Redd Working Dogs

03/03/2025

Afternoon naps in the sunshine under a pile of puppies are probably the best kind of nap you can get.

02/28/2025

"Hm.... I'm not quite sure this one is a good fit."

02/11/2025

Redd Working Dogs is excited to announce that we are opening up two more training slots in Athens, Georgia!

One slot is completely open - if you have a dog you think would make a good candidate, we can temperament test and help you train that dog, OR RWD is happy to help you find the right prospect and put them through Service Dog Boot Camp to give you the head start you need.

The second slot is for a purpose-bred puppy who has been offered to our program at a massive discount. His half-brother is currently excelling in training as a heart rate alert and mobility dog, and we expect similar aptitude from this little guy! He has been temperament tested and has a fantastic attitude - just like his brother, he's absurdly environmentally stable, very trainable, and that perfect combination of being people-oriented without desperately needing to say hi to every stranger he sees. Needless to say, he's going to be a fantastic dog when he's done growing up. Go-home date can be as soon as June or as late as December, depending on his person's timeline and what tasks we start him on.

Our program aims to bridge the gap between professional training and owner-training, both reducing the overall cost of getting a service dog and making owner training more accessible for everyone. Every dog that trains under a RWD trainer goes home with a lifetime of support and a guarantee of reduced-price training and consultation until the dog's retirement. You don't have to do it alone!

For more information, please reach out to [email protected] or fill out the interest form linked below.

Please fill out the entire form. If the form is not fully completed, you will not receive a response. If the form IS fully completed, you can expect RWD to reach out within two weeks to discuss your application further and potentially confirm a time to speak on the phone with our lead trainer. For q...

02/11/2025

Oaken has found placement!! He will continue to board and train with RWD for about three more months before continuing on to his handler to become a multipurpose mobility, TBI, and hopefully HR alert dog. I'm so proud of him :)

Send a message to learn more

02/09/2025

Reese recently changed gear, and now he's having to learn to activate Service Dog Mode whenever he's in the new harness. This was a really satisfying 30 seconds - you can see the change in how fast he automatically returns to heel (even when I make sharp turns and position changes) increase over the course of the video, even though it's so short.

Note: I would never recommend working off leash with a dog who is not already fully trained and reliable ON leash, and even then, the law states that service dogs are only allowed off-leash under specific circumstances.

01/30/2025

Practicing tucking under the chair at restaurants, AKA a great excuse to go out for dinner!

01/22/2025

Oaken met his first (and sixth) horse today! He was ASTOUNDED. I dont think he knew animals could get that big haha.

As per usual I forgot to take pictures of the actual training event lol, but here's one of us riding over in the car.

01/19/2025

Oaken at brunch yesterday, politely reminding me that there are treats in that pouch for good dogs, and did you know that he is being such a good dog?

Love this dude, haha.

11/26/2024

Oaken is a 6-month-old puppy I have been training for service work. He is half show Golden and half field Labrador, with an excellent pedigree and excellent health-testing on both sides. He was bred as part of a charity litter with the goal of producing service dogs, and he has 5 siblings in a guide dog program. He was the pick of the litter; I chose him at 8 weeks and brought him home shortly after.

Oaken has a fantastic temperament. He is very friendly and likes meeting new people, but he's not obsessive about it the way many friendly dogs are. He's very tolerant of annoying strangers, which was one of the reasons I picked him (working SD teams know, you need a dog that can be harassed and move on, lol). He's ridiculously food-motivated and primarily works for kibble, and he's that perfect level of 'intelligent enough to learn quickly, but not smart enough to get neurotic and easily bored.' He has fantastic self-control for 7 months, and I've worked hard to continue refining that.

His absolute best feature is that he's stupidly environmentally stable. This dog is not afraid of ANYTHING. Loud sudden bangs, barking dogs, weird new surfaces, you name it he doesn't care about it. I once dropped a glass pitcher of cocoa powder right in front of him, and instead of being startled by the crash and the shatter, he immediately jumped in there and grabbed a shard of chocolate-covered glass (puppies, man). He has handled a variety of very intense training situations with ease, and he's fundamentally a curious little guy. This dog could absolutely be a Disney World dog someday, if that's what you want him to be.

