Dog training is a little like parenting a child. For example: Do you send a child to public school, private, or do you home school? Do you spank or not? When it comes to dogs educate yourself about some of the different philosophies, especially for discipline. Pinch collar? Clicker training? Find a trainer that matches your philosophy.

Call clients, check with the Better Business Bureau, and of course check with the Attorney General for their state regarding whether or not there have been any complaints or lawsuits filed.

Do not agree to give any money until you have written reassurance that you have, in-fact, seen every contract involved. Know the training level you are receiving. Is the dog a trained dog or in-training? Don't let a trainer tell you that dogs are always in training. This is pretty obvious. The point is, by law, does the dog meet the standards to be considered a service dog or a service dog in training? The dog must be able to mitigate the disability before the law can consider the dog a service dog.

In our contract (that we didn't receive for months after paying nearly $17,000 and didn't know was coming as we thought we had already signed everything), stated that we had to spend 3 years proving that we were worthy owners before the dog 'might' be signed over to us. Once your child sees the dog, their heart is on the line. If a trainer has the ability to remove the dog, you should know this before you put your child's heart at risk. Having to give back a dog, even a dog that was considered a bad pet, was so traumatic Jason thought it was worse than getting diabetes in the first place.

The first is temperament. The second is the individual training to mitigate the disability. For temperament and appropriate behaviors we reccommend educating yourself on what the IAADP and the Canine Good Citizens tests involve. To be sure your trainer is honest, we suggest hiring a second trainer to evaluate the dog both for temperament and for the ability to mitigate the disability. We are working on putting together a list of trainers around the country that for a small fee will evaluate a dog and give you a second opinion. If you need help with this before we can get a list together, please contact us.

In our case we were told that even though we were required to raise a certain amount of money for our dog, the money would not be refundable because technically the money was a charitable donation. In other words, the dog was free in exchange for raising a substantial sum for their charity. We believe this is a fraudulent use of a charity and donations, but the Attorney General will decide this when the case comes to trial. The contract (which we didn't know was coming for months after we raised the money) stated that only HSP was qualified to evaluate whether or not a dog was properly working. (RED FLAG!) And further stated that if we complained the dog didn't work and they found that it did the family would be dismissed from the program without any compensation. What about other factors like if you just don't get along with the dog? What if you have a girl that wants a fluffy dog and the dog you are assigned isn't fluffy?

Some trainers believe that a diabetic alert service dog should go with you everywhere you go. Others believe that it's a personal choice based upon your medical needs and your life-style. If you only experience hypoglycemic unawareness at night, I don't see why you can't have a dog trained specifically for night time alerting. If you experience hypoglycemic unawareness anywhere, anytime then perhaps a service dog that goes with you is a better option. In that case be prepared to become an advocate for diabetes and service dogs. People will ask questions, especially because you don't look blind.

A very wise trainer told us that a dog must prove they can do the job before she opens her heart and has the dog as a permanent member of her team. If a trainer tells you that the dog can only work once you are bonded to the dog - walk away! This is NOT true! Think about a drug detection dog. A dog that's trained to smell narcotics doesn't have to have a bond with the criminal before he will smell the drugs hidden in his pocket. Our dog Red, can detect hypoglycemia on anyone. Some trainers work to teach the dog only to alert on their partner and this does take some time and bonding, but a dog that recognizes the smell should be able to alert whether he knows you or not! Think about why the trainer wants you to fall in love with the dog BEFORE the dog proves he can do the job. Returning a dog isn't like returning a broken phone. Once you love the dog, the trainer has a lot of power over you. Be wise - especially about your child's heart!