Services Provided
Special Needs Dog Training
Shadows for Life was created with the primary objective of providing dog training services to individuals with special needs. At Shadows for Life we are constantly striving to improve our training methods, while also expanding the range of potential benefactors of these uniquely trained animals, specifically in the Social/Therapy Dog area.
All of our Service Dog training is provided at no charge to those individuals. We currently have five teams who have been certified since 2006, and eight others currently progressing through the program.
Shadows for Life implemented the method of having the client families foster the pups for a couple of reasons. Primarily, the willingness and desire of these families to put in the effort, and reap the benefits much sooner with the dog being fostered as a member of their “pack”. The thought process is that these dogs, still puppies in many cases, are being trained in obedience & house manners from the day that they are introduced to their new families. Also, the families themselves are being trained how to incorporate our training methods to meet their needs.
Most of these dogs are either Golden Retrievers or Labs, which are the preferred breeds for this type of work. As the dogs work through their obedience training, Shadows for Life stays in constant touch with them in order to assure that the dogs are progressing as planned. Each dog is run through an on-site training program at intervals of 10 - 14 days, one at a time. Upon completion of their formal training, they will each have met the requirements as identified by ADI for public access as per the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336)
We ask that individuals interested in our Service Dog program to please contact us for further information.
K-9 Rescue & Family Pet Dog Training
Th K-9 Rescue & Family Pet Counseling/Training initiatives of the agency are intended to assist in the funding of our Special Needs activity, while also providing very important services to rescue unwanted or neglected and/or abused dogs and to those clients in need of this type of dog training. We offer free in-home consultations/temperament tests of the dogs for our family pet services, and a variety of training packages.
We have been very successful in our rescue activities, specifically through our site on Petfinder.com. Each rescued dog is tested and we require that they are current on their shots prior to placement. We rescued 15 dogs in 2006, 23 in 2007 and over 25 so far in 2008.
The unique thing about our family pet training is that all funds paid to the agency for this service are considered donations supporting the Special Needs training, and are therefore tax deductible per the IRS. This approach was fully disclosed when we applied for our non-profit status, which was granted on September 13, 2006, and runs retroactively from January 01, 2006 through December 31, 2010.
At Shadows for Life, we clearly define the three distinct phases of obedience training (Basic, Intermediate and Advanced). We are also expeienced in dealing with problematic behavior, including, though not limited to, crate training, housebreaking, aggression, counter surfing, jumping, bolting, chewing, digging, etc.. Mr. Pugliese uses primarily basic psychological principles to obtain the required behavior. Consequently, he uses varying types of training “tools” and methods, depending on the dog and circumstances
We have found that teaching & empowering our family pet clients with our methods, in their residences, is far more successful than sending the dogs off to be trained away from home, by a total stranger that they may or may not ever see again.
We believe that the training of your dog never ends, and that timing, repetition and consistency are the three key components of success. It is unrealistic to think that training could possibly be completed in two weeks, as many kennels today offer. Each dog is unique, and will learn appropriately as per the agencies methods and practices, the amount of training in the home and the appropriate reinforcement. The most critical element in dog training is that one must dedicate themselves to practicing and working with the dogs on a consistent basis, forever! Sometimes people ask me, “When will the training be finished?”, and my answer is always the same, “Never”. Specifically, behavior modification must be reinforced once it becomes a learned behavior.
Please contact us today if you are interested in our offer for a FREE In-Home Consultation and Temperament Test, at your convenience seven days a week.
