Centre Stage Dog Training

10/09/2026

Join my six month old puppy to visit the Scarecrows on Main display in our town!
This is one of my favorite fall outings and while I'd love to walk around the entire town with him, my priority is setting him up for success.
For us this looks like starting with a small area, keeping the outing short and fun, and going at a quieter time.
We will definitely be back to check out some of the other scarecrows throughout the month!

10/07/2026

Can we guess the breed??

10/05/2026

When will my service dog in training stop getting treats? The short answer is... he won't.
We don't suddenly stop getting paid once we finish training for our jobs. Service dogs are working and absolutely deserve every bit of reinforcement they receive.
While his reward frequency will change as he gets older and his skills become more proofed and generalized, and he won't be reliant on treats, he will absolutely always be rewarded for his work!

10/02/2026

Join Benson for a scent work session practicing identifying low and high blood sugars!
Right now we are working on building all the good feelings and confidence around identifying samples that will be in his 'target range' as a working diabetic alert dog. This means lots of consistent practice, generalization, and a whole lot of puppy parties.
These dogs never fail to amaze me!!

10/01/2026

A successful Halloween for your dog may look like not participating at all. Success is different for every pup, check out our Halloween tips for this season!

A successful Halloween for your dog may look like not participating at all. Success is different for every pup, check out our Halloween tips for this season!

09/30/2026

Obedience, public access, tasks, big adventures, and all the sharing on social media can cloud what is really important at this age.
The most important thing is building engagement, bond, and enjoyment of the work, which comes from having fun with the handler!
Whether this includes some toy play, movement in rewards, or puppy parties, remember to have fun with your pup and enjoy the outings.
The next steps will come, I promise.

09/28/2026

The number 1 thing to do when you see a service dog in public, is pretend they aren't there.
This IS supporting them, this IS helping them, this IS letting them do their job. We talk about not distracting them, not petting them, not taking photos, so what can you do?
Ignore them, let them work, pretend they aren't there so that they can do their job

09/25/2026

Come train diabetic alert dog in training, Benson, with me- today we are working on loose leash walking at a craft store!
I like to have a goal going into an outing, especially at this age, so today we were focusing on loose leash walking. This meant I chose a couple close by aisles to practice this skill in, mixing in some cues along the way. Craft stores are a great place to train because they often have novel objects and non-edible distractions on the shelves for the pups. I reward frequently, including pretty much all of his check ins, and use movement to increase the reinforcement of the treats!
Short, sweet, fun, and easy for our dogs in training- especially at only five months!

09/23/2026

This Service Dog Awareness Month, let's hear from diabetic alert dog Astro and his handler.
There is truly nothing like a successful service dog team, they change your life in explicable ways. Astro's handler shares something that many handlers say after graduation, their service dogs impact goes far beyond their direct tasks. While Astro is a diabetic alert dog and provides life changing support by alerting to low and high blood sugars, often before technology, he also brings confidence and independence to his handler. So this National service dog month, let's celebrate all the incredible service dog partnerships taking on the world each and every day!
To support a wonderful team like this, please consider donating to www.centrestageservicedogs.com, our non-profit that raises, trains and places medical alert and response service dogs.