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How do I get my dog set up with a consultation?
Simply fill out a contact form (located at the bottom of each page on our website) with some details about you and your dog, what your individual needs and goals are, and when you are available.
Our office assistant, Morgan, will reach out to you by email with our next available consultation and will help get you set up on our scheduling app. Please note that your email must have no spelling errors when you fill out our contact form, or we will not be able to get a hold of you for a consultation. If you don't hear from us within 3 days, please reach out again and double check your email spelling.
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Each dog coming into any of our programs must complete either an in person or virtual consultation first. That is where we will determine which of our programs are best for helping you reach your training goals moving forward with us.
What are the qualifications for any dog wanting to join our programs?
Your dog must be up to date on vaccinations, including rabies.
If your dog is known to be aggressive to humans, let us know in your contact form so that we can be prepared beforehand. We have a muzzle fit/muzzle training demonstration video that we can send to you before our consultation if need be.
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You as the owner must be open minded, make decisions in your dog's best interest, and be willing to make possible changes to tools being used, routine or lifestyle, and the expectation we put on our dogs.
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That's it! We work with and have experience with all breeds, sizes, ages, and temperaments.
Are there any scheduling requirements or commitments with your programs?
Each client must download our scheduling app and save a credit card on file in order to schedule services with us. Our app can be found in your app store; just search "time to pet" and download.
For private training sessions, we suggest scheduling every week or every other week depending on the dog's capabilities and the owner's availability. We sell 4, 6, and 8 session training packages at discounted rates.
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Board and trains have a 3 week minimum requirement.
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Day trains (field trips/homeschool) are sold in 5 session packages which must be scheduled all in the same week or on the same day of the week for 5 consecutive weeks.
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Yeehaw Dog Club meets every Monday.
What training methods do you use?
We use balanced training methods. This means we both reward behaviors that we like and use pressure to decrease the likelihood of behaviors that we do not like. We use rewards to encourage behaviors that we like by adding verbal or physical praise, offering food, releasing to freedom, or playing with toys or food. We also use pressure (negative reinforcement) or positive punishment to discourage behaviors that we don't like by adding verbal disagreement, increasing spatial pressure or leash pressure, taking away freedom, or taking away the option to play or recieve a food reward.
We focus on creating a motivated, willing, and eager dog who wants to participate in training and who understands how to access rewards or avoid pressure though problem solving and guidance from us.
Is there a wait time for your services?
You can expect a response to your contact form in 1-3 days. We get to people in the order of which we are contacted. It also depends upon how quickly our clients are able to complete our contracts and set up our scheduling app.
Wait time for a consultation or a training session is about 1-2 weeks.
Wait time for a board and train is about a month or so. We only take one board and train at a time to ensure that they get the attention they need and deserve.
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Group Classes and Yeehaw Dog Club have no wait time after you've completed a consultation.
What are the qualifications for any dog wanting to join our Group Classes or Yeehaw Dog Club?
You and your dog must have completed a consultation with us to confirm that you both have the foundational communication skills and appropriate tools in place to be successful in our classes.
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If you are only looking for group classes or club, and your dog has no behavioral issues and is friendly with other dogs and humans, good on a leash, and food motivated, ask about our 3o minute group class eval to skip our consultation process.
Your dog must also be up to date on vaccinations including rabies. We recommend that your dog be up to date on flea and tick medication as well.
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What is your cancellation/late policy?
Cancellations must be made a minimum of 24 hours before the service or the full amount will be invoiced and charged. Clients who are late to training sessions will receive the remainder of the hour time slot of the training session.
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Does weather restrict your services?
Yes, if the weather calls for extreme heat, or extreme rain or wind, we may reschedule our services.
Where are you located/What is your service area?
We are located in Arroyo Grande, CA.
Our service areas are the 5 cities, San Luis Obispo, and surrounding areas.
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We charge .50/ mile to travel to your home or any other agreed upon location.
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If you do not live in our service area, you are welcome to come to us to train at our headquarters in Arroyo Grande.
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What kind of dog can be a service dog?
Any breed of dog may become a service dog, but more success is seen with labs and goldens because of their biddability and confidence.
When evaluating a dog for service work, we look for social and environmental confidence, the desire to work for their handler, and the ability to quickly recover. Service dogs have to be able to deal with all kinds of situations, whether it be a loud fireworks show at a theme park, a child pulling their tail, or a dog barking in their face. It is essential that service dogs handle these situations without excessive stress and remain able to task for their handler.
Most dogs do not have the temperament to do so, and it is unfair to push them into this line of work when they show us they aren’t cut out for it.​
Am I allowed to have a service dog? What are the requirements?
In order to have a service dog, the handler must be disabled and the dog must be task trained for that specific disability. A disability means a condition that affects a person’s ability to perform day to day functions and is generally diagnosed by a professional. There is a very wide range of disabilities. For example, a person with epilepsy could have a seizure alert and response service dog. Their dog would be trained to alert before a seizure occurs so the handler could take necessary precautions, and their dog might be trained to get the help of a family member during the seizure. Another example could be an autism service dog that is trained to interrupt the handler’s repetitive behaviors, create space when the handler is standing in a line, and lead the handler out of a store when they become overstimulated. There are some disabilities that a service dog may not be able to be task trained for, such as a digestive disease. There are also some situations where a service dog could do more harm than good, such as with a handler with severe social anxiety who does not want the added attention a service dog brings in public.
What does the process of training a service dog look like?
Typically, it takes one to two years of consistent training to fully train a service dog.
The dog will need to learn public access skills such as settling in any environment, a solid heel and obedience cues, and neutrality to any and all distractions. In addition, the dog will learn a minimum of one task to assist their disabled handler. Most service dogs know many tasks, and each task takes additional time to teach to fluency.
Many handlers will opt for a combination of in person sessions and board and trains when training their service dog. In person sessions allow the handler to better learn to work with their service dog, while board and trains can be used to teach specific public access skills and tasks that the handler may not be able to teach on their own.
What is the difference between a service dog and an ESA and a therapy dog?
Service dogs are highly trained to assist their disabled handler and are allowed to go in public places where dogs are not allowed, such as restaurants and doctor’s offices. No other animals have this right. You do not need any kind of “paperwork” to verify a service dog, but businesses may ask you two questions- “is that a service animal required because of a disability?” And “what tasks is the animal trained to perform?”
An emotional support animal (ESA) is any animal that provides their owner with “emotional support” but is not required to have any training. A therapist can write a note verifying this so that the owner may live with their ESA in non-pet friendly housing. However, these animals are not allowed in public places. A therapy dog is a dog trained to visit places, such as nursing homes or schools, with their handler in order to provide others with support. These dogs must pass certain tests and are only allowed into facilities upon invitation. ​
Need an easy peasy guide to find the products we have recommended to you at a consultation?
Or are you looking for some tried and true product recommendations from a trainer who has been able to test each and every product with countless dogs?
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