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Military / Retired Vet Programs

Dog Training Elite New Mexico

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A military veteran and service dog - Dog Training Elite offers elite veteran service dog training in Albuquerque / Santa Fe, NM.

Dog Training Elite

Military Veteran Service Dog Training in Albuquerque / Santa Fe, NM

At Dog Training Elite New Mexico, we strongly believe in the healing power of service dogs for military veterans. That’s why we dedicate our time and passion to providing veteran service dog training in Albuquerque / Santa Fe, NM.

Service dogs can greatly assist with both the mental and physical challenges veterans may face after serving our country. Many veterans experience PTSD, physical disabilities, or other impairments, and our service dogs have been proven to help reduce symptoms and support veterans in returning to their daily routines.

Learn more about our programs designed for veterans and discover why Dog Training Elite is committed to making a difference in the community.

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A service puppy in training - Dog Training Elite offers veteran service dog training in Albuquerque / Santa Fe, NM for those who have served our country.

Dog Training Elite New Mexico

Why We Offer Service Dog Training for Military Veterans

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At Dog Training Elite New Mexico, we are passionate about helping military veterans through the support of service dogs. We offer specialized service dog training options in Albuquerque / Santa Fe, backed by scientific research and proven by our own success stories.

In a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans paired with service dogs experienced a significant reduction in PTSD symptoms and fewer self-harm ideations. The mental health and medical communities increasingly recognize service dogs’ positive impact on emotional well-being and independence, making them one of the most effective tools for veteran recovery.

At Dog Training Elite, we are dedicated to providing exceptional dog training services that provide the tools and support needed for our veterans and their dogs to thrive, offering a path toward healing and better quality of life.

A beautiful golden retriever service dog - Dog Training Elite New Mexico.

Popular Service Dog Breeds


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Finding a service dog that fits your individual needs is important, especially for military veteran support. While most dogs can be trained to become service dogs, a few breeds stand out due to their personalities and inherent traits.

Here are a few of the most popular service dog breeds:

  1. Labrador Retrievers: Labradors are intelligent, versatile, and eager to please, making them ideal for PTSD service dogs. Their trainability allows them to excel in roles like guide dogs, mobility support, and emotional support, making them highly adaptable for veterans.
  2. Golden Retrievers: Golden Retrievers are known for their calm, gentle nature and strong work ethic. They are excellent at providing mobility assistance and emotional support, especially for veterans with PTSD, due to their patient and loving temperament.
  3. German Shepherds: German Shepherds are strong, loyal, and highly intelligent, making them excellent service dogs. Their protective instincts and trainability allow them to assist with mobility, search and rescue, and provide emotional support for veterans.
  4. Poodles: Poodles are highly intelligent and easily trained, making them great service dogs, particularly for those with allergies due to their hypoallergenic coats. They excel in roles such as mobility assistance and medical alert dogs, offering a versatile solution for individuals with diverse needs.

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You and your canine companion really can have it all. See how easy it can be to become a member of the elite pup society by requesting a free consultation today!

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See An Elite Dog in Action

A service dog and his veteran owner - Dog Training Elite New Mexico.

Our Veteran Service Dog Training in Albuquerque / Santa Fe, NM

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Service dogs undergo extensive specialized training to perform their tasks and assist their owners. Our training process involves a combination of obedience training, task training, and public access training.

  • Obedience Training: This training focuses on teaching a dog basic commands, such as sit, down, heel, come, as well as proper leash manners and socialization skills.
  • Task Training: Task training is tailored to fit the needs of each individual. It involves teaching the dog to perform tasks that mitigate the person’s disability, such as retrieving items, opening doors, or providing deep pressure therapy.
  • Public Access Training: This type of training is crucial to ensure the dog remains calm, well-behaved, and non-disruptive in various public settings. This training includes exposure to different environments, distractions, and social interactions to provide a dog that can confidently navigate public spaces.
A beautiful service dog standing outside - Dog Training Elite New Mexico.

Service Dogs for Veterans & PTSD

Get Specialized Training with DTE Today

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Training with Dog Training Elite is tailored specifically for military veterans dealing with PTSD and other service-related challenges. Our programs focus on helping veterans regain independence, emotional stability, and confidence through the support of a well-trained service dog.

At Dog Training Elite, we are dedicated to providing service dog training that strengthens the bond between veterans and their dogs, guiding them toward a brighter future and supporting their healing journey.

