Training a service dog is a highly structured, intensive process that prepares the dog to assist individuals with disabilities. It begins with foundational obedience—skills like sit, stay, and recall—but quickly advances to public access training, where the dog learns to remain calm and focused in crowded or distracting environments such as airports, restaurants, and hospitals. Service dogs must also master task-specific behaviors tailored to their handler’s needs, like retrieving items, providing deep pressure therapy, or alerting to medical conditions. Throughout training, dogs are exposed to a wide variety of surfaces, sounds, people, and scenarios to build confidence and reliability. They must learn to ignore distractions, work independently when necessary, and always prioritize their handler’s safety. The process takes months to years and includes frequent evaluations to ensure consistency, temperament stability, and task reliability. Only dogs with exceptional focus, adaptability, and temperament successfully graduate as certified service animals.