Certified Assistance Dog Trainer Program
Learn a complete, ethical system for selecting, training, and assessing assistance dogs, and preparing clients to work with them.
This year-long online program is designed for experienced dog trainers. Medical alert is our specialty, and the curriculum also covers psychiatric, autism, mobility, hearing, and other assistance-dog work.
From selecting a dog to preparing a team
A connected method for assessing dogs, building skills, and preparing teams
One connected method
SELECT
Assess dog candidates
TRAIN
Develop practical skills
SUPPORT
Prepare clients and teams
For dogs and the people they support
5 modules
From selection to task work
40+ hours
of live instruction
1-2 hours
of practical work each week
A complete system for training assistance dogs
This curriculum takes you from evaluating a dog’s potential through training, public access, client preparation, and assistance tasks. It draws on the system used at Medical Mutts and taught to professional trainers and programs for more than 15 years, including experience training hundreds of medical alert dogs.
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Each module combines instruction with practical application. You’ll use protocols, written training plans, assessments, case studies, and video assignments to build a method you can apply in your own program.
Module 1
Selecting and assessing assistance-dog candidates
A program’s outcomes depend in part on choosing candidates thoughtfully. Learn a structured, welfare-centered process for sourcing, evaluating, housing, and following dogs, and for deciding when a dog may not be suited to assistance work.
You’ll study:
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Roles, laws, and standards: The differences between service dogs, therapy dogs, and emotional support animals; the history of assistance dogs; how laws and standards have changed; and the roles of ADI and IAADP.
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Canine behavior and development: Ethology, socialization, developmental stages, breed traits, and breed-specific motor patterns.
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Health and welfare: Size, age, structure, gait, anatomy, physiology, health concerns, body language, stress, nutrition, and puppy development.
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Finding and caring for candidates: Breeder selection and breeding programs; sourcing dogs through shelters, rescues, and owner-dog programs; and housing dogs in kennels, trainer or volunteer homes, facilities, and prison programs.
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Testing and ongoing evaluation: Protocols for assessing adult dogs, puppies, and owner dogs; video examples and case studies; monitoring dogs over time; and recognizing how personal bias can affect selection decisions.
Applied assessment: Test a dog using the course protocol, submit a video of your assessment, and present your reasoned recommendation about the dog’s suitability for assistance work.
Module 2
Foundation and intermediate training: Levels 1 and 2
Build a consistent training and assessment system for the behaviors that support assistance-dog work. You’ll learn how to plan training, document progress, and adjust your approach as each dog develops.
You’ll study:
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Learning theory and its application to service-dog training.
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LIMA, dog welfare, and the dog’s right to choose their level of participation.
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Training equipment, platforms, sample materials, and tools such as cans and tins.
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Progress reports, training plans, logs, and ways to organize training records.
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More than 20 foundation and intermediate behaviors, including eye contact, touch, free, sit, bed, down, stand, come, heel, loose-leash walking, under, side, back, stay, leave it, poke, chin, and scent-related behaviors.
Each behavior is supported by a written training plan, with access to training videos and materials.
Applied assessment: Train a dog, submit videos demonstrating the required behaviors, and complete the Level 1 and Level 2 assessments.
Module 3
Public access training
Prepare dogs and trainers to work thoughtfully in public settings. This module covers the standards, practical skills, and judgment involved in helping a dog remain safe and comfortable amid real-world distractions and interactions.
You’ll study:
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Laws and standards related to service-dog public access.
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Preparing for outings, public-access ethics, and etiquette.
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Dog body language, management, and navigating common public settings.
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Health considerations for the public, including infection prevention, zoonotic disease, allergies, phobias, medical conditions, and cultural considerations.
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Responding to challenging situations, such as denied access, unwanted public interactions, children approaching, shopping carts, and a dog becoming uncomfortable or distracted.
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Public-access behaviors such as settling under a table and responding to cues in busy settings.
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The purpose and components of the Public Access Test.
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Applied learning: Review outing videos and scenarios, discuss students’ experiences, and practice analyzing the dog’s behavior and the handler’s response.
Module 4
Selecting and coaching
service-dog clients
Training a successful team means understanding both the client’s needs and the dog’s needs. Learn how to guide clients from application through team training, while making thoughtful matches and supporting the welfare of both members of the team.
You’ll study:
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The client pathway: applications, interviews, eligibility, contracts, preparation, team training, and follow-up.
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How to gather relevant information about disability, daily life, needed tasks, dog preferences, support systems, and training considerations.
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Matching a dog and client based on needs, preferences, environment, and the dog’s profile.
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Disability-related considerations, including diabetes, seizures, psychiatric disabilities, trauma, suicidality, POTS, migraines, and cardiac conditions.
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Ethical practice, the human-dog bond, client privacy and vulnerability, appropriate accommodations, and the responsibilities involved in placement.
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Recognizing limitations and red flags, deciding when an application may not be a good fit, and communicating difficult decisions respectfully.
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The effects that staff assumptions and emotional attachments can have on client selection and team training.
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Selected coaching topics are taught with input from a licensed mental health professional. Case studies, quizzes, and practical materials help you apply the course content to real situations.
Module 5
Assistance-task training and Level 3 assessment
Learn to train task behaviors that support people with a range of disabilities. Medical alert is a CMAC specialty; the curriculum also addresses psychiatric, autism, mobility, hearing, and other assistance-dog work.
You’ll study and practice tasks such as:
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Scent alerts and related alert behaviors.
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Retrieving and giving items, pressing buttons, nudging, and finding help.
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Comfort and positioning behaviors such as lap, visit, cuddle, front, behind, and crawl.
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Selected mobility-related tasks, including brace and balance assistance.
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Hearing-dog signals, secret signals, and behaviors such as waiting at curbs.
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The course connects each task to the person’s needs, the dog’s abilities, and the practical details required for training. Written plans, videos, and hands-on assignments support the work.
Applied assessment: Train a dog to perform the required tasks, submit video demonstrations, and complete the Level 3 assessment.
How the program works
Learn while you train
40+ hours of live zoom instruction
Most weeks: 1- 2 hours. Usually 1:00 PM New York time zone
Recording classes available for review, materials, quizzes, written plans & training videos
1-2 hours/ week
An average of 2 hours of total work per week
1 year
About 1 year to complete the program
A certificate earned through demonstrated skill
Students apply what they learn with a dog throughout the program.
Who this program is for
For dog trainers ready to expand into assistance-dog work and build a program with a clear, repeatable system for selecting and training dogs, measuring progress, and preparing clients.
Experienced dog trainers
Comfortable with luring and shaping
Ready to work with a dog throughout the program
TUITION & ENROLLEMENT
A year-long program for building a complete assistance dog training system​
Full program tuition
$4,500 USD
Payment plan available
Deposit: $500 plus 10 monthly payments of $430, Total: $4,800 USD
Includes live instruction, class recordings, course material, written training plans, quizzes, training videos, and assessments.