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. We are also one of the few agencies that works with families with minor children in need of our services.

Our unique method of having our clients actively involved in the training process from the beginning has proven to extremely successful, with eight dogs being placed with clients since our inception in January 2006, and seven additional teams working towards our certification as of 03 August 2010.  Shadows for Life implemented the method of having the client families participate in the training process for a couple of reasons.  Many families illustrate the willingness and desire to put in the effort, and reap the benefits much sooner with the dog being trained as a member of their “pack”, not by a total stranger who they will never even meet in most cases.  The thought process is that these dogs, still puppies in most cases, are being trained in obedience & house manners from the day that they are introduced to their new families, and this inherently creates a much stronger bond within the pack.  Also, the families themselves are being trained how to incorporate our training methods to meet their needs.  The other major factor with regard to this method as opposed to more conventional industry processes is the financial aspect.  Although client fund-raising is necessary at this time, the donation levels are a small percentage of other Service Dog agencies.

There are three distinct phases of Service Dog training which the teams will be tested on. These are obedience training, public access exposure and task specific training. Our tests exceed the standards as established as the minimum requirements by Assistance Dogs International (ADI).  Most of these dogs are either German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers or Labs, which are the preferred breeds for this type of work. We suggest starting with puppies, from reputable breeders, and having them come to us immediately for a four to six week “jump-start”. At the completion of this we will then bring the pups home and start the transference of the learned behaviors to the client family. As the dogs work through their obedience training and public access exposure 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 as necessary. 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.