What happens when a dog washes from our program?

As much as we wish all dogs would succeed as service dogs, it just doesn't happen. Some dogs don't have the right temperament for the job, some are too stressed in public or around certain things, and some, just don't enjoy the job!

Being a Service Dog is one of the most stressful jobs a dog can do, they have to be neutral around different stimuli like dogs, people, etc, but also be able to recover quickly when startled, be able to handle chaotic environments and a lot more. Not all dogs are able to do this unfortunately.

So what happens to these dogs?

We pull them from the program (Wash). No, this does not mean these are bad dogs by any means, this just means they were in the wrong line of work. The first person we contact when this happens is the dog's breeder. The breeders we work with have requested this as they care about their puppies and want them to be successful and not end up in a shelter. We support this belief. The breeders take these dogs back in a heartbeat and will either place them in a pet home, keep them in their own homes, or help them learn sports! Some of our Golden breeders even get them started in field training so they can do what they were bred to do! This brings us so much joy seeing these dogs be happy!