Request a Free Assessment
Service Dog Breeds
Service dogs are crucial in assisting individuals with various disabilities and conditions, providing them with support, independence, and companionship. These highly trained dogs can perform specific tasks tailored to the needs of their handlers. We've created this brief guide to review breeds that make great service dogs, who can benefit from a service dog and the training that will help these pups meet their handler's needs. Take the first step towards a better future with a trained service dog by contacting Dog Training Elite Greater New Hampshire today!
Popular Breeds for Service Dogs
While most dogs can be trained to become service dogs, regardless of breed, a few breeds lead the pack in popularity due to their personalities and inherent traits. Here are a few of the most popular service dog breeds.
Labrador Retrievers
Labrador retrievers are among the most sought-after breeds to be service dogs for PTSD in Manchester due to their intelligence, versatility, and friendly nature. They excel in various roles, including guide dogs for individuals with visual impairments, service dogs for individuals with mobility issues, and service dogs for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Labradors are highly trainable and possess a strong desire to please, making them ideal candidates for service work.
Golden Retrievers
Golden retrievers are known for their gentle and patient nature, making them excellent service dog candidates. Their calm temperament, intelligence, and willingness to learn contribute to their success in roles such as mobility assistance, therapy dogs, and service dogs for veterans. Their ability to provide emotional support and comfort makes them particularly well-suited for individuals with PTSD or other mental health conditions.
German Shepherds
German shepherds possess a remarkable combination of strength, intelligence, and loyalty, making them an excellent choice as a service dog for veterans. Their versatility allows them to excel in various roles, including mobility assistance, search and rescue, and service dogs for individuals with psychiatric or neurological conditions. With their keen sense of observation and natural protective instincts, German Shepherds can provide physical and emotional support to their handlers.
Poodles
Poodles are renowned for their intelligence, trainability, and hypoallergenic coats, making them popular for service dog training, especially for individuals with allergies. They excel in roles such as mobility assistance, diabetic alert dogs, and medical alert dogs.
Our Balanced Theory
We base our training around the "Classical Conditioning" model (a.k.a. "Pavlovian" or "respondent conditioning"). This includes developing conditioned or automatic reflexes to commands. In its simplest form (after proper conditioning), when the owner says "sit," the dog automatically sits without thinking about it. Our unique techniques ensure our program is a success no matter what behavior we encounter.
Empowering Owners
We empower owners to train so their dog knows who to obey at all times.
Personalized
We deal with problem behaviors on a personal basis.
Environment Specific
We train wherever issues tend to arise (i.e. jogging, park, home).
Supportive
We support owners in the off-hours (when training is "not in session").
Involved
We work with all members of the household.
Simplified & Customized
We plan training around the owner's schedule and require only 20 min/day follow-up practice.
Continued Training
Additional programs / group sessions offered after in-home training.
Lifetime Investment
We follow up & are invested in the owner's success long-term.
Satisfaction Ratings
Our high client satisfaction rating sets us apart from competitors.
clas·si·cal con·di·tion·ing PSYCHOLOGY noun A learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus and is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.
Who Are Service Dogs For?
Service dogs offer invaluable support and assistance to individuals facing various challenges. Service dogs are sought after by individuals with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mobility limitations, visual or hearing impairments, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, and more. Service dogs can help provide security, independence, and emotional well-being regardless of the specific condition. If you seek a loyal and capable partner to enhance your daily life, a service dog for PTSD in Manchester can make a remarkable difference.
Service Dog Training
Service dogs undergo extensive and specialized training to perform their essential tasks and assist individuals with disabilities. The 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, stay, heel, and come, as well as proper leash manners and socialization skills.
- Task Training
Task training tailors to the specific needs of the 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.
We help your dog become a valued companion and beloved member of the family. Read what our customers have to say and then give us a call!