Hear From Our Customers

Learn Why Dog owners choose Dog Training Elite

  • Denika Vigil
    Dec. 19, 2024
    Our trainer worked miracles with our one year old lab. She went from ripping apart everything in the house and being a crazy (but loving) little terror to a calm and well trained angel in just a few sessions. If you put in the work as a family and listen to your trainer, you will get amazing results. Can't recommend they're program enough, and our family is extremely grateful to Dog Training Elite New Mexico and our wonderful trainer, John.
  • Samantha D'Anna
    Dec. 11, 2024
    John has been helping me with my miniature dachshund. Flexible scheduling, great tips and tricks!
  • Linda Seebantz
    Nov. 30, 2024
    We came to Elite with a tall order. As a hound dog, Eddy's nature is to lead us to prey, not come when called. Before he became our 3rd hound dog, he had been found in Santa Fe, adopted, and returned twice to the animal shelter. How do we get him to stay near us when he's off-leash and free to run in the wild BLM land behind our house? With baby steps, John advised. Then, he proceeded to carefully take us through the stages of training that brought us to the desired result. Off-leash. Free to run. And he comes when he's called. He also sits, places, and heels. We're ecstatic, and so is Eddy. I can't say enough about John and the team at Dog Training Elite—patient, persistent, kind, and reliable. Now we get to love up this sweet fella, and skip the drama.
  • Jeff Voris
    Nov. 28, 2024
    Dog Training Elite New Mexico help me learn how to control my dog better and help her feel more comfortable and around people and dogs. They are pretty expensive but are very flexible with payments.
  • Brisa Porter-Garcia
    Nov. 22, 2024
    Stephanie and John are awesome! Extremely knowledgeable and introduced me to a lot of great tools and techniques I can use with my dog.
  • Leticia Moedano
    Nov. 22, 2024
    I highly recommend Dog Training Elite for anyone looking for dog training services and especially if you are considering getting your dog service trained. It's a wise investment for you and your dog. The owner, Justin is professional and knowledgeable in dog training and especially in the process required to get a dog properly serviced trained. John Herrera was a phenomenal dog trainer; he is a great at working with you and your pup as a team. You can tell he loves his work and loves dogs. He was prompt and professional for each of our weekly lessons and encouraging with tips on how to improve/what to work on each week before the next lesson. Our goldendoodle started training when he was around 4 months old and just completed his service task training to be a service dog. John was great in training him in my home and also in public spaces to get him ready to successfully pass his public access test (grocery stores, malls, hardware stores). Now that we have completed his individual weekly lessons, we look forward to continuing to join in the group classes with John and his dog Journey . Highly recommend Dog Training Elite.
  • Ken Mashke
    Nov. 16, 2024
    These folks are fantastic! Would rate with 10 stars. Our new puppy was a handful. John visited weekly and was always available when needed. He not only assisted with our dog, but trained us as well😀. I continuously get comments on how well our dog is progressing from neighbors and others. Our biggest problem was jumping up to greet visitors. We pretty much solved that problem in two weeks! Highly recommended.
  • Mary James
    Nov. 16, 2024
    We really enjoyed our experience with Elite from the very beginning! We have a large great pyreness that was challenging us thinking he was the alpha. Elite (John) came in and accessed him and told us he was not an aggressive dog but a reactive dog. We have since gotten to the point where our great pyr (PB) is back to being our gentle giant. As a result we have started training our smaller dog. Our whole experience with John, Stephanie, Mark and Justin has been wonderful and we highly recommend Elite!
  • Daryl Mashke
    Nov. 16, 2024
    This is Maggie! Trained by Dog Traning Elite- John Hererra. Her training sessions were exceptional. John taught us how to work with Maggie, how to heel, sit, stay, come, place and how to behave in public (her not us!). At every session Maggie learned a little bit more, and she is well on her way to becoming the perfect companion. John is patient, but firm, and fully understands animal behavior and how to encourage the dog to do what you want it to do. We are extremely happy with DogTraning Elite's methods. We recommend them to anyone who wants a well behaved companion dog. Especially John. He's the best!
  • Annalee Archuleta
    Nov. 8, 2024
    Dog Training Elite is a great training program. I would highly recommend this training program to anyone interested in training their dog. I would also like to shout out John. He did an amazing job training and teaching me I saw a tremendous difference in my dog and her behavior. Thank you John and Dog Training Elite!!!
  • Stephenie Potts
    Oct. 25, 2024
