • Clean-up Items / Trash on the Floor

  • Closing Washer and Dryer Doors

  • Closing Bathroom Stall Doors

  • Closing / Opening Doors, Drawers and Cabinets

  • Drag Laundry Bag / Basket

  • Opening Doors with Disability Button

  • Find Handler

  • Flashback Interruption

  • Nightmare Interruption

  • Panic / Anxiety Alert

  • Assisting with Dressing (putting on and taking off clothing)

  • Wake Handler

  • and More….

Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act Guidelines

Service Dog Defined:‍ ‍Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. 

Examples of Service Animal Tasks:A person who uses a wheelchair may have a dog that is trained to retrieve objects for them. A person with depression may have a dog that is trained to perform a task to remind them to take their medication. A person with PTSD may have a dog that is trained to lick their hand to alert them to an oncoming panic attack. A person who has epilepsy may have a dog that is trained to detect the onset of a seizure and then help the person remain safe during the seizure. Generally, service animals are allowed to be with their person, even in places that don’t allow pets. For example, service dogs can go into restaurants, shops, hospitals, schools, and hotels EXAMPLE: A restaurant offers indoor and outdoor seating. A woman arrives at the restaurant with her service dog and asks to sit inside. The restaurant cannot require the woman to dine outside because of her service dog. The ADA also applies to certain types of housing, including: housing at public and private universities, public housing programs run by state, county, and city governments, and emergency shelters. The Fair Housing Act applies to many types of housing, both public and privately owned, including housing covered by the ADA. Under the Fair Housing Act, there may be different rules that apply when a resident or applicant with a disability uses a service animal or other animal to assist with their disability. 

If you are working at a business or state/local government facility and it is unclear to you whether someone’s dog is a service dog, you may ask for certain information using two questions. You may ask “Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?” You are not allowed to request any documentation that the dog is registered, licensed, or certified as a service animal, require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person’s disability. Because service animals are not required to wear vests, a dog that is wearing a vest is not necessarily a service animal. The dog needs to be trained to perform a task for a person with a disability to be a service animal. A business or state/local government does not need to allow a service animal if the dog’s presence would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, programs, or activities provided to the public. A business or state/local government can ask someone to remove their service dog if the dog is not housebroken, if the dog is out of control and the person cannot get the dog under control. State and Local Laws State/local governments can require service dogs to be licensed and vaccinated if all dogs are required to be licensed and vaccinated. While State and Local Laws State/local governments can offer voluntary service dog registration programs, they cannot require certification or registration of service dogs. State and Local Laws State/local governments cannot ban a service dog based on its breed. 

Department of Housing and Urban Development is responsible for administering the Fair Housing Act. Learn more at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or contact your Regional Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Office. The Air Carrier Access Act, not the ADA, protects the rights of people with disabilities in air travel. For information or to file a complaint, contact the U.S. Department of Transportation, Aviation Consumer Protection Division: 202-366-2220.