Have worked with many trainers over the past 3 yrs and have appreciated this group the most. Had fun doing the platinum obedience course. They even humored me and we went to Rye beach in Nh for last class as dreamed of having my dog off leash here. Had great time and will b using them for future training needs. Reliable training with results can’t recommend enough!— Wendy Dyment
Posted April 9th 2024
We have a very "talkative" older dog. When I first met Beth I was so happy that someone was able to comunicate to as well to me as my dog. Beth has taught both of us many new ways to improve. I am so grateful that Beth has the patience to keep us on the right path. After just a few months my 8 year old dog is listening better to me and behaving much better in public places. The group training that we are given are the game changer for us. Missy is better each time I take her. Even when things don't go as planned and I or my dog is stressed the whole team with DTE spoke kindly to us and made me feel so much more confident in myself and my dog. Thanks so much for all your help and I am looking forward to the group lessons. Laura— James Howell
Posted February 15th 2024
I had the most cathartic experience with Beth and Renee and staff! I am a therapist by trade and I recently adopted a “therapy dog” named Oliver. “Olly” doesn’t know he is being trained to be a therapy dog by everyone at Dog Training Elite and myself! He just has so much fun learning the commands and practicing tricks for treats at first and eventually without them! Something I thought was impossible. He is such an amazing emotional support animal for now thanks to Dog Training Elite and will be an amazing therapy dog once our training is done. I loved the 1:1 classes but really found a benefit from group classes once Oliver was ready to socialize with the other dogs. He impressed me with his skill at our most recent group class! I am looking forward to going into the community and creating one of the most beautiful gifts: a service animal for patients to love.— Victoria Sterk
Posted January 31st 2024
Amazing experience Beth. From start to finish she gave us great tools, tips, and lessons to help us train our lab. We got him during covid and as a result he had little exposure to other people and public places. Over the course of two months training with Beth he’s gone from being a skittish, unsure dog with little confidence to a confident boy who takes commands, and who is much more confident around people and out in public places. The difference is like night and day. I’d highly recommend making the investment in the team at Dog Training Elite. They are highly skilled at what they do and provide a great experience. Thank you guys!— Peter Palmer
Posted November 16th 2023
My experience with Haley from Dog Elite was awesome! She was very knowledgeable and professional. She took the time to get to know our dog and me! Our training sessions were tailored to Moon's needs and the incorporation of new ideas for keeping him engaged was so valuable! Haley is a gem and loves the animals! Thank you to all of you for the work you are doing to make all the dogs and humans be better and more balanced!— Lauri Sowers
Posted November 11th 2023
The training was highly individualized to meet the specific needs of the my dog The patience demonstrated to us was deeply appreciated— Kirsten Knaebel
Posted October 25th 2023
We cannot recommend Dog Training Elite enough!!! Beth and her team are incredible. Our dog was a rescue who came to us as a puppy with a bit of PTSD - super timid around strangers and terrified of men. After a few weeks of training with Beth we saw an immediate improvement. Not only is the in-home training perfect for us, but we appreciate the real world training and continued socialization and sessions offered. Thank you team for helping Pongo build his confidence and live his best life!— Briana Palmer
Posted October 25th 2023
Our large breed Great Dane was territorial, dragging me around and within weeks, he sit, stay, and come on command. He went from dragging me around by his leash to being leachless in a few sessions. So happy that me and my pet got training and now work very well together. Money well spent.— Linda Battalagine
Posted October 24th 2023
After years of searching finally we found the right training institute for our 3 years old GSD. Few months ago I saw a very well behaved GSD at homedepot. The owners told me that they had been to Elite Dog training at Manchester. I was so impressed by their dog’s behavior that immediately decided to go for Elite Manchester. We have been experiencing issues with our dog in social situations such as he is antagonistic towards other dogs and far from being friendly with boys under the age 12. We didn’t want to use a shock collar to correct his behavior nor we wanted to use the prong collar. Fortunately Elite provided us the correct tools and methods. The e-collar is a savior. Knowing that we can use it without hurting our pup 🐶 is a big relief. Their unlimited group training sessions with other dog is a huge advantage. I’m not aware of other training institutes that offers unlimited group lessons. The people at Manchester Elite are very cooperative, friendly and seem like they understand the training needs of each individual dog. We had Healy as our “In home” trainer. When I first saw her I was a bit skeptical about her ability as a trainer because she looks very young . But I would say she proved me wrong. She is so efficient at the same time warm and friendly. On her first day at our residence our GSD recognized her as his buddy and obliged to her commands. Healy proved it that to be an efficient GSD trainer age and appearance don’t matter. It is a huge relief to be able to invite guests to our home again without keeping the pup in the crate though we are still working on him to be friendly towards little boys. We are very grateful to the Elite team at Manchester, NH comprised of Rene, Beth and Healy— Bornali Saikia
