TOP DOG is a Tucson-based 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity which teaches people who have a physical disability* to train their own dogs to help them. Unlike many service dog groups which raise and train service dogs professionally, TOP DOG challenges the disabled person to do all the training himself. The owner is the Top Dog in his pack and, despite any physical limitations, will maintain leadership.

* We are not qualified to train dogs for clients who need assistance with sight, hearing, emotional or stress-related disabilities or any impairment that seriously affects memory, retention, concentration or understanding.

Since its first class in May 1988, TOP DOG has served people with Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Spinal Cord injuries, and many other disabilities. Students have ranged in age from 9 to 70. Applicants must be able and willing to provide their dogs with food, medical care, adequate space and exercise. TOP DOG requires applicants to have a fenced yard available for their dogs. They must be willing to spay/neuter their dogs--TOP DOG makes absolutely no exceptions in this area. All applicants must be willing to make a two-year commitment, with the full intention of achieving certification. Certification is TOP DOG's mission and goal.

Great care went into designing the curriculum to maximize the class time. The program is in-depth; classes consist of three twelve-week sessions per year, with a four week recess between each session. The first three-month session is the beginning class, in which students learn the basics of obedience and canine behavior. They then move into an intermediate three-month session, in which they perfect the basic obedience with added distractions and start to learn the service exercises, such as the "take-it" (retrieving dropped objects, etc.) They also begin to take their dogs into public places under supervision and are required to pass the ADI Public Access Test before moving into the advanced class.

Kellie, who has Juvenile Rheumatoid Athritis, uses the broad, strong back of her German Shepherd, Atlee, to look at a book at the library.	Carlos, who has Muscular Dystrophy and his service dog, Josh, a Rottweiler, prepare to board a city bus.

All future three-month sessions are spent working toward certification as a TOP DOG team, at which time the dog will be performing many useful service exercises, such as picking up dropped objects, helping the person get dressed, assisting in rising from a chair, retrieving the telephone and turning lights on and off. TOP DOG training is demanding and requires a serious commitment. It can take up to two years for a client/dog team to achieve certification.

The program does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. The ideal applicant is someone in need of a service dog to assist in activities of daily living, due to some physical restriction.

We limit our beginning class to five owner/dog teams so that we can give each team the individual attention it needs, all through the program. Each team is assigned a "Training Assistant (TA)", a volunteer helper who meets weekly with the student all the way through the program to offer advice and encouragement. Our TAs are vital to the success of the program.

There are many different skills which the dogs can be taught. Because we teach the disabled person to train his/her own dog, he/she will teach the dog only those skills he/she needs and wants. The dogs are taught to pick up anything from a penny to a crutch. Some will carry items beside their owners, or carry objects from one person to another. Others will turn lights on and off, still others will open and close doors. One service dog may help his owner to get dressed and undressed, while another dog will pull or push his companion's wheelchair. Service dogs can help their owners get up out of chairs, or assist them up ramps, over curbs, and to climb steps. Whatever needs a particular student has, we put our heads together to come up with a way for the dog to help, We try not to be limited by the idea that a dog may never have performed that particular skill; we just think of a way to make it possible. Some things, of course, dogs cannot do. They don't do windows, but they can help with some other household chores. They can't do homework, but they can be quiet company as you study. They won't answer the telephone, but they will bring it to you whenever you receive a call, or need to make one. For someone with a disability, it can be a wonderfully liberating experience to have their dog do something for them instead of having to rely on others for help.

Our volunteers attend a training course to become Training  Assistants, so they are well prepared to help coach, mentor, and advise a student who is training his/her dog. Because we keep our class sizes small, they fill up quickly. Sessions begin in January, May, and/or September. So, if you have a disability and the desire to train your own dog to help you, you're invited to get in touch with us!

Since classes are held in Tucson, it is recommended that applicants reside in the greater Tucson area for the duration of training. Those outside the Tucson area have to make a commitment to come to Tucson at least once a week, even during the summer. This can be very difficult. Further, the volunteer training assistant assigned to each student is unable to make weekly home visits to students outside the Tucson area.

If you live outside the greater Tucson area other arrangements can be made. Consider taking our on line training course.