Master Service Dog Trainer
Master Service Dog Trainer — apex SD credential. 30-day in-person residential. Prerequisites: Service Dog T2 ≥36 months prior (5 years total since T1), 20+ teams placed across multiple disability categories, 12 months mentorship under existing MSDT, capstone. Curriculum: ADI accreditation pipeline, program founding and governance, multi-disability program design, legislative and policy advocacy, expert witness in SD access cases, fundraising, board governance.
30 days · in person at HQ · 80% to pass · valid 12 months
Who can sit this program
This is an advanced credential. Admission requires:
- Prior-level certification: Senior Service Dog Trainer (SSDT)
- 2,500 logged training hours
- 20 coached cases
- 36 months at the lower level
- 12 months mentoring a junior candidate
- Teams graduated to working handler
- Distinct disability categories represented
The 30 days, in full
This is the actual syllabus for MSDT — 62 topics across 30 days, 158h 45m of scheduled instruction. Not a sample, not a summary.
The Assistance Dogs International accreditation framework, candidate-to-accredited timeline, and the standards a program must demonstrably meet before it ever applies.
- ADI standards, section by sectionlecture
- Candidacy to full accreditation — the real timelinelecture
- Begin a real ADI self-study and application packetpractical
Master your craft and lead a region — you don’t just run a location, you develop the trainers around you.
- Public teaching of Buck’s methodology
- Helper-of-record / judging authority at industry events (Protection & Scent)
- The expectation to mentor, coach, and give hands-on support to other Buck’s trainers across your region
- The pool we promote regional cohort-hub instructors from
- Run up to 20 dogs in your kennel at a time
Your certification level sets the maximum number of dogs your kennel may hold at once — 5 at L1, 10 at L2, 20 at L3. You tell us how many you actually want to run within that ceiling. The number is a capacity limit set by your level, not a guarantee that a set number of dogs will be provided or booked.
How you're tested
Two stages: an online theory gate (three written finals) that earns your cohort invitation, then the in-person four-modality exam you sit at HQ — you pass all four to certify.
Stage 1 · before your cohort
Online theory gate
Once you're invited, you complete a self-paced online course and pass three written finals. Passing all three is the prerequisite that unlocks your cohort — it proves you're theory-ready. It is not a substitute for the in-person exam.
- 1Dog Theory final
- 2Business Operations final
- 3Advanced Trainer Knowledge final
Pass all three → you earn your cohort invitation.
Renewal
Valid 12 months from issuance with a 30-day grace period. Renewal is the same four-modality battery — there is no lighter annual recert.
Apply for MSDT
Admissions run like a real hire: resume, questionnaire, personality assessment, background check, and an interview before acceptance.
Start your application