My Nonprofit Reviews

I did a lot of research before choosing Medical Mutts largely because of their mission which aligns with my passion for rescue dogs as well as the accessibility of their classes. We have done Foundations, Intermediate, and the Public Access course, and are currently in the Advanced level. I'll give some more detail of my experience.

Firstly, the trainers; mostly we work with Melissa and Jennifer and they are WONDERFUL. Both of them are so knowledgeable about dogs and R+ training and I look forward to the classes or feedback from videos I send because I always get helpful corrections that always make a big difference in a behavior we are struggling to nail. In addition, they are wonderful advocates for the dogs that are in their program even through owner training. They are very willing to work at the pace necessary for folks with chronic illnesses and disabilities so you don't feel pushed to advance before you and your dog are ready to move on from a course.

They are also very open about the process and what to expect. We have been fortunate enough to move along at our predicted pace because my pup is picking up all the skills very quickly but there would be no issue if we had needed to repeat a course to get a better handle on our foundations and obedience.

There are many organizations out there that take advantage of disabled folks and I feel incredibly fortunate to have found Medical Mutts. From when I first reached out and spoke on the phone with Jack Topham he was extremely transparent about not only their program but all of my options. After our phone call where he asked me a lot of questions about what I am hoping for and looking for in a SD and thoroughly outlined all the information for me, he also emailed me with a follow up detailing their different options from getting a program dog (as well as the predicted wait time and cost), board and train, and owner training. He outlined the overall cost of each option and answered all of my follow ups with patience and lots of information, especially as I transitioned from wanting a program dog to deciding to owner train.

There is also an enormous amount of information provided on the website about temperament testing and doing your best to find a SD candidate that will succeed, as well as a reputable book written by Jennifer Cattet about that very subject.

Jennifer is extremely knowledgeable and it is so lovely to work with her. She approaches dog training with such compassion and focus on the bond between the handler and dog and I think that fuels a lot of the success in their methods. Her experience, as well as the knowledge and experience of the trainers that work for her like Melissa, provides their students with so many ways to troubleshoot and adjust our methods to help our dogs put together what they need to do.

I cannot recommend Medical Mutts enough -- I have had an absolutely wonderful time training with them so far and even with my disability providing some complications (as expected...) I am so proud of what we have accomplished with the support of the Medical Mutts team. I did not expect to have a medical alert task but they have been able to help me teach my dog to do just that, which is more than I had even hoped for -- now my dog is learning to be a medial alert AND response dog and it's going to increase my quality of life immensely.

I've included a couple of photos of my darling pup Leila on PA outings. (headphones are because we were in a very loud part of the city and on and off the subway)