There is an alternative, to waiting many years to get a dog, and to getting a dog which may not be trained to your needs. If you have the experience, or if you can get the help of a professional dog trainer, you can train a dog yourself.

There are some programs out there, which allow you to... MORE

There is an alternative, to waiting many years to get a dog, and to getting a dog which may not be trained to your needs. If you have the experience, or if you can get the help of a professional dog trainer, you can train a dog yourself.

There are some programs out there, which allow you to train a dog to meet your needs, either using a dog you provide, or providing a dog for you. There are many advantages to this, as well as disadvantages.

Advantages include:

1. No waiting list. If you have your own dog, you can begin to train it immediately.

2. May be cheaper than getting a program trained dog. You won't have to pay for hotel, meals, and plane fare to the facility to receive your dog.

3. Has the same access rights as any dog from a program.

Disadvantages:

1. The dog must be trained before it can be taken out into public as a service dog.

2. If you're training a puppy, you must wait for it to finish growing before teaching tasks such as wheelchair pulling and bracing (Mobility Service (Assistance) Dogs Only)