Good Dog! was founded by a family with an autistic son who experienced a miraculous transformation after getting a service dog. We've formed a nationwide team of professionals with a shared love for the human-canine bond and passion to empower those dealing with disabilities.
Service dogs are specially trained for families of children* with autism, and related diagnoses, such as but not limited to Down Syndrome, Fragile X, Apraxia, and ADHD. Good Dogs are trained to perform specific tasks to mitigate these disabilities. Examples of tasks include applying pressure, receiving pressure, interrupting or redirecting behavior, providing focus and grounding, and creating a social and communicative bridge. All service dogs are placed as teams of three that include the dog, child, and a parent/caregiver who lives with the child and serves as the primary dog handler.
*The term “child” refers to a person with a disability of any age who is not going to be handling the dog independently and/or who may be able to handle the dog independently in the future. We do not have an age limit for our service dog recipients paired with an adult handler.