When you’re out and about with your service dog — doctor’s appointments, travel days, long outings — it’s always a good idea to have a doggy go bag ready to roll. Think of it like a diaper bag… but for your very important working dog!! Here’s what Saffy’s go bag looks like as a great example: 🦴 Comfort + Entertainment • Chew bone • Non-squeaky toy • Mat for your dog to settle on • Dog Booties 💧 Food + Water • Water jug • Drinking bowl • Extra treats • Food training pouch 🧻 Cleanup + “Just In Case” Supplies • Poop bags 💩 • Pee pad • Paper towels • Gloves • Towels • Wet wipes • Hand sanitizer • Extra Leash 🔌 Extras • Chargers Julie and Saffy even keep two versions of the bag: 👜 Small bag → quick outings like doctor appointments 🎒 Big bag → longer adventures when you want all the essentials Because when you’re prepared like this… you’re basically ready for anything. And trust me — if your dog is working somewhere boring for a while, having a chew or something to occupy them can make a huge difference. 💬 Now I’m curious… What do you keep in your dog’s go bag? Did we miss anything? Huge thank you to @Julie Kelley and Saffy for showing us Saffy’s diaper bag setup! 🐾✨

The Meat Section! Dogs have an incredible sense of smell… and let’s be honest, one of their favorite smells in the world is meat 🍖 🥩 So when a service dog walks past the meat section at a grocery store, it can be a very tempting situation. But a well-trained service dog learns something very important: Ignore the food and stay focused on the handler! No: • Sniffing • Licking • Jumping • Trying to investigate the shelves Instead, the dog should be calmly walking with their handler and checking in for guidance. In this video, you’ll see Saffy the black lab doing exactly that — walking past the meat section while staying focused and ignoring the food!🐕‍🦺 Great job, Saffy and handler @Julie Kelley Training moments like this help build reliability so service dogs can confidently accompany their handlers anywhere they’re needed. 💬 Question for you: If your dog could choose one aisle in the grocery store to live in, which one would it be? 😂🐾

We’re so excited to officially share something we’ve been working on behind the scenes… In addition to our highly trained service dogs, ASA Service Dogs is now offering fully trained Service Goats. Yes—you read that right. Service goats bring a unique set of skills to the table, including: • Natural terrain stability and balance support 🏔️ • Gentle grounding presence • Highly motivated food-driven task work (seriously… very motivated) • And of course… unmatched personality Our team has been carefully developing this program to expand accessibility and provide alternative options for individuals who may benefit from a different type of working partner. We are currently accepting a limited number of applications for our first group of Service Goat placements. More details coming soon! … APRIL FOOLS 😂🐐 We’ll stick to the dogs—but you’ve gotta admit… a service goat would be pretty great 😆

Be honest … what does Ollie’s new hairdo remind you of? 🤣

If you’re training a service dog (or thinking about it), this is a great example of what we’re aiming for when dogs see other dogs in public. Notice where the dogs’ attention is. Instead of staring at each other, they’re checking in with their handlers. That comes from a lot of eye-contact work at home and in low-distraction spaces first, so when real-world distractions show up, the dog already knows, “my human has the answers.” 👀✨ You’ll also see us practicing a come on leash. If a leash is ever dropped or there’s an unexpected moment, the dog needs to respond immediately, even around other dogs. And at the end, you’ll see Free Dog 🎉 Clear working time, clear release. The dogs get to decompress and get that extra reinforcement for doing such a good job staying neutral and focused. This is what we’re looking for in public access work: calm dogs, soft bodies, focused minds, and handlers giving clear, consistent guidance 🐾💛