Service Dog Training Classes
in Yadkinville, NC
Your Dog Can Be The Next Step Toward Independence
We are at capacity and no longer accepting new service dog client applications (as of early 2023).
Yadkinville Service Dog Training:
Service dogs are trained to perform skills which improve the lives of their disabled owners.
Level Up Dog Training offers service dog training to qualified local teams. Helping people achieve greater independence through the use of well-trained dogs is our passion!
The type of work each dog needs to perform varies with their handler’s disability. While most people are familiar with guide dogs for the blind, a trained dog can help mitigate many types of disabilities. Service dogs for PTSD, mobility assistance and autism have risen to the forefront of public awareness in recent years, while dogs for diabetes, medical alert/response and hearing alert tasks are less common but equally valid.We work with many different disabilities, but our specialties are psychiatric alert/response, mobility assistance and life assistance tasks.
Types of service dog we train:
- Psychiatric alert/response (primarily panic, anxiety, PTSD and autism)
- Medical alert/response (e.g. seizure)
- Mobility assistance
- pawLife assistance (e.g. retrieve phone, assist with laundry, retrieve dropped items)
- pawDiabetic alert
Our Service Dog Training Programs
You have the freedom to choose as much or as little help as you need to train your future partner. Level Up offers three different service dog training tracks so you can find exactly the right level of professional support for your team. You can think of our options as “do it yourself,” “leave it to the experts” or “best of both worlds.”
Train Your Own Service Dog
The dog you have can become the help you need. In our Owner-Trainer Assistance program, you will get customized one-on-one guidance from a professional service dog trainer, but the day-to-day work will be up to you. This economical option allows dog-savvy handlers to get professional help without breaking the bank.
Started Prospects
We’ll get you started and then help with the rest. In our Helper Head-Start program, we will find an appropriate dog for your needs, get them started on basic obedience, and then pair you with your new partner for the second half of training. Your dog will get professional training foundations but plenty of time to bond with you before graduation.
Fully-Trained Dogs
Professionally trained from start to finish. Our fully trained service dogs are hand-selected by a professional, go through 6-24 months of intensive training while living in the house with their trainer, and are individually trained for your tasks and lifestyle needs. Our wait list currently runs about a year and our dogs are worth the wait.
Stages of Service Dog Training
Level Up can meet you wherever you are in the service dog training process, from prospect selection to graduation. We prefer to meet with handlers as early in the process as possible — ideally even before they choose the dog they’d like to train.
Step 1. Prospect Selection and Evaluation
If you would like professional assistance in choosing a dog who is likely to succeed at service dog training, Level Up can help you find a qualified puppy or rescue dog for service work.
If you already have a dog you’d like to train, the first step is to schedule a Prospect Evaluation with Level Up so we can learn more about your needs and evaluate your dog as a service dog candidate.
Step 2. Obedience and Public Access Foundations
Contrary to common belief, the hardest part about teaching a service dog isn’t the task training — it’s teaching a foundation of rock-solid obedience that holds up in the face of the toughest distractions. Before beginning public access outings, a service dog prospect should be well-trained in pet friendly places and comfortable working in novel environments. Our private training classes can help you get your service dog in training onto the fast track toward graduation.
Step 3. Task Training and Graduation
Once a dog can demonstrate advanced obedience, your trainer will give you clearance to begin public access training and task work.
At this stage, your trainer will accompany you in public locations and work on public-specific service dog skills, such as waiting under a table at restaurants, riding on public transportation, navigating crowds and checkout lines, etc. This is also the stage where you will focus on teaching the specific tasks to mitigate your disability.
Started Prospects and Fully Trained Program Dogs
Started prospects are dogs with a steady temperament who have finished their advanced obedience training. They are ready to begin public access and task work with their new handlers.
Fully trained program dogs have completed advanced obedience and public access training. Their tasks will be customized to their future handler’s needs before they are placed.
Occasionally, Level Up will have a started prospect or fully trained program dog available for applications.
We do not currently have any started prospects or program dogs available for immediate placement.
Due to the intensive nature of service dog training, we only offer a limited number of working spots at any given time. This allows us to maintain our high quality standards and ensure that our clients receive the best possible results.