The Little Angels Training Process

From push to pull, sit to stay, our dogs are learning everything they need to know in order to be the best service dogs they can be! We at Little Angels take our training practices very seriously and aim to place dogs with impeccable ADI-Standard training.

There are a few steps in our process that make the transition from breeding to placement smooth and efficient.

Breeding

The first step is our breeding program. Our breeding dogs live with staff or breeding fosters that care for them until it is time too whelp. We have many of our own studs, but we also use studs from reputable breeders that we have built relationships with. In the past, all of our litters have been whelped at the homes of our breeding fosters. This past year we were awarded a grant to build a breeding and development center at our New Hampshire Ranch. The development training of the puppy starts at birth so that they have a smooth path from pup to service dog!

Prison & Foster

Between 8-12 weeks our puppies will train in either our prison program or with our fosters. In prison, our inmate trainers are able to focus all of their time on the dog’s socialization and basic command training. We view it as a win-win kind of program, because our dog gets amazing training, and the inmates get to spend time with dogs which may help them in ways they did imagine. The unconditional love of a dog is amazingly therapeutic. When spending time with fosters, the dogs get used to a home setting, sometimes learning how to behave around a family. They are exposed to things like kids, cats, loud noises, busy lifestyle, and it is perfect for their socialization! Our fosters also begin a lot of their public access training, so you’ll find them out in public with our fosters in New Hampshire and California!

Advanced Task Training

At one year old, the puppies return to one of our ranches to begin their advanced task training. We specialize in training many different types of dogs: seizure alert and response dogs, autism assistance dogs, hearing alert dogs, diabetic alert dogs, mobility assistance dogs, and psychiatric service dogs for both civilians and veterans of war. At the ranches, we start to establish what each of the individual dogs can do. If they are stubborn, they may be good for autism assistance, if they are great at DPT, they may be perfect as a psychiatric service dog. Either way, all of the dogs will begin to work toward the ultimate goal of graduating and placing with their forever human.

Handler Training & Placement

Most dogs finish their training between 18-24 months of age. Our staff and trainers get together and figure out which dogs would work with which individual on our placement list. Once we find the right match, we make the call! The dogs and their recipients then go through two weeks of Handler Training with our training instructors. During this time, the bond between the dog and recipient is established. It is a difficult two weeks because every day is spent on serious training and learning, and it can be very stressful! Luckily our trainers are dedicated to the recipients and their success, so we do everything to make sure it is as seamless as possible.

We are very proud of our training procedures and have spent a lot of time refining them and making sure they work for our company. If you have any more questions about our training practices specific to each type of service dog, please visit the ‘Our Services’ page on our website. We go through a number of specific commands that are commonly taught to each type of service dog.

For any additional questions please email us, info@littleangelssd.org.