From Shelter To Service Dog: A Practical Guide To Behavioral Rehabilitation

From Shelter To Service Dog is a practical guide for creating a calm, stable state of mind in your dog that allows access to rehabilitation and advanced training. The information presented here is the culmination of years of experience working with hundreds of families for various issues. This method is also the foundation of our Service Dog training programs for a wide range of disabilities, including PTSD, epilepsy, diabetes, mobility needs, autism and others. Understanding how to regulate behavior and attitudes in a dog is a fundamental part of a healthy relationship, whether adopting a new pet, training a Service Dog or working to resolve a severe behavioral issue that has been with a family for years. Shaping behavior is about understanding that dogs have needs that have to be filled for them to give stable behavior back. Once their needs are addressed, excitement, stress and anxiety can be resolved to provide access to new behaviors.

Rick and Heather Dillender are the owners of A Fresh Perspective Dog Training in Albuquerque, NM. They specialize in behavioral rehabilitation for severe problems such as fear, aggression, neurotic fixations, hyper-activity and other negative issues. They have also adapted their methods to a unique system for teaching individuals to self-train service animals for many forms of disabilities, including both combat and non-combat PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, epilepsy, autism, mobility needs, diabetes, and other forms of cognitive and physical impairment. Their system is capable of rehabilitating behavior to allow for dogs to be taken directly from shelters and rescues and with just a few months of training be put into work as service animals. Rick and Heather provide training and support for a wide variety of no-kill animal shelters and rescues in their area, and have developed programs for shelters that allow for rehabilitation of behavior in dogs on a large scale. They have also trained therapy dogs for a number of programs including childrens' literacy, classroom education and visiting assisted living facilities. In addition to their individual clients they are active lecturers about their methods and approach and they offer an instructor training program and certifications in their system. Before devoting themselves to working with dogs full time Rick worked for several years as an educator and administrator in post-secondary vocational education colleges and Heather worked as a certified workplace and family conflict mediator. Rick and Heather currently live in Rio Rancho, NM with their adopted daughter and several dogs, including their two service animals.