Assistance Dogs not only provide a specific service to their handlers, but also greatly enhance their lives with a new sense of freedom and independence. The California Canine Academy/ Assistance Dogs will train dogs in the following categories:

·          Service Dogs

·          Hearing Dogs

·          Social/Therapy Dogs

·          Companion Dogs

·         Read Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D)

·          High School Assistance Dog (HS-A Dog) Program for Teens

 

Service Dogs

Service Dogs assist physically disabled people by retrieving objects that are our of their reach, by pulling wheelchairs, opening and closing doors, turning light switches off and on, barking for alert, finding another person, assisting ambulatory persons to walk in providing balance and counterbalance and many other individual tasks as needed by a disabled person.

Service Dogs are bred in selective breeding programs. Our Service Dogs are Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, or combination of both. Service dogs can be identified by either a backpack or harness.

Dogs are often called “Man’s best friend.” Now, you know that some dogs are more than friends. For people with disabilities, Service Dogs make possible the thing that are sometimes taken for granted and greatly enhance their lives with a new sense of freedom and independence.

 

Hearing Dogs

Hearing Dogs Assist deaf and hard of hearing individuals by alerting them to a variety of house hold sounds such as a door knock or doorbell, alarm clock, oven buzzer, telephone, baby crying, name call or smoke alarm. Dogs are trained to make physical contract and lead their deaf partners to the source of the sound.

Hearing dogs are generally mixed breeds acquired from animal shelters and are small to medium in size. Prior to formal audio response training, the younger adoptees are raised and socialized by volunteer puppy raisers.

 

Social/Therapy Dogs

Social Teams bring joy to people in settings such as hospitals, convalescent homes, schools and hospice. The owners with their dog are trained in basic obedience. Then they progress to behaving appropriately around patients, medical equipment and children. 

Therapy Teams advance progress when they are part of a patient’s treatment plan.

Therapy Dogs work with people who have mental disabilities as well as individuals who are institutionalized such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, autism, anxiety disorder and schizophrenia. The possible benefits of Therapy dogs are that the clients respond more positively and enthusiastically when the dog is involved.

 

Companion Dogs

Companion Dogs are utilized by people with minor disabilities. They are trained in basic obedience and to assist people with specific needs. Some of the tasks that the dogs might perform would be bringing objects to the person like the telephone, pill bottles, and dropped objects. They provide comfort and companionship as well as interaction with the person on an unconditional basis thus decreasing an individuals’ depressive state.

These dogs do not have access rights.

 

Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.)

The mission of the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program is to improve the literacy skills of children in a unique approach employing a classic concept: reading to a dog. The R.E.A.D. program utilizes registered therapy animals, who have been trained and tested for health, safety, skills and temperament.

These are the benefits we anticipated for participants in the R.E.A.D. program, and all are occurring:

·          Children improve their reading skills in a unique and fun environment.

·          The program is extremely flexible and can be implemented in many settings.

·          The program promotes another way that animals can make a positive difference in children’s lives.

·          The program effortlessly crosses all socioeconomic and cultural lines, since the animals are without bias and judgment.

·          The program addresses the “whole person” of the child, thus the benefits overflow into other areas of the child’s life beyond reading and intellectual skills.

 

High School Assistance Dogs (HS-A Dogs)

The High School Assistance Dogs (HS-A Dogs) Program is a  vocational/education program designed to enhance the lives of and provide opportunities for at-risk teenagers through contact with and responsibility for the care and training of assistance dogs while proving much needed assistance dogs to disabled individuals in the community. To see our teens with their pups click here.

Watch videos of our teens and dogs in action by clicking here.

Call us at 209-723-2777 to find out how your school or teenager can be involved in this wonderful program.

Benefits:

·    At-risk teenagers are taught to train and place assistance dogs with disabled persons.

·    Much needed assistance dogs are place with disabled persons in the community, providing them a means to live more independent, fulfilled lives.

·    Dogs maintain a useful, viable role in today’s modern society.

·    The community enjoys teens with higher self esteem and better emotional control

·    Teens learn self discipline, they acquire first hand disability awareness, they learn to give and receive love.