Animal Planet has ordered the new Rescue Dog to Super Dog TV show, featuring trainers Nate Schoemer and Laura London. The duo will rescue shelter dogs and train them to be service companions, for people in need.
From Plimsoll Productions Rescue Dog to Super Dog is executive produced by Grant Mansfield, Karen Plumb, and Laurie Girion. Keith Hoffman executive produces for Animal Planet. Expect the new docu-series to premiere in the third quarter of 2017.
Learn more from this Animal Planet press release:
“RESCUE DOG TO SUPER DOG” GIVES ASSISTANCE AND COMFORT TO THOSE IN NEED AND PURPOSE AND A FOREVER HOME TO RESCUE DOGS
Millions of dogs live in shelters in the U.S. waiting for their forever homes. Tens of millions of people in the U.S. live with physical, mental or neurological disabilities. In Animal Planet’s new series, RESCUE DOG TO SUPER DOG, shelter dogs are given a second chance to become a companion to someone in need. RESCUE DOG TO SUPER DOG premieres on Animal Planet in 3Q17.
In each episode of RESCUE DOG TO SUPER DOG, our dog trainers, Nate Schoemer and Laura London, meet a potential owner in need of a companion dog to help them in their daily lives. Nate and Laura then head to a shelter in search of dogs with the right attitude and aptitude to provide the specific service for the disability.
Then the real work begins. The trainers work with each canine to ready them for their new role and give them time to bond with their new owners at home. The basic training for the dog begins with techniques specifically geared to each person’s disability and for the human, they must master obedience commands. The dog’s training ranges from opening and closing doors to turning on lights to applying the necessary pressure during panic attacks to assisting with walking. After two weeks, the dog is placed back into their new home in their new role and Nate and Laura work hand-in-paw to fine tune the relationship and training of the dogs and person they serve.
RESCUE DOG TO SUPER DOG is produced for Animal Planet by Plimsoll Productions. For Plimsoll Productions, Grant Mansfield, Karen Plumb and Laurie Girion are executive producers. For Animal Planet, Keith Hoffman is executive producer and Sarah Russell is producer.
[Press release via The Futon Critic.]
What do you think? Do you like the sound of the Rescue Dog to Super Dog TV series? Do you plan to check it out, when it premieres on Animal Planet?
My Dad is Veteran pre-911. He was not injured in the military so no one will give him a service dog because he is pre-911. My parents are on a fixed income and not afford to pay for a service animal. He is 70 years old and in stage 4 kidney failure. 2 years ago his medicine made him pass out and he broke his left leg, due to diabetes he had to have it amputated. Then in January he heard my mom fall in the kitchen and tried to get up too fast and fell and broke the right… Read more »
their are org, that will help him get one, I know of three will help to get him one, Their rule are that you need a service dog and that your a veteran, and the doctor letter stating what the dog need to be trained for.
This is already been done by a pioneer in the field Named Jerry Lyda from veteransk9solutions located in Evans GA and their motto is “saving two lives at a time” he trains and certify service dogs that he rescues from shelters and give them to veterans that needs the service dog.
I have in a way my own Super Dog. My husband bought me a Siberian Husky for my Birthday. I suffer from manic depression severe, panic and anxiety attacks. I had went to get my husbands check from his job and he asked me if I thought I could go to the next town and get them some lunch. I told him I had Sheba(my Husky) with me so I should be OK. I got to the next town and Sheba started trying to get in my lap. I knew she had rode really good all the way up there.… Read more »
Would love to have a chance to promote our all volunteer program where we donate fully trained retired racing greyhounds as service dogs to veterans in need. How do we apply for inclusion in one of your programs? See AwesomeGreyhoundAdoptions.org and the Hounds & Heroes program. These dogs provide service to those with Parkinsons, MS, TBI, PTSD and the need for mobility assistance – and we are beginning to train for seizure alert.
I’m in the early stages of both Parkinson’s and Dementia. The shaking is started to get worse, I’m constantly dropping things. I’m disabled and unable to walk far. Can you give me advice and your criteria? Also I suffer from mild depression and on a fixed income and a veteran.