    I can't begin to explain how much I appreciate Elite and, more specifically, John Herra, for helping us bring out the very best in Gage. John was the perfect trainer for our oversized, misunderstood darling boy. Please don't hesitate to call and begin right away. You'll be thankful you did.
  • Lauren Hagwood
    Oct. 30, 2024
    I worked with John and he was awesome! He really helped my dog and I to feel comfortable going out into public spaces. I was so nervous to go to training because my dog had some aggressive tendencies, but John was so reassuring and helpful, he really made it a judgment free zone! I was so anxious when going out in public with my dog, but John really helped to build my confidence and my dogs confidence in a public setting! I feel so much more comfortable training my dog and I am so glad that I called Dog Training Elite. I also really love that I can go to group classes anytime now and get advice if I ever need any! Thank you, John!
  • Stephenie Duran Potts
    Oct. 24, 2024
    I can't begin to explain how much I appreciate Elite and, more specifically, John Herra, for helping us bring out the very best in Gage. John was the perfect trainer for our oversized, misunderstood d
  • Meghan O'Neill
    Oct. 24, 2024
    I cannot recommend Dog Training Elite NM enough! When my husband came home with a Belgian Shepherd, I immediately took to the internet and started researching dog trainers in ABQ. I reached out to a few and Justin was the first to get back to me and I am SO grateful. I truly believe we would be in a totally different place in our family if we hadn't signed up with Dog Training Elite. John and Stephanie were our trainers and they were the absolute kindest, most encouraging, confidence-boosting dream trainers. We saw results after the first training session with them. We worked hard each week doing our homework with our dog and it really paid off. We are forever grateful for the awesome guidance and incredible skillset that Dog Training Elite offers. We have a 9 month old giant boy who is SO sweet, SO well behaved, SO polite, and listens to all of his commands that we learned with John and Stephanie. Plus, our children (6, 8, 13) participated in training sessions and our dog also listens to them- walks in heel at their side, even! We look forward to going to the group classes and continuing to see them- we were so happy the day our dog graduated (with FLYING colors!) but we were also sad because we loved seeing John and/or Stephanie each week!! We really are forever grateful for our training with them. Worth EVERY penny. 100/100 stars! We love Dog Training Elite and highly recommend them for your dog training needs!
  • Ana Speelman-ONeill
    Oct. 23, 2024
    If you want good training for your dog that lasts and work these are the guys!! We got our dog Slime from the shelter we were told he was rescued from the streets. He is a German shepherd only about 2 and half years old so still in that velociraptor stage. When we first got him he was very crazy jumping on people lots of play biting and not listening when we called his name. The only thing he could do well was sit. I immediately looked into training for him since we like to have people over a lot and found Dog Training Elite. The price scared me a lot but I really wanted to keep Slime and wanted something that would work. The price was well worth it!! We decided with the Gold package. We had Stephanie as our trainer and she is very professional! Slime also loves her. We completed our training and slime was picking up well on everything. We were still having trouble with one thing and they came back out to help us work with him! Slime is still our crazy dog with tons of personality but he listens a lot better and is easier to control. Love these guys and will recommend them to anyone who asks!
  • Donald Meyer
    Oct. 18, 2024
    Extremely professional with all of the equipment needed for great results included in the package. My dog made amazing progress throughout the process.
  • S Habedank
    Oct. 4, 2024
    Great professional training. Our Trainer was flexible and communicated well. We feel that our dog has benefited greatly from this service.
  • Aaron Manzanares (Del Rio Signs)
    Oct. 1, 2024
    Incredible experience with Dog Training Elite. They went above and beyond our expectations. Stephanie is an amazing trainer. She was professional and kind. Highly recommended!
  • adam juvinall
    Sep. 30, 2024
    Amazing experience in every way you can hope for with Dog Training Elite New Mexico! From my initial phone inquiry to the in home interview and all the way through until our certification! Justin and Stephanie are the best and truly show how much their program means to them. I highly recommend them working with you!
  • Alex Petersen
    Sep. 28, 2024
    Our family could not be happier with the services and results we’ve seen with Dog Training Elite. Working one on one with John has made such an impact on our dog’s reactivity and discipline. From the beginning of training, he took the time to understand our family’s background and needs (we’re expecting our first child this fall), and helped keep our dog’s progress on track.