Brain First Manners Award™
For dogs beginning foundation manners, calm greeting, leash partnership, handling cooperation, recall foundations, and everyday behavior review.
Brain First Tested Awards™ are the only Crown & Collar Institute™ awards based on observed skills testing, evaluator review, approved documentation review, written readiness preparation, service-hour records, or working-team review.
This application pathway is for families, handlers, trainers, youth ambassadors, adult apprentices, therapy-dog prospects, service-dog candidates, public education teams, and documented working teams who want to begin the appropriate Crown & Collar review process.
Submitting an application does not guarantee an award. It begins the review process.
01 · PREPARATION
Before You Apply
Before applying, please review:
- Brain First Tested Awards™
- Brain First Tested Award Standards™
- Qualified Testers & Youth Apprentice Pathway™
- Service & Learning Hour Log™
- Written Readiness Test™
Applicants should understand that Crown & Collar Institute™ tested awards recognize training milestones, observed skills, readiness, documentation, public responsibility, humane handling, and handler partnership.
They do not replace veterinary care, legal advice, disability documentation, AKC titles, therapy-dog organization certification, Red Cross certification, school credit approval, or applicable law.
02 · PATHWAYS
Choose the Correct Pathway
Brain First Stability Award™
For dogs showing emotional regulation, recovery, impulse control, calm waiting, neutral passing, and safe behavior under mild real-world pressure.
Brain First Confidence Award™
For dogs developing confidence around new surfaces, sounds, objects, environments, movement, people, animals, and everyday changes.
Brain First Public Manners Award™
For dogs ready to review advanced public-style manners, doorways, sidewalks, waiting areas, carts, crowds, dropped-item refusal, public settling, and calm exits.
Brain First Therapy Readiness Award™
For dogs and handlers preparing for therapy-style visiting, comfort, education, or facility support work. This award does not replace outside therapy-dog organization approval when required.
Brain First Service Dog Candidate Award™
For dog-and-handler teams developing toward service-dog work. This recognition is not legal service-dog certification, does not prove disability, and does not grant public-access rights by itself.
Brain First Working Team Recognition™
For documented teams contributing through therapy visits, service-dog task work, school or facility support, public education, youth education, community service, ambassador work, or other approved working-team roles.
Youth / Apprentice / Service-Hour Pathway
For Junior Safety Learners™, Youth Ambassadors™, Youth Observers™, Youth Testing Assistants™, Youth Evaluator Apprentices™, Adult Tester-in-Training™ participants, and public-service participants documenting approved learning or service hours.
03 · ELIGIBILITY
Who May Apply?
Applicants may include:
- Dog owners and handlers
- Families preparing companion dogs
- Therapy-dog prospects
- Service-dog candidates
- Working dog teams
- Public education teams
- Youth Ambassadors age 12+
- Youth apprentices age 15–17
- Adult volunteers
- Adult testers-in-training
- Trainers or program leaders
- Facilities, schools, or community programs seeking review guidance
- Breeders or programs preparing dogs for public-manners development
Youth under 18 must have parent or guardian involvement when required.
Official testers and evaluators must be adults age 18 or older and approved through the appropriate Crown & Collar pathway.
04 · APPLICATION FIELDS
Application Information We May Request
SAMPLE APPLICATION
- Handler / Applicant Name
- Dog Name
- Dog Age
- Dog Breed or Mix
- Dog Sex
- Spay/Neuter Status if applicable
- Primary Purpose
- Requested Award Level
- Current Training Background
- Known Health or Safety Concerns
- Handler Goals
- Therapy-Dog Pathway Interest
- Service-Dog Candidate Pathway Interest
- Working-Team Role if applicable
- Training Logs Available
- Video Available
- Service-Hour Logs Available
- Safety-Course Proof Available
- Written Readiness Test Status
- Evaluator Requested if applicable
- Preferred Review Method
- Parent/Guardian Name for Minors
- Contact Email
- Contact Phone
- Additional Notes
05 · REVIEW METHODS
Possible Review Methods
Depending on the level requested, Crown & Collar may use:
- Live skills test
- Approved video review
- Evaluator notes
- Handler interview
- Training-log review
- Service-hour log review
- Therapy-visit documentation
- Working-team documentation
- Written readiness test
- Safety-course proof
- Specialist review
- Review panel approval
Not every award requires every review method.