Companion dogs are usually ESA’s and not given the same access rights as a service dog. Please be very clear as there are way too many fake service dogs. So many that legitimate teams are being harassed and attacked. By untrained dogs and uneducated people/businesses. You have the perfect format to address this problem. An at home service dog can be somewhat reliable with a shorter training time. But if it is to be a full fledged service dog, they will need a couple of years to learn everything and be evaluated for all the rigors of public access. The… Read more »
Two weeks is incredibly unrealistic to train even the best prospects (lab/golden retriever type dogs). Add to the face that shelters are basically pit bull/pit mix/terrier mix housing facilities and if that is the kind of dog they will be focusing on, you get a highly unsuitable dog in a short time to be placed as a “service” dog?? That is just crazy and irresponsible. What is Animal Planet thinking??? Leave training animals to specialists that spend about two years training dogs to be seeing eye dogs or scent hounds for crime scenes, to find people that are lost etc.
I think that like most of Animal Planet these days, it will be nothing more than a show pimping the pit bull.
I will check it out. There are people that desperately need a Real, trained service dog. What types of dogs will be used? Most shelters are full of pit bull dogs which with the right training can be very obedient and helpful; But because of the history of the breed and the pit bulls inherent traits I believe that would put many people in harms way. Just this last month a “rehabilitated ” pit bull was rescued and killed an elderly lady just hours after being brought home. Hopefully the trainers will carry insurance, liability and guarantee that these dogs… Read more »
This is highly worrisome. A true service dog usually has over a year (most average 2 years) of training in advanced obedience, and then specific task training. Most have passed either the AKC’s CGC test or a PAT (Public Access Test) to prove they have the training and temperament to withstand distractions and being solely under the tight control of their handler. I am afraid this show will launch a cottage industry of trainers who promise quick turnaround programs for shelter to hero dogs, who will turn out not actually ready for the job. Also, the description of your show… Read more »
NO! This direct is a rip off of Nando Brown’s and Jo-Rosie (both fantastic positive based trainers) series from the UK. Even the title is EXACTLY the same! It is also WAY too short of a window to train a Service Dog, even with your Master Trainer, who will not cite his methods (prongs, or aversives) anywhere. I am boycotting AP over this! Cesar Millan did enough damage in the dog training world, that I still have to mop up damaged dogs due to force based training and flooding and the debunked alpha theory. At least London is force free.… Read more »
I think it could be a great series if it does not end up just being another pit bull pushing show like the ones we already have. There are too many pit advocates already, but none for other breeds who need the help and deserve it, and do not kill others.
Yes I agree, it could be a great series if they drop that breed out of it completely, it is absolutely grotesque how pit bulls have been glamorized. Let’s go back to where we were before land sharks — to the really great dogs in shelters and rescue them, far too many are being killed to make room for more and more pit bulls. If they were such wonderful pets why are the shelters flooded with them…..
You have probably never worked in a shelter. Pit bulls CAN be a status symbol to some. After the obtain a dog, show it off, breed the hell out of it, or just get sick of it, they discard them. As to why people advocate for Pits, no other breed has been discriminated against the way they have. No one is out trying to have German Shepards or Dobermans down because of their breed. All because of irresponsible owners. You should volunteer at a shelter. You would see it differently.
As a TOTALLY disabled person who relies heavily on 2 Service Dogs I fear these Episodes from airing. Both of my dogs went through extensive training/socialization for over 2 years and my oldest SD is just 6 yrs old and she’s still “learning” new tasks as my needs change. Taking a “Shelter Dog” and training for 2 weeks then calling it a Service Dog is truly an insult to those who’ve worked VERY hard obtaining one. Plus, there are certain Breeds of Dogs that aren’t best/good for those suffering from certain “issues” and other dogs needed for Mobility work would… Read more »
It takes approximately two years to fully obedience train, task train, proof the commands, and complete public access training. Many dogs from rescues are not appropriate for service dog work. This show may give an inaccurate depiction of what it takes to find and train a service dog as well
as the legal aspects involved.
What the hell? Training a “service dog” in two weeks? It’s impossible. It negates the hundreds of hours of training true service dog trainers put in to make real service dogs into the valuable partners they are. This is a disappointment, Animal Planet.
This is just my kind of program. Looking forward to it.