Mystic Mutts Owner-Assisted Programs
Are you a disabled individual in need of a service animal? Are traditional program fees and waitlists stopping you from accessing a trained dog who can truly meet your needs and assist you? Are you anxious about putting your trust in a facility to train a dog for you?
Mystic Mutts offers a unique Owner-Assisted program structure, enabling disabled individuals to train their own service dog in their home. Our programs provide all of the expertise and support of a traditional program trainer, with more flexibility, higher levels of customization, lower costs, and a greater understanding of your dog’s training.
Our programs for owner-trained service dogs are modular, allowing you to focus on exactly the area of training your dog needs, without spending extra time and money on the pieces you already have. Check out our options for different stages of development.
Step 1: Evaluation
An in-person evaluation is required before joining any program module with Mystic Mutts. This allows us to appropriately evaluate your dog’s current level of training, and the suitability of their general temperament and ability for service dog work. This evaluation is simple to schedule and comes with a modest flat fee of $50 for our time, travel, and resources.
Module 1: Foundations - 16 Weeks - $1340
Our Foundations program is designed for dogs 8 weeks to 2 years old with little to no formal training. In Foundations, we focus on socialization, engagement, leash walking, neutrality, settling, markers, handling, and other key skills essential to a future service dog’s development. These are the things most traditional “ obedience programs” miss. Our Foundations program does not come with a program vest or endorsement, but it is the first step to a task-trained, public-access-ready service dog. Foundations includes: 9 private lessons, training equipment, unlimited online support, and access to group classes for socialization for the duration of your program.
Module 2: Model Citizen- 12 Weeks - $1040
Our Model Citizen program is designed for dogs who already have strong foundational skills, and need more work on basic obedience & neutrality to distractions. This program takes place over 12 weeks, and covers improved heelwork, polite greetings with dogs & people, and sits, downs, stays, and recall. Includes an “In Training” vest upon successful completion as teams prepare to start public access training. Also includes: 7 private lessons, training equipment, a free AKC Canine Good Citizen test, unlimited online support, and access to group classes for skill building for the duration of your program.
Module 3: Task Training - 10 Weeks - $870
Modules 3 & 4 can be done as many times as necessary, in any order, after Module 1 & 2 are complete. This Task Training program is repeatable. Typically, each module covers the process of teaching 1-3 tasks depending on complexity and handler/dog learning speed. We train a wide variety of tasks for a wide variety of disabilities, including but not limited to item retrievals, button press, opening/closing doors/cabinets, deep pressure therapy, grounding, obstacle avoidance, following, forward momentum pull, medication retrieval, medication reminders, counterbalance, stair/standing assistance, allergen detection, and behavioral interruption. We do not train tethering, bracing, full guide, or medical alert tasks.
Each Task Training module includes 6 private lessons, unlimited online support, and access to group classes for practice in varied environments for the duration of your program.
Module 4: Public Access - 10 Weeks - $870
Module 4 covers a wide range of advanced public access skills for school, work, travel, and difficult locations. These skills are targeted to handler-specific needs & lifestyle, and may include but are not limited to escalator skills, extended supervised separation, long-distance stays, off-leash training, sending to a marker/mat, air travel skills, advanced food refusal, side switching, rear end awareness, and more. Typically, we can add 1-3 advanced skills per module.
Each Public Access module includes 6 private lessons, unlimited online support, and access to group classes to practice in varied environments for the duration of your program.
Final Public Access Test/Task Training Assessment
The Mystic Mutts Public Access Test is a rigorous evaluation of working ability and competence of dog and handler in a true public access environment. Teams who have completed their training under Mystic Mutts are eligible for both this test and a Task Training Assessment, which is verification of the dog’s trained skills. Upon passing both in the same day, teams will be provided with a full program vest & written endorsement of their level of training valid for one year from date of issuance.
This endorsement is not an I.D or nationally recognized certification, as no valid service dog certification exists or is required in the United States. However, it is a valuable resource in employment and housing disputes, and represents our professional endorsement of teams who have been assessed and proven to meet our high standards of training and handling.
Teams may take this test & assessment for the first time for $120. Annual re-tests are $30.