What is the Cost to Owner-Train?

Is it cheaper to train your own service dog instead of going through a service dog program or private board & train program? 

You tell me. 

The question isn't which is cheaper. The question is which avenue is cheaper for YOU.

​Any avenue you choose to go about obtaining a service dog partner will be expensive in some way. Of that I can almost guarantee. There is no such thing as a free service dog. Not really. To help illustrate this for you, I've broken down a few prominent costs involved with owner-training a service dog, based on my own experiences.

---

The Dog - Your options include a reputable breeder, shelter or rescue dog, or existing pet dog. Puppies can cost $300 - 1500 depending on breed and breeder. If you're not sure what to look for in a breeder, I'd love to do a consult with you! If you want an older dog, look at shelters & rescues for a dog 4 mo - 18 mo. For more info on age, read this post. Adopting a dog can be $60 - 500, depending on shelter or rescue, mix or purebred. Do not accept free puppies. Let's assume "free" means they were oopsies and not much thought was put into their bloodline. Be wary of designer breeds for similar reasons; these are often bred for looks over temperament or good conformation. 

---

Training Services - Service dog trainers are typically more expensive than pet dog trainers because their training program is more thorough, personalized, longer, and is in a niche market. Not everyone can do it, which drives the price up. You do need to go to a real service dog trainer, not simply rely on a pet store's training classes every Friday night, because the caliber of training will be different and right now, you need expert level training assistance. There are trainers who offer service dog training for free, which sounds awesome, but can be a bit of a question mark. What are you actually getting? It would be worthwhile to ask if you could talk to former clients. I paid $2,000 for my 1st service dog to learn basic obedience and early socialization training. I did my own precision obedience work, public access training, and task training. Many trainers want payment upfront in full. That's one way Disabled Advantage stands apart. I actively encourage you to pay throughout your dog's training, instead of all upfront.  If you need a good trainer and want to learn more about my prices, let's set up a consult!

---

Multiple Editions of Equipment - Strangely enough, this is not mentioned enough when people talk about the cost of owner-training. If you start with a puppy, you'll need to buy new gear as it grows into its full size. Gear is more than 1 collar. It's training collars, harnesses, car safety gear, crates, coats, boots, and possibly more. Dog equipment is not cheap. You need things that fit your pup accurately so they work accurately. Too big of crates teach the pup they can go in one half and sleep on the other side. If you start with a dog closer to 1yr, you have a better idea of their final size, but keep in mind they may yet have another growth spurt in them, leaving you with multiple gear iterations. 

---

Fuel Cost for Training - You will need to take your dog to pet-friendly locations 3-5 days a week for early socialization training, then to proof obedience training, and finally public access training. If you're driving to your trainer's house, that factors into fuel cost, too. The bare minimum of recommended public access training time by end of training is 120 hours. That doesn't include travel time, only time in stores or public areas. Whether you live in a city or rural area, that's a lot of extra travel cost on your end. In the beginning, you may only spend 5 minutes or so in a store, but getting around town can easily rack up to a 2 hour long adventure depending on your town's layout and where you live. Not to mention, if you drive a truck or SUV, it takes more gas to fill the tank and those dollars add up quick. If you live further away from town, this hurts the wallet more, also because you need to go to town as much as possible since your home base doesn't have much natural stimuli, like a city might. If you don't drive, and instead use public transportation, you need to ask yourself how you'll get your team around for training. Dogs in-training aren't allowed on public transportation, only finished dogs. 

---

Eat Out a Lot for Public Dining Training or Being On-the-Go - This racks up fast. Initially, the best place to start is by getting coffee and sitting on a bench at the park to give your dog a chance to get used to being in Down for a long time with you not really paying attention to them. A fancy coffee runs $4, basic coffee is closer to $2. Maybe you get a treat, too, though, to practice dropping crumbs and them ignoring it, or ignoring the yummy smells. A few weeks of that, then trying outdoor patio dining or with your family or friends for a few more weeks. Let's say, $8 - 15 per meal. Probably 20 outdoor meals if not more. Then you have the necessity for eating in actual restaurants and coffee shops to train with different seating arrangements, different stimuli and activity levels, and different ordering styles (buffet or waiter). You'll want to do that for a while and without it being a fun night out because you do need to have training be your primary focus. Each meal is likely $15 - 25 depending on where you go, where you live, and if you're only paying for you or if a friend accompanies you. Coffee outings stay about the same cost as before, unless you stay for a long time, feel guilty, and buy something more. Again, probably 20 or 30 outings before your service dog has the pattern locked in. Minimum. Public dining aside, if you live far from town or plan to spend half a day in town training advanced levels, you may decide to get fast food. Besides - it's extra training, right?! Do yourself a favor, plan for public dining in your service dog's training budget. 

