Become a Service Dog Mentor

CrittersWork selects potential Service Dog training candidates from local area rescues.

A potential Service Dog In Training (SDIT), must be exposed to many different stimuli and environmental things. The SDIT Mentor accepts the responsibility for the socialization and basic training of the dog in their care. The Mentor supports the SDIT while in their care, except for medical treatments. This process may last from two to six months, until the dog is ready to be brought to the training center and enter advanced training.

The process of becoming a Service Dog In Training Mentor is pretty simple.

#1 You must love living, and working with dogs.
#2 You must be willing to attend classes at least once a month at our training center with your SDIT.
#3 The dog must live in the house with you.
#4 You must be willing to bring the dog to CrittersWork group outings.
#5 You must be willing to take the dog with you as many places as you can in your regular life.

Our Mentors are trained and have 24/7 telephone or in person support from CrittersWork during their mentoring process.

What the Mentor teaches the Service Dog In Training:

Perfect house manners.
An acceptance of all types of people and other animals.
No soliciting of attention or treats from humans.
No sniffing while working.
A tolerance of strange sights, sounds, odors, and other things in a wide variety of public settings.
To ignore food that has been dropped on the floor, anywhere.
Work quietly on leash, with no fooling around, barking or other behaviors.
When the dog can eliminate, and where, these dogs are trained to eliminate on cue.
Basic obedience commands.

To become a SDIT Mentor, please contact us at: volunteerinfo@CrittersWork.org

Helping the rescued dog become a life altering partner to a challenged individual can be one of the greatest things you will ever do. Handing that leash over to your dogs new life partner is the best feeling in the world.

NOTE: Expenses incurred while Mentoring a SDIT are tax deductible, when the receipts are turned in to CrittersWork Service Dog Partners, Inc.