[nagdu] Cost of a service dog

Tue Aug 27 17:07:58 UTC 2013

Interesting question, Laurel, 

Actually, since we have two models to compare at GDF, I can say that the
dogs take an equal amount of time to train but the tasks guide dogs perform,
are much more complex than many of those performed by service dogs. That's
becoming less the case though as tasks sort of bleed into each other with
us. 

Let's say that the job of guide dog requires a PhD and the job of Service
dog, trained to help with balance, retrieval, etc. with no intelligent
disobedience included, requires a Masters degree, pun intended. :) 

Dogs that come into our program, let's say, from the puppy homes, already
have a Bachelor's degree. So, there ya go. 

It costs us the same to train a service dog as to train a guide at this
point, in part because our kennel and staff expenses are fixed for both
types of dogs, and the expenses for students to attend our program are also
fairly fixed. 

Schools that train only a couple tasks may have much shorter training times
and costs. Say, a medical alert dog like a Diabetic alert dog, with only
that task, might not take as long or have to be as skilled as a guide. 

Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com
http://www.twitter.com/jeninems

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Laurel and
Stockard
Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 12:42 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Cost of a service dog

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I understand, guide dogs are
also possibly the most expensive type of service dog to train? I know their
training is more intense and maybe even takes longer than say a diabetes
dog's training. I'm not saying that diabetes dogs or any other kind of dog
is less well trained or that the other service dog trainers don't work as
hard, but as you probably know, a guide dog has to know and do a lot more
than just 2 or 3 tasks. I'm thinking if guide dog schools charged clients a
certain percentage of the training costs, it would be quite expensive. I
would love to do a study done on the real costs of training a guide dog (I
believe this can run between 50,000 and 80,000 dollars for a school trained
dog) and the cost of other types of service dogs with relation to how that
does or does not have an effect on client charges etc.
Just my theory anyways. Some schools might give dogs for free because they
have a low opinion of the blind, but my personal opinion is that it probably
has more to do with if we were actually charged for our dogs the same way
other people get ccharged for theirs (usually a percentage of the training
costs from what I understand) we'd be paying way more than other service dog
clients.
This is definitely an interesting topic and like I said above, I'd love to
see an official study done on it. Maybe there's already one out there?
Laurel and Stockard
On Aug 27, 2013, at 10:06 AM, Jenine Stanley wrote:

> Tracy,
> 
> 
> It all has to do with economies of scale. 
> 
> Yes, the guide dog schools are fairly well established organizations, 
> even the newer ones, and have an established organizational model that 
> says you don't charge for services, or you do the minimal charge of 
> asking a student to pay for travel, or, as is the case with TSE, a 
> nominal charge for other reasons.
> 
> Many service dog programs are very small and simply have no other way 
> of garnering the funds to do what they do.
> 
> I have and will always defend TSE's policy of the nominal fee as I 
> truly believe in its purpose.
> 
> Guide Dog Foundation's service dog arm, America's VetDogs, is, I 
> believe, the only program that does not charge a fee to obtain a 
> service dog and attend training class. That said, what prompts a lot 
> of owner-training in the service dog world is the waiting list at 
> schools. It takes us a long time to find the right dog to match 
> someone's needs. Many people find it easier to owner-train. Many also 
> try it and come back for the wait when they find it's not as easy as it
seems.
> 
> Hope that helps.
> 
> 
> Jenine Stanley
> jeninems at wowway.com
> http://www.twitter.com/jeninems
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy 
> Carcione
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 10:49 AM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nagdu] Cost of a service dog
> 
> Marion's recent question about the cost of a service dog got me thinking. 
> It's my impression that many non-guide service dog training centers 
> charge a lot to their clients, like thousands of dollars.  When TSE 
> started out, they charged a fee that was substantial at the time, but 
> now is less than I've spent taking guests out to a nice dinner.  The 
> norm among guide dog schools is to charge nothing, or a nominal fee, 
> so much so that I hear people complain about TSE's fee.
> I wonder why other service dog training centers charge so much, while 
> those for guide dogs charge so little?  My first guess Is it's because 
> the guide dog schools are well-established charities, with sufficient 
> donations.  Or is it possible that blind people expect to get things 
> free, and other disabled people don't?
> The cost certainly explains the relative numbers of owner-trainers.  
> If I had to raise thousands every time I needed a new dog, it would 
> make owner-training a very attractive alternative.
> Anyway, just wondering, and not complaining.
> Tracy
> 
> 
> 
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