We got this question today, so i thought I’d post an answer in case it helps anyone out! Continue reading

I received an interesting email today, and since I get similar emails pretty often, I thought I’d share my answer with readers. Hello,  My name is ____ and I'm from Israel. I'm on my fourth year of internship in clinical psychology, and many of my patients are diagnosed with PTSD or CPTSD. Unfortunately, therapy with dogs is not a very familiar treatment in my country, and I believe that this therapy can really help people who are suffering and it can provide them a better life.  I want to integrate this therapy in my clinic, so I would like to know if there is an option to learn it in your center, and whether there is, I would appreciate any further details on the process.  Thank you.    Continue reading

Pawsitivity in Minnesota: rescue dogs get trained help veterans and people with disabilities Written by Susie Kearley on 24 May 2022 The charity in St Paul, Minnesota, identifies suitable shelter dogs and prepares their future humans for a life together. Pawsitivity really changes lives, and Susie Kearley has found out more for Wunderdog. Picture: Lisa Venticinque. Continue reading

Mounds View students take action for service dogs and disabled veterans. Fundraiser on May 26, 2022. By Noelle Olson/Shoreview Press Editor. May 10, 2022 Updated May 12, 2022.   Continue reading

A couple of times each year, we have a dog available for a veteran, and we have a great deal of difficulty finding one that would be a good fit for partnering with a service dog. There is no cost to the veteran, but the process requires a lot of commitment.    We have found through the years that several factors greatly improve the success rate for the veteran/service dog partnership. Continue reading

We often get inquiries about people who want to train their own service dog. I realize that writing (or reading) the full story about raising and training a service dog would take a whole book, but here are the highlights--the absolute "must know" items. Continue reading

While we don’t usually use the BARC (Behavior and Reactivity Checklist) because we use our own version of the dog behavior assessment checklist. People sometimes ask about the Behavior and Reactivity Checklist, so here is a simplified version (not in a PDF, and not an online test). For the non-simplified version, go here. Continue reading

Your donations to the Ukraine Dog Rescue Fund are going to work! (You can donate the Ukraine Animal Rescue Fund.) Your donations are going to volunteers who are giving away dog food to Kiev, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, and the Poltava and Kherson regions, citizens who can't get out to buy dog or cat food, and funds are being provided to a number of shelters to help them keep their dogs and cats. These include small impromptu animal shelters that are set up in homes.      Continue reading

This program at the Minneapolis and St Paul airport helps children on the autism spectrum to navigate the airport by offering free monthly practice runs! You and your kiddo can practice going through security and experiencing the airport stimuli without any time pressure. Continue reading

The following is a wonderful guest post by the author of the book, “Six Feet to Independence,” Lauryn Walton. It's easy to think you know what it's like to have a service dog when you see one in public. However, what the public sees is only the tip of the iceberg. Most people don't realize that having a service dog is one of the hardest ways to mitigate your disability. I recently wrote a book titled Six Feet to Independence where I go into six areas most first-time handlers don't know to think about before they get the dog. The one I want address here is the fact that a service dog is just that--a dog. Continue reading