This course must be completed for anyone wanting to join the assistance dog program. We've capped this course at just 3 dogs, please book if you're actively considering joining the assistance dog program upon completing the introductory course. Spaces usually book up fast and we've halved the amount of clients for this course! 

Our assistance dog program is open to the following groups:

·        Disabled or seriously ill young people aged 0 months to 26 years old at the point of application & their parents/ carers.

·        16 to 26-year-old disabled young people without parent/carer support.

·        Disabled parents and disabled children under 26 living within their same household training the dog to support both parent and child.

·        Disabled parent of any age with a child (non-disabled or disabled) under 7 years old living within their house hold at least 50% of the time.

·        Successor dogs for ANYONE we have trained an assistance dog for previously (this includes parents if their disabled child has now grown up & moved out of their household) and including if all applicants are over the age criteria as long as they continue to meet the disability criteria. 

·        26 to 30 year olds who are not eligible for other assistance dog programs OR where the only program they're eligible for have no space currently. 

To be eligible you must meet the following criteria:   

"have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities" (which is the definition of a disability outlined in the Equality Act, 2010), this is is a legal requirement for any one to have an assistance dog regardless of organisation or owner trained. 

AND

Need at least 3 of the assistive tasks listed below in public spaces to significantly lessen the impact your disability has on your daily living. 

AND

·        Own a friendly pet dog who is not bradycephalic, aggressive or isn't excessively anxious and who is vaccinated, flea & wormed, not raw fed & overall fit and healthy under 6 years old.

·        Be willing to travel to Nottingham for assessments (3 assessment levels while in training then annual reassessments) and occasional training workshops.

·        Be able to meet all your dog's health, care & welfare needs, including the cost of these.

·        Be willing and able to attend zoom training classes at least once a month if you progress onto the assistance dog program.

Exclusion criteria – if any of the following apply you’re not eligible:

• Your dog is brachycephalic
• Anyone in your household has any criminal conviction (including spent conviction) against children or animals.
• You have owned a dog in the last 3 years which you’ve rehomed except due to aggression.
• You or your partner or other member of your household work as a dog trainer, assistance dog trainer or are training or education to be a dog or animal trainer.

What dog training skills will we cover?

We will be introducing you to all the foundation skills you and your dog need to know before starting assistance dog training. As concept based, positive trainers this contains a mixture of cued behaviours and developing core skills and regulation techniques.

You might already know how to do some or all of the behaviours, that's ok! We might do things differently to how you've trained before (e.g. we rarely use treat luring and are concept based positive trainers which maybe different to other trainers you've met before and the way we approach prospective assistance dog training is very different to how I'd train a pet dog). 

What's included in this program?

·        4 x 30 minute small group (max 3 families) zoom classes 50% practical, 50% theory & tour through resources.

·        Access to 3 weeks of bronze award zoom classes (15mins long) on the assistance dog classes ONLY If all 4 introductory zooms were attended.

·        Spond group.

·        Self guided training zone activities to help boost the practical skills covered.

Zoom session dates & times (must attend all 4)

• 6 - 6.30pm Saturday 10th May
• 6 - 6.30pm Sunday 11th May
• 6 - 6.30pm Saturday 17th May
• 6 - 6.30pm Sunday 18th May

The zooms are all 30minutes long. 

How do the zoom introductory classes work?

Each session is split into around 20 minutes of practical dog training and 10 minutes of theory & tours through the resources and structuring of the assistance dog program.

We know starting any new thing, especially group things can be really challenging and we want to make that introduction as easy as possible. We will have a WhatsApp group where you can chat to other people starting & during the short course. You can participate in anyway that works for you, such as:

·        With the webcam on the dog, showing the dog and handler, on a parent or carer with the dog and handler off camera, with the webcam off completely.  

·        Communicating verbally by unmuting the mic when you want to talk (we keep all mics of participants muted between questions/ comments to minimise noise stimuli from the sessions), typing in the chat box, sending WhatsApp messages during or after the session. 

·        During the sessions i will be visible on screen and there will either be a PowerPoint with bullet pointed information or I'll be sharing my computer screen either showing a video demonstration of an exercise or showing the members website resources. Closed captions will be enabled. 

If you sign up for this program we will send you some sign up paperwork and preparation information including the zoom link around the 1st of May. 

We hope you choose to train with us!