Precision's ethics start from day one with our program puppies. We purchase puppies from ethical breeders all over the US. All of our puppies come from parents who have had an echocardiogram (cardiac examination), elbow and hip radiographs, yearly eye exams, and genetic testing. We prioritize temperament and look for breeders who are producing well- rounded, proven puppies. Before deciding to add a puppy to our program, we temperament test each one using the Volhard Aptitude Test to ensure we are doing everything possible to pick the best candidates for service work.
Each puppy goes to a “puppy raiser” foster home around 8-12 weeks of age where they start learning about the world. During their puppy raising stage, our program puppies are trained using positive reinforcement methods outlined in our puppy raising manual. This is where they learn obedience cues, impulse control, leash walking, and other foundational skills. They are safely exposed to sounds, smells, and sights that are developmentally appropriate for their ages.
Precision has Trupanion Pet Insurance for all of our program puppies and pays for all veterinary care for our raisers including vaccinations, well and sick visits, high quality monthly preventatives, and high quality food. Our puppies are kept safe by strollers and backpacks provided by Precision until the dogs are fully vaccinated to protect them from dangers such as canine parvovirus. We do this to ensure our puppies are safely, yet adequately socialized during their critical socialization period which is between 8-16 weeks of age.
Around one year old, our puppies go back to headquarters. They have their hips and elbows examined through radiographs performed by a board certified veterinary orthopedic specialist, eye certification through a board certified veterinary ophthalmologist, and each dog receives an echo-cardiogram from a board certified veterinary cardiologist. We also require each dog to have thyroid testing and blood work to test their kidney and liver function. All of our formal training dogs take daily joint supplements to keep their joints in top shape as they prepare for their future as working dogs.
Our dogs are kept intact until 18-24 months old as per the most recent research on canine health and development. Females go through at least one heat cycle before they are spayed.
If the dog passes all of their health testing, they enter formal training. Each dog is required to pass a 3rd party evaluation for stability and earn their Canine Good Citizen and Canine Good Citizen Urban titles in order to progress in our program. If all requirements are met, we fly the dog out to meet their potential future handler. We believe strongly in the handler’s input on their service dog during matching and try to provide several options for choosing. Our waitlist prioritizes handler choices, but suitability for the tasks and handler do sometimes override priority.
Our dogs are in formal training until around two years old when we can confidently know that they are prepared for everything and they know their tasks without any question. Mobility training will extend a service dog’s training time as joints do not close for weight bearing tasks until 2 years old. Dogs performing any mobility tasks have been approved by a veterinary orthopedic specialist to do so and are also required to be in high quality harnesses approved by Precision and an orthopedic specialist.