ALL DOGS
What are your requirements for starting training?
We work with dogs and handlers of all skill levels, behavioral challenges, and backgrounds. Before starting training with Mystic Mutts, we require current rabies vaccination and a completed Training Agreement and Intake Form. We also require a completed Onboarding Lesson, offered at a discounted rate, before reserving any future lessons or packages.
Online only clients are only required to complete the Training Agreement and Intake Form.
We require clients be open and honest about their dog and their challenges, and to maintain safe control over their dog and follow instruction at all times during training sessions. Failure to do this will result in termination of services without refund.
How long will training take?
That depends on your dog’s age, your needs and goals, your dog’s learning speed, prior training or existing concerns, and your capacity for consistently continuing training at home.
Generally, our clients see significant improvement in their target areas within 2-3 sessions. Behavioral modification for reactivity and anxiety can take several months. Service dog training typically takes 12-18 months from start to finish, and longer if teams are not fully consistent with and committed to at-home work. Home manners, recall, and leash walking are often solved or significantly improved within a matter of weeks.
How do I find a dog to start training as my service dog?
We offer matching services as a courtesy to our service dog clients, and are happy to get you in touch with an appropriate breeder or shelter and temperament test to find a dog who meets your needs. We recommend exercising extreme caution and patience when searching for a potential service dog, as the role can be highly demanding and most dogs are simply not suited for it. We find our clients have the most success going through breeders of Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Poodles, and Spaniels who health test their dogs above breed standard and have successfully produced multiple service dogs in the past.
Do I qualify for a service dog?
Legally, for your dog to be considered a service dog, you as a team must meet 3 requirements.
First, you must have a disability that impairs you from independently performing one or more major life functions. A dog, no matter how well trained, is not a service dog unless their handler is disabled.
Secondly, your individual dog must be trained to perform specific behaviors that directly reduce the impact of your disability. “Comfort” and “protection” are not valid trained tasks.
Lastly, your dog must be under control & non-disruptive, housetrained, and non-aggressive. A dog with any history of aggression cannot be considered a service dog.
In the U.S, there is no federally recognized certification or ID system. Whether a dog is legally a service dog is determined by whether they meet the three requirements above, not any outside certifying body.
What types of service dogs do you train?
We specialize in autism and psychiatric assistance dogs, particularly for children and dependent adults. However, we work with a wide array of disabilities and task sets. We will train service dogs for mobility assistance, PTSD response, allergen alert, POTS, generalized anxiety disorder, migraine response, hallucinations, partial navigation assistance, and more.
We do not train Guide Dogs, scent-based medical alerts (outside of allergens), or service dogs for social anxiety.
Will you work with service dogs for kids/teens?
Yes, we regularly work with children under the age of 18 and their service animals. We require full parental involvement in these cases, and depending on the child’s age and handling capability, an adult in the household may have to serve as the service dog’s primary handler/trainer.
If your child is capable of serving as the dog’s primary handler/trainer, we still require that all adults in the household to be present and engaged for at minimum the first session, and that a parent or guardian be on-site and accessible for all in-person lessons.
We will not place or train service dogs for handlers of any age who have any history of becoming aggressive or violent in a psychiatric or medical episode.
What are your qualifications?
As our sole trainer, my qualifications and experience are extensive. In 2023, I graduated from the Highland Canine International School for Dog Trainers as a certified Master Dog Trainer in the top 10 scores of my class. This was a 960-hour in-person intensive program in which I learned the ins & outs of not only training everything from service dogs to aggression cases and K9s, but communicating with clients and responsibly operating a business.
Since graduation, I have only continued my education and certification, with mentorships under several other trainers, and an affiliate membership with the International Association of Canine Professionals. I take great pride in my education and expertise.
SERVICE DOGS
Where is your facility?
We are a facility-free program. We travel to our clients in Denver & surrounding areas and work in real-world scenarios for more reliable and practical results. We serve the Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson, and Douglas counties, working as far north as Westminster and as far south as Castle Rock.
We also serve Colorado Springs clients with availability on Fridays and Saturdays. Please select your area when booking to ensure you’re seeing the appropriate availability for your locale.