Early Exposure: A Key to Success

It’s no secret; at Paws for Purple Hearts, we believe in the power of early exposure to set our future Service Dogs up for success. The journey from playful puppy to skilled Service Dog is filled with learning, growth, and the development of crucial skills that will one day empower a veteran or active-duty service member to regain independence and improve their quality of life.

From wagging tails to wet noses, we all know dogs have a way of bringing boundless joy into our lives. As their loyal companions, it’s our responsibility to ensure their well-being and happiness. While providing food, shelter, and love are just some of the important factors of owning a dog, one part is often overlooked. Grooming!

Have you ever heard us mention ADI? Maybe during Client Training when we introduce a Warrior to their service dog and train them to become a highly effective team.  We may have described how our teams complete their ADI Public Access test or mentioned that PPH is undergoing ADI accreditation. But what does ADI mean?

Few things bring more instant joy than interacting with a dog or puppy you just became acquainted with. With the pandemic causing a spike in dog ownership and many using the daily cadence of dog walks and trips to the dog park to get some much needed fresh air and social interaction, the likelihood that you’ll get a chance to interact with new canine company is higher than ever.

Happy International Assistance Dog Week! We’re taking this time to celebrate our top-notch dogs and educate folks about the important role they play in helping Warriors along the road to recovery.

You’ve heard of a service dog, therapy dog, and an emotional support animal, but where does an assistance dog fit into the mix?

June is PTSD Awareness Month – a month dedicated to raising awareness about the signs, symptoms and causes of post traumatic stress (PTS) as well as treatment options. At Paws for Purple Hearts, we specialize in training service dogs and

May is both Mental Health Awareness month and Military Appreciation Month.  These two causes are close to our hearts here at Paws for Purple Hearts. The current pandemic has led to some changes in the way we accomplish our mission – to improve the lives of America’s Warriors facing mobility challenges and trauma-related conditions such as PTSD and TBI by providing the highest quality assistance dogs and canine-assisted therapeutic programs

Impacting hundreds of people daily, Paws for Purple Hearts’ Facility Dog program aims to spread love and joy throughout a health/human services care facility serving our nation’s brave injured Warriors. Our dogs provide a friendly face to engage patients, families and staff. A Paws for Purple Hearts facility dog…

Paws for Purple Hearts has high performance standards for service dogs. They cannot be fearful, insecure, or uncomfortable around people, other dogs, unusual objects or noises. This is why we have puppy petting to provide our pups with those early interactions that shape their ability to become successful service dogs.

Client training is one of the most important and also enjoyable things we do here at Paws for Purple Hearts.  Matching people with their perfect canine partner is a truly amazing experience.  It includes a great deal of learning about the human-canine bond. Dogs are not robots. They have feelings and they can make mistakes. It’s important to learn…