06 · OUTCOMES
Possible Review Outcomes
Awarded
The dog or team met the current standard for the requested level.
Needs More Development
The dog or team shows promise but needs more practice, maturity, support, documentation, or training.
Documentation Pending
The review cannot be completed until missing information, logs, proof, videos, signatures, or records are provided.
Safety Stop / Review Required
The review was paused due to safety, stress, health, behavior, handling, or environmental concerns.
Specialist Review Recommended
A more experienced reviewer, advanced evaluator, specialist, or panel may be needed.
07 · YOUTH
Youth Application Notes
Youth may begin learning at age 12 as Junior Safety Learners™.
Youth ages 15–17 may participate in the Youth Ambassador Apprentice Pathway™ through supervised observation, public education, event support, mock scoring, documentation practice, and learning-hour records.
Youth may not independently test, pass, fail, approve, deny, certify, or represent a dog as a service dog, therapy dog, or legally recognized working dog.
Youth under 18 may need parent or guardian permission for participation, applications, safety-course proof, service-hour documentation, events, or communication.
08 · SAFETY
Safety & Outside Training Proof
Applicants may be asked to provide proof of safety training, active enrollment, or completion when applying for youth, apprentice, tester, public-service, or higher-responsibility pathways.
Accepted or recommended outside training may include:
- CPR / First Aid / AED
- Babysitting, child-care, or child-safety training
- Cat & Dog / Pet First Aid
- Wilderness or Remote First Aid
- Emergency preparedness
- Public safety
- Animal safety
- Approved school, scouting, civic, veterinary, emergency-service, or community safety courses
Crown & Collar Institute™ may accept American Red Cross courses or approved equivalent training from qualified providers.
Crown & Collar Institute™ does not claim to replace outside CPR, First Aid, AED, child-safety, pet first aid, or wilderness first aid certification unless a formal provider agreement or qualified instructor arrangement is in place.
09 · ETHICS
Service-Dog Candidate Clarity
Crown & Collar Institute™ does not sell legal service-dog certification, public-access paperwork, disability proof, or fake service-dog credentials.
A Brain First Service Dog Candidate Award™ may recognize training milestones, observed skills, handler partnership, task-training foundations, public-manners preparation, safety, documentation, and readiness.
It does not create legal service-dog status. It does not prove disability. It does not grant public-access rights. It does not require any business, school, housing provider, transportation provider, public place, or agency to accept a dog.
Service-dog access and handler responsibilities are governed by applicable law.
FORM PENDING
The official Apply for a Tested Award™ digital form is being prepared.
For now, applicants may review the award standards, begin service or learning hour logs, complete written readiness preparation, gather safety-course proof when applicable, and contact Crown & Collar Institute™ with questions.
Questions may be sent to DogsNU@proton.me.
CONNECTED PAGES
Connection to Other Crown & Collar Pages
Brain First Tested Awards™
The main tested-award overview page.
Visit Page
Brain First Tested Award Standards™
The detailed standards page.
Visit Page
Qualified Testers & Youth Apprentice Pathway™
Tester, evaluator, youth apprentice, and safety-training expectations.
Visit Page
Service & Learning Hour Log™
Document approved learning, service, volunteer, and public-service hours.
Visit Page
Written Readiness Test™
The written readiness test and learning modules.
Visit Page
Apply for a Tested Award™, Brain First™, Brain First Tested Awards™, Brain First Tested Award Standards™, Written Readiness Test™, Service & Learning Hour Log™, Junior Safety Learner™, Brain First Working Team Recognition™, Approved Brain First Tester™, Advanced Brain First Evaluator™, Adult Tester-in-Training™, Youth Observer™, Youth Testing Assistant™, Youth Evaluator Apprentice™, Crown & Collar Institute™, Crown & Collar Youth Ambassador™, DogsNU™, Ruff Ruff Ranch™, Brain First Dog Training™, and Lewis & Clark Therapy/Service Dogs™ are program names used within the L. Athena "Charity" Knowles educational and recognition ecosystem.