Discovery Dogs

At Discovery Dogs, we believe each person who desires the support of a trained assistance dog should determine their own level of involvement in the training process. Some participants elect to receive a fully trained dog, while others enter the program with their own pet and receive individualized instruction in their dog's training. Our goal is to encourage participation in the training process while remaining flexible and aware of each participant's individual needs. Dogs can be trained to do a number of tasks including:

Picking up dropped items

Pushing buttons

Turning on switches

Opening and closing doors

Helping with dressing and undressing

Alerting to sounds, and many other everyday tasks that may be difficult for a person with a disability Our training process involves

Careful assessment of each dog

Basic skills

Public access training

Training of individual assistive skills needed by each handler. All training methods are positive and motivational. Behaviors are shaped using operant and classical conditioning. We use an event marker (clicker) to let the dog know the right move has been made and follow the click with a reinforcement (treats or a toy or play) (Clicker Training). Training usually lasts from one to two years. Each participant works one-on-one with an instructor to reach a level of proficiency and skill that will enable the team to pass a certification test.

Address:	Location(s) P O Box 6050 San Rafael, CA, 94903 United States See map: Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, MapQuest
Phone:	415-479-9557
Fax:	415-472-4431
Email:	discoverydogs@discoverydogs.org
Website:	www.discoverydogs.org
Updated:	Mon, 05 Nov 2007 22:19:10 -0800
Conditions served:
Services:	Equipment and Supplies

Discovery Dogs

Location(s)