Working with Life Saver Dogs

This page provides you with a high-level overview of what to expect when working with Life Saver Dogs to get your own, custom-trained service dog. Read more about What We Do.

The total price tag of your service dog depends on the tasks you need him/her to perform. Most service dogs we train have between one and four tasks and end up in the $40,000 to $50,000 range. All dogs are custom-trained to your needs and training your dog is an interactive process you get to participate in. Our trainers will involve you at various stages in the process to discuss more details.

In many cases, the process begins, once 50% of the necessary funds are raised and the puppy can be purchased. Life Safer Dogs selects suitable service dog puppies from reputable breeders across the country. This ensures the dogs have the proper temperament, are of good health, and psychologically solid enough for service work.

Life Saver Dogs only trains service dogs from puppyhood for a variety of reasons. Our trainers are very capable of testing and, if possible, training other dogs (e.g. adult, rescue, etc.) for service work. We can put you in touch with them if you wanting to explore that. But, as part of our operation, we select and purchase puppies only.

In the service dog industry as a whole, the number of dogs that fail at some stage during the service dog training process or within the first year after deployment is a staggering 50%. This is referred to as “washing out”. Sadly, a 50% wash-out rate is the industry norm. Our trainers have a much better track record. To keep our chances of success much higher than the industry average, we eliminate as many risk factors as possible. Carefully selected puppies are the best bet.

But, it is always possible for a dog to wash out. Should that happen, the puppy will be retrained as a therapy dog or emotional support animal. A new dog will be selected for you and we start over. The way we work, it doesn’t happen too often. There are no additional costs to you, should this happen.

During the training stage, our trainers provide regular video updates. You can see your dog’s progress and you may also get to participate in virtual sessions. If you are local to our trainers in Southern California, occasional in-person visits are often possible.

When the time comes to meet your service dog and take him/her home for the first time, our trainers will direct you as to what to do (and what not to do) and explain what the next steps are. Your dog may move back and forth between you and our trainers a few times before the training is complete.

You can expect our trainers to give you some additional assignments when your dog is with you. These are important, so your dog learns to work for you just as well as the trainers. Please take those seriously.

Virtual sessions, in-person visits, and dog rotations between you and our trainers vary for each service dog team. Our trainers handle these as appropriate during each training stage. Everything is discussed with you at the appropriate times, so you always know what to expect.

Once your dog is living with you full-time, you will see your bond and your dog’s work ethic grow even further. Once a dog understands that they have a true purpose in your life and an important job, they take that responsibility very seriously. It’s a beautiful thing to see. You will enjoy it.

Working with Life Saver Dogs provides you with lifetime support for your service dog. We will stay in touch for the life of your dog. We have provisions in our contracts that account for all eventualities (e.g. including your passing) as we need to ensure that all our dogs live a safe and meaningful life and never end up in a shelter/rescue situation for any reason.

Read more about our trainers: Sarah from Total K9 Focus and Ralf from Happy Dog Training.