Know the Federal and your state’s laws — if you go through a reputable program they will take the time to go over these with you. Owner Trainers have this responsiblity to do themself.
~ Federal Law does not cover SDITs
~ Some states cover owner training and give limited rights, other states do not acknowledge owner training.
~ Some states do not acknowledge PSDs but do other SDs.

If you do not have experience in selecting working candidates/service dog candidates then you really need the help of someone that does. One of the main reasons an owner trained SD does not make it and needs to be washed from training is because it was not a suitable choice. So it is always advisable to let an expert pick the candidate for you.

On the training end:
Training a SD is not the same as training a pet dog.
If someone wants to train their own dog it is best to do so under the guidance of a reputable and experienced SD trainer. Just as with owners, not all trainers can train a SD as their training is more advanced then that of a pet dog.

There are three parts to training a SD:
1) Obedience
2) Public Access
3) Tasks

Owner Trainers should keep very detailed Training Logs.

The average time to train a SD is between 18 and 24 months.