Changing Lives at Both Ends of the Leash
Wright-Way Rescue’s Prison Dog Training Program brings together rescue dogs in need of additional training and incarcerated individuals at the Federal Correctional Institution in Marion, Illinois.
Through this innovative eight-week program, selected Wright-Way Rescue dogs live and work alongside incarcerated handlers who provide them with daily structure, consistency, enrichment and positive reinforcement-based training. The dogs gain valuable skills that help prepare them for successful lives with adoptive families, while their handlers gain meaningful experience, responsibility and the opportunity to make a lasting difference in the life of an animal.
What the Dogs Learn
Throughout the program, each dog works on important manners, obedience skills and confidence-building exercises. Training may include:
Walking politely on a leash
Sit, down and stay
Coming when called
Place training
Focus and impulse control
Appropriate social behavior
Confidence around new people, environments and experiences
Enrichment exercises such as jumping, weaving and other agility-style activities
Some dogs even learn some fun tricks!
Because every dog is different, training is tailored to the individual dog’s needs, personality and abilities. Some dogs enter the program needing basic manners. Others benefit from additional confidence, routine or one-on-one attention. The goal is not perfection—it is to give each dog a stronger foundation for a successful transition into a permanent home.
Reserve A Prison Training Program Dog
The dogs featured below are currently participating in Wright-Way Rescue’s Prison Dog Training Program and are available to reserve for adoption now.
Their next anticipated graduation ceremony is September 15, 2026, and adoptions will take place the weekend after graduation. Because these dogs must complete the full program before leaving, please submit a reservation only if you are prepared to wait until training is complete.
A nonrefundable $50 reservation deposit is required and will be applied toward the dog’s adoption fee.
Each trainee receives the equivalent of an intensive eight-week board-and-train program, building valuable obedience skills, confidence and household manners. Our goal is for every dog to transition directly from the program into their new home, where their adopter can reinforce and continue the skills they have worked so hard to learn.
More Than Dog Training
The program’s impact extends far beyond the skills the dogs learn.
Caring for and training a rescue dog requires patience, empathy, communication, consistency and accountability. The incarcerated handlers are responsible for helping their assigned dogs progress each day, celebrating small victories and working patiently through challenges.
In return, the dogs offer companionship, trust and a powerful sense of purpose. Many participants experience the pride of helping an overlooked or underprepared rescue dog become ready for the next chapter of their life.
It is a partnership built on second chances: rescue dogs preparing for adoption and people using their time and talents to help make those adoptions successful.
Preparing Dogs for Their Future Families
At the end of the eight-week program, participating dogs return to Wright-Way Rescue with improved manners, greater confidence and a collection of practical skills that can help them adjust more easily to home life.
Adopters are encouraged to continue reinforcing the dog’s training after adoption. Training is an ongoing process, and consistency in the new home helps protect the progress each dog has made.
As with every Wright-Way Rescue adoption, our team works to help families understand each dog’s individual personality, needs and training history so they can make an informed decision and build a strong relationship from the beginning.
A Program Rooted in Second Chances
Wright-Way Rescue believes that lives are changed when people are given the opportunity to contribute, connect and grow. Our Prison Dog Training Program reflects that belief in a deeply meaningful way.
Every command learned, every moment of trust earned and every successful adoption represents hours of patience and dedication. Together, the dogs and their handlers demonstrate something at the heart of Wright-Way Rescue’s mission: with support, structure and someone willing to believe in them, more is possible.
Support the Program
Your support helps Wright-Way Rescue provide participating dogs with veterinary care, food, training supplies, transportation and everything they need before, during and after the program.
By donating to Wright-Way Rescue, you help us continue creating second chances—at both ends of the leash.
Support the Prison Dog Training Program and help prepare another rescue dog for a lifetime of success.