Service Dog Project Inc.

03/25/2025

Jet is from the Poppins litter who is patiently waiting for her person to come along. She is a petite sweet girl who has mastered her skills and continues to take her work seriously. She used to struggle a bit with varying flooring and textures but has worked through it and as you can hear she has no problem navigating through loud surroundings while children running around and having fun…She truly is a rock star in every environment she has been exposed to…🤩

03/19/2025

Stairs have been a work in progress for Acorn, particularly doing one step at a time going up, but today he had his “aha moment”! He was so proud of his accomplishment and wanted to show everyone his progress. As a bonus, we ran into Miss Donna in downtown Topsfield! She was amazed at how big Acorn is now at six months compared to when she last saw him as a little pup.

03/15/2025

Cricket handled her first trip to Costco like a pro. She practiced walking around the store with and without a shopping cart, working on her pace, turns, and backing up. She also did very well with down/stays while heavy items were lifted into the cart. Her favorite part of the experience, which was Trainer John’s least favorite, was the potential to make so many new friends. We had to work on discouraging Cricket from wanting to say hi to everyone! Her least favorite part was the bakery section, with lots of banging sounds from the metal pans, trays, and racks being moved around in the kitchen. Overall, a very successful outing and great learning experience!

03/14/2025

Walnut wanted to show everyone how well he is doing learning the proper technique on stairs. He sometimes needs a little encouragement, as well as a reminder not to rush the final step, but he is a great listener and quick learner. His pace is excellent, and he is starting understand his lefts and rights. He is also doing well going under tables and desks, as well as under his handler’s legs. Walnut is excited to show off more of his skills in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

03/13/2025

Acorn is a calm, take it all in stride kind of guy. He has demonstrated this on many outings that include traffic, bikes, people and other dogs, although he did find the blue tarp covered pallets pretty scary but after just a few passes he was fine. He is doing well with under, down and stay, and has great recall as well as eye contact with his handler. He does perfect going down stairs but needs more practice on going up, he sometimes tries to take 2 steps at a time. People are amazed how well behaved Acorn is and even more so when they find out he’s only 6 months old. We are very proud of Acorn and excited to watch him continue his journey into a wonderful mobility service dog.

03/11/2025

Peanut does unders🥜🥜!!!!! Unders are vital for big service dogs to make themselves small when recipients are in a place where to dog cannot be beside or in front, while seated!!! Good job Peanut👏👏👏🐾

03/10/2025

03/02/2025

It’s the crossed paws for us!! Cashew sitting like a little angel while out on a training!!!🐾🐾

02/26/2025

Part 2 of Derby’s training session today includes a snippet of us having fun practicing recall.

02/26/2025

Derby had a great practice session today at the Doubletree Hotel and Golf Country. Though he hasn’t had much practice on stairs in recent outings, Derby didn’t miss a beat today, meticulously bracing for me step by step with no verbal prompts. He also practiced his “unders,” including going under a table draped with a large linen tablecloth, where he poked his head out with his very boopable nose asking for pats. We also did some fun recall work at the hotel. The driving range was filling up quickly with crazy New England golfers seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, despite plenty of snow still on the ground. Golf is something that can trigger a fearful reaction in Danes. The swing of the club and crack of the ball being hit can be sensory overload. Derby has come such a long way since his first exposure to golf, staying well poised today as we walked behind all the hitting bays. This desensitization to sudden sounds and movements carries beyond golf to other sports, as well as to many other real-world scenarios. Derby is also enjoying his down time when not training. He is staying with former kennel assistant Chris and family, who adore him. However, his biggest fan in their home is Emma, who loves having her best buddy Derby to play with until his match!

02/24/2025

EXCITING NEWS!!!🐾 Our sweet Thelma has found her furever home!! Thelma is one of our newest breeders. She will one day be mom to a new class of service dogs! Our breeders have great responsibilities and it is important that they are placed with a family willing to take on the requirements and complexities of having a breeder. Thelma’s new wonderful family has a special connection to SDP and knew when they saw Thelma the time was right to be part of the bigger SDP mission. We are so grateful for their love and commitment.

A note from Thema’s new mom!

