Dog Training Elite Franchise, Vets Helping Heroes Partner Up

Dog Training Elite, the leading dog training franchise with over 240 operating territories nationwide, is making a major impact across the country. The brand has always focused on improving the communities it enters by creating well-behaved pets and skilled service dogs through relationship-based, balanced training programs. Now, Dog Training Elite is increasing its impact through a new partnership with Vets Helping Heroes, a nonprofit organization that works to provide service dogs to wounded veterans and active-duty military personnel free of charge. With the help of Dog Training Elite, veterans can apply through Vets Helping Heroes to receive specialized training for their existing dogs, allowing Vets Helping Heroes to have an even broader impact.

“Vets Helping Heroes has relationships with dog breeders and trainers, and they can get a puppy raised to be a service dog at a facility,” explained Betsy Feaster, CEO of Dog Training Elite. “Now, we serve as a training partner for veterans who need assistance but want to train a dog they already own.”

Feaster added that the Vets Helping Heroes mission is especially close to her heart. As a veteran, she has seen firsthand the challenges fellow veterans face when trying to secure a service dog and move through their lives freely.

“Vets Helping Heroes supports veterans who need mobility assistance, which we do as well, but they also have a focus on reducing the suicide rate among veterans with the help of dogs,” said Feaster. “The ‘invisible disability’ component of PTSD still isn’t widely accepted, but when a veteran wakes up with a psychiatric service dog, it’s a game-changer. We want to reduce the stigma and train dogs that can respond proactively to environmental triggers so veterans don’t end up in a mental health crisis or suicide ideation phase.”

Not every franchisee in the Dog Training Elite system will be a part of the partnership — a select few will go through intensive training. 

The training for franchisees covers training techniques for both mobility assistance and psychiatric service dogs, but it also emphasizes tools franchisees will need to successfully interact with veterans. 

“We’ve designed this course to be very focused on what PTSD is and how our franchisees should interact with veterans. We focus on understanding the boundaries that need to be set on both sides while ensuring the trainer can understand what the issue is. All PTSD does not look the same, and not all psychiatric service dogs will be trained the same,” said Feaster. “We currently have 12 franchisees who have attended two days of education and breakout sessions. The process is very structured because it’s important that our owners and trainers get this right.”

“We’re very careful with our 501(c)(3) status, and we don’t want to jeopardize that. We’re packed with guidelines — especially with the facilities that we fund,” said Lisa Fendrich, Executive Director of Vets Helping Heros. “Once I got to talk to Betsy and learned that she’s a veteran and is in this for the right purpose, I knew we could work with Dog Training Elite.”

Currently, Dog Training Elite has teams qualified for Vets Helping Heroes partnership. When the organization receives a request for training funding, Fendrich says they will reach out to Dog Training Elite, and the veteran and dog will be matched with a local Dog Training Elite franchise for service dog training.

Fendrich encourages veterans to reach out to Vets Helping Heroes for funding, noting that all they need is a DD214 noting an honorable discharge and a letter from their VA physician stating that they would benefit from the help of a service dog.

“No matter where you live, reach out to us on our website or by phone. Don’t be afraid to apply,” said Fendrich. “When people reach out for help, it means that their families and children will be effective. Our impact goes on in the wider community — it’s endless.”

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit www.1851franchise.com/dogtrainingelite/info