[nagdu] Cost of a service dog

Tue Aug 27 17:51:47 UTC 2013

HiHoward,

Of course there was no cost to you, but the reality is that it costs tens of thousands of dollars to train your dog. The figures vary widely, everything from $10,000 to $60,000, and I suspect that different schools use different things to calculate the costs, like supplies, trainer salaries, transportation, student board, upkeep of facilities, and so on. I think that’s what Ken was talking about. As for the dog food, I don’t know if he chose to feed something different, or if Southeastern now requires this or what. In any case, I expect that besides that, his cost was minimal or nothing for his dog and training as well. 
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY

On Aug 27, 2013, at 1:37 PM, Howard J. Levine <WB2HWW at earthlink.net> wrote:

> What are you talking about GEB in York town does not charge at all.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ken Ace
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 1:03 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Cost of a service dog
> 
> I can only give you my experience. My school estimates the cost of a guide
> dog at $60,000 and my only cost was for the 28 days of dog food. Everything
> else was covered. I didn't really appreciate their program till I got
> involved with NAGDU. I have tried to give back by raising money, giving
> talks supporting the school, etc.
> Ken & Ace
> 
> -----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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