Posted October 15th 2023
I have been training with Haley for the past couple of months. I have an American pitbull puppy! Haley is very patient and knowledgeable when it comes to training. Iv seen such an improvement with my puppy and incredibly impressed how the business is ran. I highly suggest choosing Dog Training Elite with any and all training!— sara lewis
Posted October 11th 2023
I'm thrilled to see Nova's progress as a family pet and therapy dog. The trainers, especially Renee, have been impressive and the sessions have been both productive and enjoyable. I'm excited to witness Nova's growth and see her showcase her skills. I highly recommend this company, and I'm thrilled I lucked out. My experience with them was exceptional.— Jillian Burkley
Posted September 20th 2023
Trainer’s are great very patient and knowledgeable, Hayley is amazing after just the first session Cass’s behavior started to improve, he was always excited to see her and is a different dog because of her. The group classes are fun and informative and one is always willing to step aside and help you one on one if needed and Cass still gets excited to see Hayley!! I am so grateful to all the staff for helping me to have such a well behaved dog. Thank you all of !!!— Rebecca Powers
Posted September 8th 2023
Daisy is a different dog since we found Dog Training Elite. It’s nice to be able to take her for walks. All the trainers were so good with her, especially Haley! I think her Dad and I agree, worth both the investment of our time and money!— Trisha Evensen
Posted August 3rd 2023
Awesome trainers, my dog was difficult to walk and had no recall. Now I can actually walk my dog without him pulling and his recall is awesome. Thank you Dog Training Elite!— 30thramair
Posted August 1st 2023
They have a highly effective training program. They are very nice and were very good and gentle with our dog. We noticed results right away. Our dog had high excitability with small animals, a high prey drive And was a flight risk. He was terrible on leash and we did not enjoy walking him. During the 1st week, his excitability was under control and same with his prey drive. After 2 weeks, he was a joy to walk with. After 5 weeks, we are able to work with him in off leash in our yard without fear that he will run away. Rene was awesome to work with and my husband and I highly recommend their training methods and their company. We could not be happier with our results.— Linda Wilson
Posted July 20th 2023
We got two Chinese Crested rescues and we were struggling. They are 6 and 8 years old and were kept in a kennel for breeding for the first part of their lives. We did not have high expectations about training them- but had to do something. Haley came the first day and we thought it was fun. The dogs were amazing- they were receptive and good at everything - thanks to Haley. We learned sit, stay(place) , heel, come, and down. What a difference. The dogs are much calmer and easy to handle. Thank you Haley.— Bruce Jones
Posted April 14th 2023
Service Dogs for Veterans & PTSDTraining with Dog Training Elite in Manchester
Dog Training Elite offers comprehensive service dog training programs designed to meet your unique needs. With our expertise and personalized approach, we can help your service dog develop the skills and behaviors necessary to fulfill their vital role in enhancing your daily life.
Service dogs are an invaluable resource for individuals with disabilities, providing support, independence, and companionship. Service dogs can benefit individuals with various conditions, including PTSD, mobility limitations, autism, anxiety disorders, and more. At Dog Training Elite Greater New Hampshire, we offer comprehensive service dog training programs to ensure your dog has the necessary skills to meet your needs. Our expertise and personalized approach will help you forge a strong bond with your service dog and confidently navigate daily life. Take the first step towards a brighter future by contacting Dog Training Elite today and discovering how a service dog can make a remarkable difference in your life.
Proud Sponsor of The Malinois Foundation
At Dog Training Elite Greater New Hampshire, we believe that Service Dogs save lives. It is our mission to make these life-saving companions available to our Veterans, First Responders, Women Survivors, and Children with Medical Needs. Whether it be for PTSD, Mobility Support, or Special Needs, Dog Training Elite Greater New Hampshire works with the Malinois Foundation to heal and empower these individuals with a specialized service animal, a partner in life, and a new best friend.