“ One week anniversary !!!!
Thelma has been with us one week and it feels so right.
We couldn’t love her more, she is gentle (for a 60 lb puppy 😂), funny, lovable and so playful. Only 2 poops in the house, not her fault, I missed her signs. She sleeps through the night and we are learning her signs.
I’ve been working on training her, she knows sit, fights me on Down and Stay but I can out stubborn her on those ones.
Walking on leash is going well, I give her a short lead, keep her on my left and we go out twice a day for short walks.
She sneaks upstairs every chance she gets and struggles a little coming down the stairs, thankfully she’s really loud and we can hear her clomping upstairs and then galloping all through upstairs. She’s sneaky quick, she’s not usually out of our sight, but as soon as we turn our backs she upstairs😂

She’s getting along great with Snooki, our 6 yr old female boxer. In one week Thelma grew a little bigger than her. They sleep together and love playing tug the rope away from each other.

Again, thank you for thinking of us to care for Thelma, she an amazing dog. Xo”

A couple of pictures of her first week with her new family!

02/22/2025

Part 2 of Galaxy at Marshalls - Here is the second video from Galaxy’s latest outing, where she is practicing walking with no shopping cart. As she puts on more and more mileage, Galaxy’s focus will naturally sharpen, and her “swivel head” will continue to abate. I especially appreciate her excitement to go out training and her eagerness to learn.

02/22/2025

Galaxy continues to work on her pace, turns, and focus while walking. At Marshalls in Newburyport, she practiced with and without a shopping cart. The cart is a good tool to use when learning turns, particularly to the left, and also backing up. Galaxy saw a few pet dogs in the dog-friendly store, and although one dog was not so friendly when they saw us, Galaxy did a great job of ignoring it. Galaxy was also a very brave girl in the restroom, where she entered with no hesitation and demonstrated curiosity, but no fear, as we flushed a few toilets, ran some faucets, and operated the magical automatic paper towel dispenser… all important elements of a service dog’s education! Part 2 will contain a video of her practicing without the cart.

02/21/2025

Part 2 of Louise's weekend. Her first morning she wouldn't come down the stairway, she had to be helped one step at a time. Duchess even tried to help by playing follow the leader but Louise just wasn't ready yet. The video is from her second morning when she felt more comfortable and confident to tackle the stairs on her own, and then she then made a game of it , just going up and coming back down the stairs. Now that she has tackled this it will only build her confidence to tackle the next challenge presented to her. Way to go Louise!!!

02/20/2025

Louise hung out this past weekend with her new friend Duchess who was a willing participant in helping Louise master her skills. They worked on place, down and stay, and of course snuggles. Louise also was working on under and did well, she did great on recall when she was randomly called on from different areas in the house. Louise is still working on mastering her leash walking but she’s a smart girl and no doubt she will be there in no time. Stay tuned for Part 2 post of Louise’s big accomplishment…

02/14/2025

PROUD PUPPY MOMENT!!!🐾 Everyone stop what you’re doing and watch Mr. Cashew master the “wait” command!!!!! Good boy Cashew!!! The Nut litter has been absolutely crushing it! “Wait” is a critical command for Service Dogs who have to help their recipient with tasks that may require patience like a doctors appointment or infusion. They will also need to keep pace with their recipient and “wait” is an important skill to match their speed and gait. “Wait” is also good for when work is done and you’re waiting for something like dinner or cookies ☺️. WAY TO GO CASHEW!! 👏👏👏

02/12/2025

THELMA AND LOUSIE are live on pledge a pup!!!!🐾 These two girls will be part of our breeding program. Who is ready for some beautiful harlequin puppies from Thelma in a few years!? At SDP we breed, raise, train and donate Great Danes as service dogs! Our breeding dogs are a vital part of our mission!

When you pledge a pup your dollars go towards the cost of their care and you get fun updates along the way! Every dollar is tax deductible!

THANK YOU! Follow the link here!

https://www.servicedogproject.org/pledge-a-pup-program

02/10/2025

Hi everyone, Peanut here!!! Trainer Doug and I have been hard at work practicing my down/stays. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I like to be silly instead. All part of the learning process!!🥜🐾