SERVICE DOGS
Good Dog! Service Canines provides service dogs to families of children with autism and related disabilities including but not limited to Down syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Fragile X, Apraxia, and ADHD.*
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Our dogs are specially trained to perform tasks that help mitigate the effects of these disabilities and support each child’s unique needs. These tasks may include deep pressure for emotional regulation, tactile input, behavior interruption or redirection, focus and grounding assistance, and serving as a bridge to social connection and communication.
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Each Good Dog is placed as part of a three-member team: the child, a parent or caregiver who lives with the child and serves as the primary handler, and the service dog. This triad model ensures lasting support, trust, and success for the entire family.
FACILITY DOGS
Facility dogs are placed with professionals such as teachers, principals, and therapists who work in facilities serving children with autism and related disabilities. The handler is a professional who utilizes the highly trained dog to help children with autism and developmental disabilities meet their goals during therapy sessions or school days. Learn more or apply for a Facility dog here.
ASSISTANCE DOG PLACEMENTS
ELIGIBILITY
SERVICE DOG ELIGIBILITY
Please read the following information before scheduling a Free Chat:
We believe that each family should be considered individually. Just as our kids are one-of-a-kind, so is each family's situation. In order to ensure successful teams, we have the following eligibility requirements for a Good Dog! Service dog:
The child* must:
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Have a diagnosis of autism or related disability that can be supported by trained service dog tasks. These tasks may include applying or receiving deep pressure, interrupting or redirecting behavior, assisting with focus and grounding, and serving as a bridge to social interaction and communication. Learn more about the benefits of these tasks here.
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Be six years of age or older at the time of the dog’s placement in the home.
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Live with the parent/caregiver who will be the primary dog handler.
The parent/caregiver must:
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Live with the child and be willing to be the primary handler. The child may become the primary handler at a later point, if all parties agree that this is possible. In most cases the parent/caregiver will remain the handler.
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Be willing to attend a 5-day Team Training in Southern California and pay for travel and accommodation costs. The child does not attend this training, only the parent/caregiver who will be the main handler of the dog. Once the parent/caregiver and dog return home, it is up to the parent/caregiver to transfer the knowledge to the child and any other handlers at their pace and learning style.
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Be 18 years of age or older
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Be willing to complete all pre-requisite learning, pass required evaluations, and participate in the on-going training and graduate support program.
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Have access to the internet with a webcam (or smart phone).
*The term “child” refers to a person with a disability of any age who is not going to be handling the dog independently and/or who may be able to handle the dog independently in the future. "Child" must live at home with a parent or live with a caregiver committed to the dog's care or supervision of care. We do not have an age limit for our service dog recipients paired with an adult handler.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON ELIGIBILITY
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Safety-focused goals: Good Dog! does not specialize in safety-based placements. If safety is your primary goal, our program may not be the best fit. We invite you to attend our free online Service Dog Infurmation Hour, where we discuss the pros and cons of service dogs for safety and other common goals.
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Household readiness: We do not place dogs in homes where any individual may unintentionally cause physical or emotional harm to the dog due to dysregulation or other behaviors.
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Handler commitment & home stability: The parent/caregiver handler must be able to lead the dog effectively and follow our transition guidelines. Significant changes after acceptance (such as a move, a new baby, or adding pets) may delay placement.
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Daily routine requirement: Families must have a daily routine that allows the service dog to be with the primary handler—and ideally the service dog recipient—for most of the day. Service dogs cannot be left home alone for long periods.
While Good Dog! has established eligibility criteria for the type of service dogs we provide, we do not discriminate against any applicant based on race/ethnicity, creed, gender, religion, marital status, age, nationality, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, citizenship status, military service status or any other consideration as indicated by federal, state or local laws.
Service dogs types outside our placement scope:
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Emotional support animals (While our dogs do provide emotional support, our dogs are highly trained service dogs and we do not place dogs exclusively as emotional support animals)
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Owner-trained service dogs for individuals who have a dog they would like assistance in training as a service dog
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Seizure alert or response dogs
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Hearing dogs
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Guide dogs for blind or visually impaired
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PTSD service dogs
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Diabetic alert dogs
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Allergen detection dogs
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Assistance Dogs International has a list of accredited organizations that offer these valuable services.
If you are unsure or have a question about whether we place service dogs that would suit your child’s needs, please sign up for a Free Online Infurmation Hour
A TEAM OF
THREE
Please note that at this time we are NOT able to service independent individuals.
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Currently our program is designed for a team of three: parent-child-dog. (Over time it may be possible for the child to become the main handler, but there must be a parent present to oversee this process.)