.🐾 I Couldn’t Find the Perfect Small Service Dog — So I Created One

Megan Dougherty
Aug 4
3 min read

Updated: Aug 5

As a service dog trainer, I’ve met hundreds of people who needed a service dog but couldn’t manage a large breed.

Some lived in apartments.Some had physical limitations that made it hard to handle a 70-pound Labrador.Some just wanted a dog they could easily travel with, pick up, or snuggle with on the couch at the end of a long day.

But here’s the problem: small dogs rarely make reliable service dogs.

Believe me—I tried. For years.

🌀 The Problem No One Talks About

Most small breeds were never meant to be service dogs. They're often high-strung, overly vocal, or too fragile for public access. The ones with great personalities often fail due to anxiety, reactivity, or inability to focus for long periods of time.

I’ve worked with dozens of families whose small-breed candidates washed out before they even made it through basic training.

Even the ones that made it had a heartbreaking trend:They were constantly at risk of being injured in public—stepped on in stores, jostled in crowds, even run over by shopping carts.

The fail-out rate for small dogs in service training was well over 70%.And yet, the need kept growing.

People needing psychiatric service dogs, emotional support, and therapy companions in apartments or small living spaces had almost no options.That’s when I stopped looking—and started building.

🧬 The Birth of the Cavadore Service Retriever

I didn’t just want to create a "designer dog." I wanted to solve a real problem.

So I started from scratch.

I chose breeds known for their:

Emotional intelligence
Trainability
Gentle temperament
Moderate energy levels
Compact size
Overall soundness and resilience

That led me to a combination of Golden Retriever, Cocker Spaniel, Dachshund, and Select toy breeds. Each was selected for specific traits, not just looks. Through careful Embark genetic testing, temperament screening, and early socialization protocols, I began developing a new kind of dog—one bred specifically for small-space service work.

That dog is the Cavadore Service Retriever.

🏙️ Made for Apartments, Built for Real Work

The Cavadore isn’t a lapdog dressed up to do a big dog’s job. It’s a purpose-bred, emotionally stable, trainable small breed designed from the ground up to thrive in roles like:

Psychiatric service work (anxiety, PTSD, autism support)
Medical alert (migraines, blood sugar, fainting)
Emotional support
Therapy visits

They weigh under 25 pounds, have moderate exercise needs, and adapt beautifully to apartment living. And they don’t just “do okay” in public—they excel in it.

Their temperament is what sets them apart: calm, intuitive, non-reactive, and people-focused.They’re not bred to impress judges in a ring. They’re bred to change lives.

💬 Why Not Just Train Another Breed?

I get this question a lot.

The truth is, I tried. For years. But consistency is everything in service work.You can’t roll the dice every time you train a new dog.

What I needed—and what people desperately needed—was a reliable, predictable, ethical source of small dogs bred to succeed in service roles.

So I stopped compromising and started creating.

❤️ The Right Dog, for the Right People

The Cavadore Service Retriever is still a rare breed in development, but our vision is clear:To offer a safe, stable, service-ready breed for people who need support—but not a giant dog.

Whether you're living in a studio apartment, navigating PTSD, or looking for a therapy partner to visit hospitals or schools with—Cavadores are built for that life.

They’re small, but not fragile.Sensitive, but not fearful.Loyal, but still independent enough to think on their own.