How to take a break with a dog in training for Service Dog including:

  general purpose: mobility assistance, therapy, wellness and emotional support animals

The training journey of a general purpose Service Dog (mobility, emotional, therapy & wellness dogs are included as general service dogs in my program) is 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  It is a marathon not a sprint.  Each day the trainer and dog need to practice for a break.  In training a break means the dog and handler physically separate from each other for a designated short period of time each day throughout the day.  The dog in training is 12 hours of possibility.

 Of these 12 hours the dog gets his basic needs met by opportunities offered by the Trainer. This document outlines the training process for mobility assistance dogs, emphasizing the importance of breaks and resource management for both the trainer and the dog.

• Training Overview: Mobility assistance dog training is a continuous process, requiring daily practice and breaks where the dog and trainer physically separate. The trainer must manage the dog's basic needs, including bathroom, water, meal, and exercise breaks, to ensure effective training.
• Resource Management: Successful training involves mastering total resource management, allowing the dog to transition from trainer to handler while developing a dependent relationship that fosters control and companionship.
• Break Types: Breaks are structured into specific activities such as bathroom breaks, mealtime, and exercise. Each activity has designated times and methods to ensure the dog remains focused and adheres to training protocols.

Importance of Rest: The document differentiates between sleeping and awake rest for dogs, highlighting the necessity for dogs to learn to rest while their trainer attends to personal needs, reinforcing the concept of breaks in training.  Trainers’ needs are bathroom break, water break, meal break and exercise break.  Each one of these is a resource. 

Mobility assistance dog training requires mastery of total resource management.    Trainers must manage all the dogs’ resources to gain lifestyle long term assistance from the dog.  The dog will eventually become FINISHED with his trainer and then TRANSITION from trainer to the handler.

During this trainer to dog time frame: the Trainer has his/her own resources to manage, and they are the same.  The dog accompanies the trainer while the trainer is addressing his own needs. This is the exact lifestyle being built now.  Eventually the dog will finish training and is ready to work = trainer has completed the entire process of total resource management.