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What is a Therapy Dog?
A therapy dog is a dog that performs a service for other people. Typical therapy dog tasks are going to nursing homes or hospitals to cheer people up. For your dog to qualify, he/she must be friendly with strangers, and with training, be able to work around a high level of distraction and to understand personal boundaries, such as not jumping up, licking, mouthing, etc.
Research shows that therapy dogs can have a positive effect on a patient’s mood, stress, and pain levels during facility stays. Children, in particular, respond positively to therapy dogs. They are more motivated to participate in treatments, feel optimistic about the future, and experience an overall sense of calm when a certified therapy dog is present.
Therapy dogs can promote social interaction between individuals within communities that may not otherwise experience socialization typically. Therapy dogs offer unconditional love, non-judgmental interaction, reduce stress, anxiety, and loneliness and provide an overall positive distraction to ailments.
Goals for Your Therapy Companion
- Socialization
- Lower Pain Levels
- Motivation
- Provide Comfort
- Decrease in Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
- Promote Healing
- Increase Overall Optimism
- Ease Loneliness
For full package details (with disclaimers) please reference our pricing page.
Therapy Dog
Therapy dog training is based on your dog's abilities.
$2,195
A therapy dog volunteers alongside you, where permitted, and provides comfort to others. Examples include cheering people up at nursing homes or hospitals.
A good therapy dog is naturally friendly with strangers, able to work around a high level of distraction (with training), and able to understand personal boundaries, such as not jumping up, licking, mouthing, etc (with training).
- Private, one-on-one training sessions 7 Sessions
- Group dog training in the community 8 Months
- Therapy bandana, certification and ID Cards
- An exclusive directory of therapy events and locations for you to donate your time
- Certification/Testing
- Come
- Walk with you (no more pulling)
- Sit (next to you)
- Sit (off leash, at a distance)
- Down (next to you)
- Down (off leash, at a distance)
- Wait
- Quiet (stop barking and whining)
- Load up in the car or kennel
- Place
- Heel
- No Jumping up (on people)
- Make a friend
- One personalized greeting (high five, shake, hug, etc.)
Therapy Dog
Therapy dog training is based on your dog's abilities.
$2,295
A therapy dog volunteers alongside you, where permitted, and provides comfort to others. Examples include cheering people up at nursing homes or hospitals.
A good therapy dog is naturally friendly with strangers, able to work around a high level of distraction (with training), and able to understand personal boundaries, such as not jumping up, licking, mouthing, etc (with training).
- 7 Private one-on-one sessions
- 8 months of group dog training in the community
- Therapy bandana, certification and ID Cards
- An exclusive directory of therapy events and locations for you to donate your time
- Practice testing for the Intermountain Therapy Test, now or in the future
- Come
- Walk with you (no more pulling)
- Sit (next to you)
- Sit (off leash, at a distance)
- Down (next to you)
- Down (off leash, at a distance)
- Wait
- Quiet (stop barking and whining)
- Load up in the car
- Kennel
- Place
- Heel
- No Jumping up (on people)
- Make a friend
- Choose one personalized greeting (high five, shake, hug, etc.)
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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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!
We signed our pup up for the day camp and it has been a tremendous improvement. He is listening and following commands. We liked them so much we signed our other dog up. Staff is always great— ANTHONY STARACE
Posted November 17th 2022
Jeff was so fun to work with! He was loving and kind and patient with our Deacon. He made training easy and fun! I would recommend this training service to anyone with training needs!— Kati Christensen
Posted November 14th 2022
Patient and helpful tips and tricks from coaches in the methods used to train dogs. Working with my service dog Marshmellow helpfully— Katherine Heyborne
Posted November 14th 2022
Really great people that helped me and my dog tremendously— Danielle Rittman
Posted October 10th 2022
Our trainer Erin was absolutely amazing the last two weeks. I felt so comfortable dropping my baby boy off with her every morning. You can tell she truly cares about these animals. Every evening upon pickup she gave me a detailed description of what Scooby learned that day and how to continue his training at home. So worth the money. Love this place. Love Erin. Thankful to have a dog I can be more confident in. Thank you guys.— Mia Martinez
Posted September 23rd 2022
Love this place! My puppy did very well under their instruction and we are happy dog owners! Highly recommend!— Shelly Dahl
Posted September 12th 2022
Very happy with our experience here. We did the two week in house package. The trainer Erin was amazing to work with and answered all of our questions. We completed the course two weeks ago and our dog continues to obey commands like a rock star.— Darian Everett
Posted September 9th 2022
Dog Training Elite is wonderful. My at-home training was invaluable. It helped my dog understand and know what was allowed and what wasn’t and why. The group training has been great. It has taught Gladys social skills and how to be a good dog in various, and sometimes, uncomfortable situations. It has been worth every dollar. Highly recommend.— Jeri Rasmussen
Posted August 31st 2022