---

Hobbies Get Put on Hold - Personal sacrifice may not have a monetary value, but it holds an important place in one's sanity. Training your own service dog will add stress to your life on a daily basis. Being able to take a break, put the dog in their crate and spend a little time to yourself on a hobby makes a world of difference. Trust me. I'm missing it now. If I know the value, why am I missing it? Because it's one of the more expensive costs I'm facing with training my 2nd service dog right now. I'm juggling Austin's training, Robbie's upkeep, maintaining the house, running a business, and managing a disability. About all I'm doing for fun lately is 30 minutes of computer games snuck in somewhere or falling asleep to Netflix after 8pm. It's not very healthy for avoiding burnout, but training a service dog and being disabled are both full-time jobs, with Disabled Advantage filling in the cracks like foam. Not much time for fun. I enjoy training, but I need other outlets to stay sane. You will too. 

---

Need to Train in Most Weather - I add this in as a cost because if the weather impacts your condition and abilities as it does mine, it's absolutely costly for you to spend time training your dog in the rain simply because they need to be okay with rain, need to be able to focus on you in rain, function in rain, do tasks in rain, and/or do a specific exercise outside at a particular location and it happens to be raining. Rain tricks my brain into thinking I'm incredibly cold, worse when it's actually cold, makes my bones hurt deeply, makes my fingers feel broken, and makes me itch something awful from my coat sticking to me. Nonetheless, I know I have to be willing to train in rain, snow, hot days, cold days, windy days, cloudy days, and days when the weather is perfect for XYZ hobby I'd rather be doing but instead I'm training. The exception being severe weather, like storms, extreme heat or cold, and high wind. Don't train in those because it is simply not safe for anyone. Basically, though, your dog needs to be able to work in anything that's normal for where you live, so you must make yourself train in it. 

---

Vet Costs - Duh, right? Except, until you really look at the bills, most people don't tend to think about how this adds up. You might be thinking the primary concern with vet costs will be if your dog gets sick or injured. Nope. It's the run of the mill stuff. Preventative meds for a large dog can be $200 for a 6 month supply. Multiply that times 2 for each year and then that number times 10 to give you a lifetime cost. Mobility dogs (majority of my clients) need to have hip and elbow x-rays done at the 2-yr-old mark to verify they're healthy enough to do mobility work. These need to be done at maturity even if your puppy came from a breeder who did these tests before you brought your pup home. Development changes things. If you don't need a mobility dog, it's still a good idea to get these done because service dogs need to be in peak condition for all the walking, getting in and out of cars, and various task work strains of their job. These range in price depending on your vet. Ours were $160 for both hips and elbows. If you decide to do a mid-career check in xray, add that cost in again. Maintaining a working dog might mean you do a teeth cleaning half-way through their career too, and that's several hundred. Routine visits are likely less than $100, but more than $10. Every little bit adds up. 

---

Other Pets May Get Less Attention - You will do your absolute best to ensure that no one gets shorted on the love. You will be fabulous at this. At first. Somewhere along the line in those early months of training, you'll make a little choice. The service dog in training really wore you out during training, so pet dog can get by with a shorter game of fetch. To help integrate your household smoothly, you install house gates to keep the cats and the service dog in training out of each other's space, but close enough to get to know each other. With the cats sequestered, though, you don't see as much of them because you're more focused on the service dog in training learning all the little details of your day and day to day training habits. You'll hang out with them this evening, but then you collapse on the couch for a nap and suddenly it's dinner time or other fill-in-the-blank-adult-responsibility time and it's bedtime, and your cats may be plotting against you. Try to forgive yourself. Training a service dog takes an immense toll on you and your day. Do the best you can, and as long as your other animals are getting their basic needs met and are still getting love from you, they can ride out this rough patch until you get a good routine ironed out. 

