Is the Canix training system different from other organizations?
Most organizations teach all service dogs the same set of tasks without considering individual needs of the recipient. The dogs are generally educated and ready for placement at the age of 2 to 2 1/2 years of age. At Canix we have dedicated many resources to the development of new training methods and these allow us to individualize the training of the dogs to ensure they are of optimal benefit to the recipient and the dogs are fully educated at approximately 12 months of age.

At what age are the dogs transferred to their new owner?
Our new training system allows a dog to graduate fully educated at the age of approximately 12 months and it will work more reliably than dogs trained with the more traditional methods. The work-life of an assistance dog is usually 8-9 years and the fact that the dogs can begin working at 12 months instead of 24-26 months of age means an increase of 15% in effective work-time. Considering that the main costs of these dogs are the training and not the maintenance, then this increase has significant economic consequences.

At what age does the training begin?
The puppies leave their mother at the age of 8 weeks and immediately after the training begins. This means our training methods must be based on play. Remember, a puppy must never be taken from its mother until the age of 8 weeks - otherwise the risk of developing behavioral problems increase considerably.

Is the training individualized?
Very early in the training process it is necessary for us to know the final recipient of the dog. This is necessary for several reasons: 1) We try to select a dog with a temperament and character that matches the future owner; 2) To the extend possible, we try to teach the dog the tasks of value to the final recipient, and we therefore need to know this person. In this manner we do not waste valuable training time on teaching the dog commands the recipient never will use, but can instead dedicate the time to develop new tasks that are of use to the recipient, even if these tasks have never before been performed by a dog.

How can I get a dog?