Four targeted tracks — Psychiatric/PTSD, Mobility, Medical Alert, and Hearing Alert — each built with the task chains, proofing protocols, and public access standards that real service dog work demands.
Each track is a standalone, complete curriculum. You're not buying a generic course — you're buying a specialization built around your disability and your dog.
Deep pressure therapy, nightmare interruption, grounding, crowd blocking, and anxiety interrupt — the complete psychiatric task chain for veterans with PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders.
Balance support, item retrieval, door and drawer operations, light switches, tethering, and wheelchair assistance — practical physical independence for veterans with mobility impairments.
Scent imprinting and alert behavior chains for diabetic alert, seizure response, cardiac events, and allergen detection. Your dog learns to detect what you can't always feel coming.
Sound localization and alert behaviors for doorbell, smoke alarm, phone, alarm clock, name call, and emergency sounds. For veterans with hearing loss who need reliable environmental awareness.
Psychiatric/PTSD + Mobility Assistance + Medical Alert
Hearing Alert is not included — available separately for $350.
On completing your track, you receive a unique, verifiable PawForward certificate with its own URL — printable, shareable, and linked to the PawForward certificate registry. It documents the specialization you completed and the task chains your dog was trained on.
Note: PawForward certificates document training completion. They are not legal credentials and do not certify your dog as a service animal under ADA definitions. A service dog's legal status comes from its training and behavior — not a certificate from any organization.
We recommend your dog can pass (or nearly pass) the AKC Canine Good Citizen test before starting a specialization track. The CGC level — reliable sit, down, stay, recall, and polite public behavior — is the baseline these tracks assume. Our CGC Prep course is a good place to start if you're not there yet.
Yes — that's the mission. These tracks are designed for owner-trainers working directly with dogs they've selected, including shelter dogs. The Shelter Dog Evaluation Masterclass is your guide to finding the right dog. Once you have a dog with good temperament and CGC-level foundation skills, these tracks take you into specialization.
The Hearing Alert track is more focused in scope — the task chains are precise and well-defined. Psychiatric, Mobility, and Medical Alert tracks involve more phases, more proofing complexity, and broader handler customization. All four tracks are complete curricula; Hearing Alert is just a tighter specialization.
The bundle includes Psychiatric/PTSD, Mobility Assistance, and Medical Alert — the three tracks most commonly combined by veterans training multi-task service dogs. You get lifetime access to all three, all three PawForward certificates, and save $800 vs buying individually. Hearing Alert is not included and is available separately for $350.
No — enrollment is open. The Psychiatric track does include a section on working with mental health providers (especially for VA benefits documentation and official SD letters), but you don't need anything upfront to purchase and start the course. That content helps veterans who want to go the official route.
Yes. Each track is purchased separately, or you can get the 3-Track Bundle (Psychiatric + Mobility + Medical Alert) for $1,150 — saves $800 vs buying all three individually. Many veterans' dogs end up trained across multiple specializations.
Yes. Try any track risk-free. If you're not satisfied within 30 days, email hello@thepawforward.com for a full refund — no questions asked.
The curriculum is comprehensive written content with detailed training protocols, step-by-step task breakdowns, troubleshooting guides, and proofing checklists. Each module covers exactly what to do, in what order, with what criteria — structured to be followed like a training program, not read like a textbook.
Try any course risk-free. If you're not satisfied within 30 days, get a full refund — no questions asked.