---

Redesign Lifestyle Around Dog's Training Needs - This is a big one I feel most people probably are not prepared for. You've likely gotten used to life being one way, and much like a new baby, training a service dog will smash that all to hell. Forget before. Now, your entire day has to factor in how to fit in training, what regular activities the dog can be included in so they learn along the way, where the dog is when you leave the house, how long you can be gone based on your dog's separation training right now, always being sure to have your dog's go-bag for adventures, where the dog is at any given moment and what they're doing with their time, when you will rest, when you will train, how you're holding the leash, how you're walking with them, if they're getting enough exercise, if the ratio of training to playing to exercise to free time is right, and more. There is no more spontaneity. Going out to eat with friends means planning possible scenarios for fitting your dog under or beside the table. A cherished tradition gets slightly re-written to accommodate whatever stage of training your dog is currently in and needs from you. If you're owner-training, some part of you have to start to operate like a dog trainer, specialized in your particular dog. You aren't a casual dog owner who can live and go out and have fun or go on vacation without factoring in your dog. 

---

Money for Gear, Food, and Equipment - Money. A literal cost. Starting gear and equipment for a dog learning to be a service dog can easily cost $2,000. You will need more than a flat collar and a 6ft leash. Service dogs need good quality food with a high calorie amount, to give them the energy they need to do their jobs. That food is not cheap. You'll also need/want several lengths of leashes, a training collar, a vest for once they're finished, an in-training vest or leash wrap, car safety equipment, a crate, an expen (if your house has the space), a treadmill (space allowing), boots (winter or hot pavement), rain coat, possibly a winter coat, one dog bed and several other blankets around the home, grooming equipment, accident clean up supplies, storage for all of this, harnesses if you want to teach pulling, official working gear (like a counter-balance harness), toys, and possibly more. 

---

Potentially Strain Relationships - It may be that you are training a service dog 100% on your own, without friends or loved ones helping out, and without the advent of needing to discuss bringing your service dog into a family member's house on the holidays. If that's your story, this may not impact you. Anyone else, though, expect your service dog to put a little extra strain on your friendships, family network, and partnerships with loved ones. The strain comes from driving you to training locations, learning to welcome a dog into their home when they'd really rather it not be there, always questioning if your service dog is coming along to outings or events (um, yes, they are), learning to live with your working dog who has different rules than other home pets or animals your partner may be familiar with, you no longer being just you (now you're you + SD), and the strain of joint training, if your partner has chosen to help with that. 

---

Dog WILL Cause Flare Ups for a While - No matter if you're starting with a hyper puppy or a more mellow teenager dog, they will cause flare ups in the natural course of training. It also doesn't matter if you're training with treats and a clicker or using the leash as how I teach. If you have CRPS, your dog has to learn how to extremely gentle with you in how they move near you, interact with you, and respond to your cues. That takes time to learn, and a lot of mistakes along the way. Unfortunately, their mistakes hurt us. It doesn't matter if they "didn't mean it" - it hurts. It's a normal part of the learning process, but you need to be willing to be in extra pain for a year or two as your pup learns that you're different. Working with a high energy breed heightens this risk. There is no age of dog that won't hurt you accidentally. The flares come from their mistakes, as well as the energy you're suddenly channeling into giving them adequate training, exercise, playtime, and socialization. Your brain is gonna be extra tired from learning service dog laws and training techniques, which will probably mean more brain fog days or migraines when your brain just crashes, rests, reloads, and recovers for a new day of your learning. 

---

Time - Time is easy to forget about, but training a service dog takes a minimum of 30 hours a week for 1 - 2 years. I put about 60 - 80 hours a week into my first service dog, Robbie, because I couldn't work at that time. He was my job. When I say 30 - 60 hours a week, I'm talking about active training time for learning commands and skills, as well as passive time for learning things like how to chill out while you work, being alone in their crate, or following you as you go about your daily routines. Good quality service dog training involves over 2,000 hours of training over the span of 1-2 years. There's a reason this can't be rushed. It's extremely rigorous, highly involved with your personal lifestyle and routines, the dog is trained in a variety of situations, and learns expert level in command work, skills, and task training. Another sneaky element of time happens when your dog washes out of training or retires early. All those hours... POOF! Reset the clock with a new dog. Same when your current dog is ready to retire. It seems to take forever to get them trained, having them as your partner flashes by, and suddenly it's time to reset the clock to zero. 

---

---

Your experience with owner training might have similar cost factors or ones different from my own. Everyone's experience will be slightly altered to match your needs, lifestyle, and how well you're set up for training. The cost of owner-training ultimately relies on you, your resources, and your needs. Don't make the mistake of thinking it's cheaper than other alternatives because there isn't an upfront charge of $20,000. The cost is there, sneakily lurking in all the cracks and crevices you aren't examining. 

What might it cost for you?