We've done plenty of basic obedience and manners, as well as crate-training and of course toilet-training. Socialization is the primary thing I've focused on while he's been here with me, though. Since the goal was always to place him with another handler in need, I felt that prioritizing him being comfortable and exposed to as many different stimuli, environments, and strangers as possible during those critical first 6 months was going to be the best thing I could do to set him up for success long-term. He DOES have those puppy basics, of course, but more than that, he has a ridiculously bombproof temperament for a 7-month-old puppy, and the ability to handle just about anything you'll ever need to throw at him.

Oaken has been raised with other dogs and rabbits and has met a variety of cats and done well. His energy level is on the low-medium side for a working dog and he's just as happy to spend a few quiet days hanging out with you on the couch as he is to go out adventuring. He's a lovebug through and through, and wants to be near to or touching his person 22 hours a day. He really enjoys car rides and will happily tuck under the dash at your feet and stare at you with love eyes until he falls asleep (the longest trip we've ever taken that way was an hour and a half). He's very quiet, and as long as he'll be going out reasonably often and not trapped in a small space all day, I think he'd do great in an apartment if needed.

Because Oaken has a very calm, laidback presence, I would love to find a place for him as an autism or PTSD dog. However, there's not much that this dog couldn't do, to be honest. He'd also make a great mobility dog if you need wheelchair pull or item retrieval (he LOVES grabbing things and trading them for a treat), seems to have a decent nose for scent detection (although we haven't formally started training that), and frankly would be overjoyed to help with ANYTHING that requires deep pressure therapy, lol. He really is going to be a great all-arounder, and I'm excited to see where he goes!

Oaken's price will depend on when he goes home, but he is not free. Raising and training him has been my full-time job since he came home and I have taken very reduced hours at my actual job in order to maximize the time and energy I can put into setting him up for success down the road. His fee will be as low as I can make it, but he is far from free.

That said, I'm very open to discussing a payment plan if that would be helpful, and I'd be more willing to be flexible on the placement fee if you're willing to continue to work with me semi/regularly as he goes through training. Ultimately, after ensuring that my time (and rent) is covered, my main goal is not to make the highest possible profit, but to find the right placement for him.

More information about my professional credentials and what Redd Working Dogs is all about can be found at https://reddworkingdogs.org/ -- or for other questions, please reach out to (678) 725-9163, [email protected], or PM this page. You can also comment on this post!

11/24/2024

MILESTONE ALERT!!! Today, in a Walmart parking lot, Oaken walked past a WHOLE container of French fries spilled all over the ground - and stayed in heel the whole time!! It took three reps, but he did it, and after that he could get within a foot or so without being too tempted. This would be a monumental achievement for any dog, but given how absurdly food motivated this one is -- seriously, he works for kibble in 99% of circumstances ,although we obviously got out the Big Guns, freeze dried chicken, for something as tempting as French fries, haha -- it's truly impressive.

So proud of this little guy!!!

11/16/2024

Oaken posing in front of all the cleaning supplies on a training outing to the dollar store. Now if I could just teach him to use those sponges instead of trying to chew on them.

10/09/2024

Can't believe this boy is 35.4 lbs already! Good grief.

09/28/2024

Today was the longest and craziest day Oaken has ever worked - we went to a bustling library book sale, a thrift store that was soaked in novel and interesting scents, and out for ice cream at the end of the day. It was a long one for sure, but I'm so proud of him - he handled it all like a champ. I can't believe how good his engagement is, even in these pretty high-distraction environments!! This little dude is going to make someone an amazing service dog someday.

09/23/2024

Here's a little pat of butter, to get you through Monday.

08/30/2024

Resting after a long day, including getting his last round of vaccines 🎉 Boy oh boy did the techs love this wiggly little loverboy.

08/24/2024

Oaken practicing tucking into small spaces. Every morning I feed him his breakfast underneath or inside of something where he has to work a little to get to it - the more used to tucking into small spaces he is now, the easier it will be to teach him to tuck under chairs, desks, and tables in the future. He should be a pretty large dog when he grows up, so this is an important skill to learn!

08/19/2024

Hanging out with Oaken at a little outdoor restaurant. It's good and hot out, but that means it's not too busy- perfect for our first ever café experience! And bonus points for settling under a chair... Oaken is going to be a nice big dog, so it's important to get him used to small spaces BEFORE they really feel small to him, lol.

08/19/2024

Little brothers. Can't live with em, can't live without em.

On a different note, I am SO happy with Oaken's settle. It's shockingly good for a 13 week old puppy. He is truly a fantastic little pup.