Ability Danes Program

Ability Danes was created to help its nation’s heroes suffering from mobility and balance issues that plague our service members and first responders. Ability Danes will be building a local training facility on its home property at Danes and Manes Estate in Sheridan, Arkansas. With this training facility, Ability Danes will be able to start its breeding program with proven lineages spanning nearly 30 years; setting its future handlers up for the best success. We focus solely on the American/European mix of Great Danes.

Over the past few years, we have been acquiring AKC pedigree Danes that we will ultimately breed to provide the Great Danes necessary for our program. We will begin training in our facility as well as run a hybrid program for those who are physically and mentally capable of training their own. But for those who are unable to train their mobility Dane, we will train them in-house and, when they are ready, pass them off to their future handler. Any remaining pups will be sold to support the nonprofit. Our goal for the first year will be to train three in-house and up to 5 remotely. The criteria for acquiring a mobility dog from us will require a doctor’s note with a diagnosis of mobility or balance issues, along with a heavy vetting process to ensure these mobility dogs will be going to the best candidate. We recognize the dogs will additionally provide emotional support, but we have taken on the specific mission of mobility support for our nation’s heroes. We feel that this is an area commonly overlooked and with Grey Jewett’s specific skills and experience we expect to help our veterans and first responders gain their independence back.

Mobility dogs are some of the most expensive service animals, upwards of $40,000, due to the training requirements as well as weight requirements. Mobility dogs must be fully grown before you can put any weight on them; usually 18-24 months of age and can typically support twice their weight. Great Danes are uniquely built for this type of work, weighing up to 200 lbs. and are referred to as gentle giants. They typically live 8-12 years, sometimes longer, given that service animals live longer. Given they take two years to train and must pass the final public access test, many organizations focus on PTS dogs that can be trained in under two months. While PTS can be acceptable, this doesn’t help a majority of our heroes as most of them all have balance or mobility issues to some varying degree. A 50lb Labrador isn’t going to help in this instance, and it’s near impossible to find an organization willing to commit the time necessary to provide well-trained mobility dogs free of charge. That is where Ability Danes come in.

Currently, the VA does not provide service animals to veterans, and it has taken many non-profit organizations stepping up to provide these invaluable services. They do, however, recommend or refer their patients for service animals to Assistance Dogs International-accredited agencies. We do plan on seeking out the ADI accreditation, but it will not limit us in our ability to serve our wounded with mobility Danes but rather provide the VA a source for the dogs. Ability Danes is currently enrolled with Atlas Assistance Dogs for their accreditation to be recognized as a registered Service Animal trainer and will maintain their annual requirements.

Handler Support

Our mission is to provide mobility and balance assist service animal Great Danes to veterans, first responders, and law enforcement officials who apply to our program. Our program will be a hybrid of in-house training and a train-the-trainer program. This will allow us to cut initial training costs as well, allowing the new handler with the experience of raising and training a puppy to an adult. Not only will the train-the-trainer program allow for a closer bond between human and dog, but this also gives the handler something to focus on and goals to achieve. After our service, sometimes we lose our purpose and motivation, and this provides an opportunity to heal on multiple levels. Our in-house training will be provided for these approved applicants who require a mobility dog but are unable to manage a rigorous training regime. Our trainers will maintain these select dogs and pace the same program with our train-the-trainers. Training will consist of bi-weekly check-ins, personally or virtually so that training objectives are achieved over a period of 18-24 months. Ability Danes will cover all costs associated with raising and training a puppy to a full working adult and will maintain ownership of all dogs until each passes the final public access tests. In addition to passing training objectives, each dog will be physically and mentally assessed with each check-in, annotating any changes in health. Even after graduation, the handlers will always have access to support from our trainers and on-call veterinarians. There is never a guarantee that a puppy will grow up to be a successful service animal, but Ability Danes can set their handlers up for best case scenario by tracking genetic traits in their lines, using proven training methodology and by producing high quality Great Dane puppies.