Service Dog Publicity Playbook

This playbook is for anyone who may have an Instagram account (or is interested in creating one) for a service dog, service dog in training, or otherwise released or career-changed service dog (ambassador dogs, facility dogs, therapy dogs, etc.). This is a comprehensive playbook that helps handlers and raisers of service dogs in training or active working service dogs:

• promote their trained, four-legged working furiends on Instagram,
• journal about their training, offer a behind-the-scenes look at public access outings, and share their service dog's daily lives,
• streamline their content creation and know what and how to post for their service dog,
• understand their goals for using social media for a service dog,
• learn what’s appropriate for a service dog account on Instagram,
• and grow their service dog or service puppy's following.

Who benefits from this?

• You're a volunteer puppy parent or a puppy raiser working in partnership with an Assistance Dogs International-accredited partner organization to raise and train a service dog
• You’re raising or training a service dog.
• You’re currently managing an Instagram account or want to create an Instagram account for your task-trained service dog, career-changed or “released” service dog, or service dog in training.
• This playbook is especially helpful for puppy parents/raisers working in partnership with Assistance Dogs International-accredited partner organizations raising puppies for future task-trained service for an individual with a disability so that they can create compelling, appropriate and supportive content for and about their service dog on Instagram while avoiding common pitfalls.

What are some of the challenges this playbook helps solve?

• You want to focus on chronicling your service puppy raising journey on Instagram while sharing your cute partner with the world.
• You want to understand how to set your service puppy or service dog up for success on Instagram.
• You’ve used Instagram for yourself before, but never for a service dog and are looking for more guidance or recommendations specific to this type of account.
• You're looking to streamline and automate the content process to save you time.
• You want to see what works best for other service dog accounts and read case studies of high-performing content pieces.
• You want to connect with others in the service dog and puppy raising communities on Instagram.
• You're a first time puppy raiser and don't want to make a mistake that reflects poorly on you or your puppy. (I made them all for you!)
• You want to see case studies of actual accounts representing service dogs in training.

What does this playbook include?

This playbook is a reflection of hundreds of hours of research on real puppy parents and raisers of service dogs managing social media accounts for their dogs, how they manage them, what they post about and why. It's organized into three main sections with more than 10 different case studies of actual posts and accounts and 20+ pages of write ups:

• Operating - The day-to-day management of your SDiT’s Instagram account including instructions on how to talk about your puppy online and common goals for using social media.
• Starting - Tactical steps for starting a successful SDiT or SD Instagram account, optimizing your content and establishing a voice for your puppy.
• Resources - Additional resources for diving deeper

This is a digital playbook lovingly made using Notion.

Who's behind this?

Hi! My name is Bridget. I’m a social media and communications specialist with more than 15 years of experience, and I’m a four-year volunteer puppy raiser of service dogs in training.

For this playbook, I used what I know from my work studying and translating algorithms, to help other puppy parents, raisers and service dog handlers establish, build and grow an Instagram account for their service dog or service dog in training.

In 2020, I started raising my first service dog in training, Darin, in partnership with Warrior Canine Connection and got my first taste of the thrill of talking as my dog on social media, as well as the seemingly endless time commitment.

I was determined to make it easier and in 2023, I spent hundreds of hours researching service dog accounts on Instagram managed by puppy raisers and puppy parents. I mapped out and analyzed their content (since that’s my day job), researched social media policies for Assistance Dogs International-accredited partner organizations, and did a deep dive into all things service dog on social media.

This playbook is a celebration of the awesome community of puppy raisers and puppy parents I've met over the last 4 years and in support of the incredible ADI-accredited partner organizations that support them.

Disclaimer

The views and tips expressed within this playbook do not reflect those of Warrior Canine Connection, Assistance Dogs International or its trainers and staff. All views expressed within this playbook are my own. While Warrior Canine Connection has given me opportunities to raise service dogs in training that they own and sponsor, the content that I create about my own puppy raising journey and the puppies I have raised on their own Instagram accounts is all content I created on my own (including my own captured, produced and edited photos and videos) and does not express any views, opinions, trainings or tactics other than my own.

Neither Warrior Canine Connection, Assistance Dogs International or its trainers and staff are affiliated with this playbook in any way.