This group of people are absolute amazing. They are helping me train my Luger to be my brace and mobility service dog. Working with "The Malinois Foundation". Each and every one of the people that are with Dog Training Elite at this location and at every other location I have been with are wonderful. Both in knowledge and skill sets to train anything you could ask for. If one trainer does not have the knowledge they reach out to someone in the group, who does so they can grow as a trainer and be successful. I want to say thank you to Jeff who runs most of their group classes. He has done amazing. To Jess and her service dog Rider. They have been amazing in helping me understand what it means to have a service dog and Jess's help with task training. Watching her grow as a trainer as well, has been amazing. To there front desk person KC. Always present and on point with anything that you need. I could mention everyone else as well. They are all great. 12 out of 10 would recommend. Your dogs could not be in better hands.— Jarred Asher
Posted August 30th 2022
Dog Training Elite went above and beyond to get our German Shepherds trained. We had some unforeseen circumstances and needed our dogs on a fast track to training. Dog Training Elite came to our rescue! They are amazing at what they do! We are so happy with the results.— Jenny Gallegos
Posted August 29th 2022
Love dog training elite. I love the people who owe and operated it. I love the trainers and how patient, kind and professional they all are. My dog Molly, is a fantastic dog because of their training! I would recommend everyone wants a well behaved dog to go to dog training elite— Aunndrea Kunz
Posted August 29th 2022
Training with them has been such a great experience! this is a group of very kind trainers who really care about the dogs they work with. They know what they’re talking about and have seriously helped me and my dog! 100000/10— Cam Cleveland
Posted August 29th 2022
We have been so incredibly impressed with DTE!! I was very new to dog ownership and needing a service dog for my little girl. I called around and everyone seemed so mean and didn't seem to know what they were doing as it related to our particular situation. Jeff was awesome - just so awesome and patient teaching my 8 year old how to be a doggo handler. Our husky is 180 from when we got him and he does his work beautifully. Use DTE - it's the best!— Cate Murphy
Posted August 29th 2022
I’ve tried different training methods and companies but Dog elite is by far the best one with amazing results on my black lab. They are always there to resolve any doubts you have about what better for your pup. It’s been great for me too I learned that consistency is the key. 100% recommended. I got here cause I friend recommended it and now I’m recommending it to all my folks— Rosmery Ceferino
Posted August 29th 2022
I absolutely love Elite. Ash has grown exponentially since he attended Elite Training. The trainers are awesome and very personable and not in it just because it's a "job", but to love on the dogs and their growth.— Jenni Yang
Posted August 24th 2022
We seriously are so happy we found dog training elite. The staff is so friendly, easy to work with and beyond knowledgeable. They have already made such amazing progress with our dog I cant wait to see what she can do when they are done! They are so patient and include my 2 year old in training her service dog & that means the world to us! Plus Nana loves playing with the other dogs. They have already watched nana over night for us twice and I couldnt be happier. I love that you can tell they honestly care about what they do and loves the dogs. Jess has been so helpful with learning about diabetic alert dogs and so helpful with not only nana but our daughter too. 10/10 recommendations from us!— Maddelynn Eliason
Posted August 21st 2022
I have a very aggressive dog and looked into many different dog training places before deciding to go with Dog Training Elite. Evan came to my home to do a free evaluation and impressed me and that's what made me decide to go with this company. Jeff was the trainer that we worked with the most. He was great with our dog Tucker. I now have a better understanding of a dog's behavior. In the past, I was embarrassed and nervous to have Tucker out in public and am now more comfortable. I love that we get 8 months of group classes after the initial one-on-one trainings. I would highly recommend Dog Training Elite.— Amy Tran
Posted August 19th 2022
Really wonderful staff. Had a wonderful boarding experience with Kaycee and will use again and again anytime we leave town. My dog was happy and came back even better than I left him !— Alexia Koeppel
Posted August 18th 2022
I love Dog Training Elite SLC - Jeff & Evan did an amazing job with our in home training. My dog was a monster because his previous owner did not train him. 4.5 months into his training he is now Pyrfect - we take him camping and he is off leash the entire time. I can’t thank everyone enough at DTE for helping Tatonka and I reach this level of happiness. It’s worth all the time and money invested.— Lisa Jacobson
Posted August 17th 2022
I started off doing puppy classes with Jess and then did some obedience with Erin and Jake. Kaycee and Oakley has been great scheduling and coordinating my times and is always prompt. I do group classes now with Jeff which have been great as well. Overall if you're looking for a place where the handlers know what they're doing and you're willing to put the time in to work on your dog, you cant find a better place to get some real training for you and your pup— Rookie Allen
Posted August 16th 2022
Proud Sponsor of The Malinois Foundation
At Dog Training Elite in Salt Lake City, 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 in Salt Lake City work's with the Malinois Foundation to heal and empower these individuals with a specialized service animal, a partner in life, and a new best friend.
