Probably the best known and certainly the longest established of the assistance dogs are the Guide Dogs for the Blind, but nowadays we have dogs who assist people with hearing difficulties, seizure alert dogs and of course dogs who help people who are physically disabled. 

Assistance dogs for physically disabled people are used to help with a wide range of tasks depending upon the challenges their owner is facing. These dogs can pick up a hairbrush or a dropped walking stick, retrieve a bunch of keys from the shelf where they are kept, collect the dirty washing from the bedroom put it in the washing machine and switch the machine on! They can help their owner to get undressed – pulling off socks and trousers, undoing zippers - call a lift, operate an electronic door switch, turn off lights, put away the shopping . . . . . and much, much more. 

We have some very well known charities in this country who train dogs for these tasks. But what about a disabled person who already has a dog?   If the dog is physically capable of carrying out the tasks required by the family there is no reason why he can’t be trained.  The charity DOGAid does this very successfully, arranging for their instructors to work with the disabled person and their family to train their pet dog to full assistance dog. 

Teaching a dog to tidy up his own toys, or open and shut doors is no different to training him to do other skills like sit, down or rollover - they are all behaviours that a dog can learn.  As long as he is physically able to do them - a Dachsund might not be able to lift a shopping bag, but he might be able to carry his biscuits to the cupboard - the scope is enormous. 

SUNDAY- Assistance Dog

Instructor Val Harvey has been teaching people to train their dogs for fifteen years, and been an instructor with DogAID for the past few years. She currently shares her home with two Staffordshire Bull Terriers.
The workshop

A lot of assistance tasks are based on hold, give and touch, so the morning will concentrate on these skills. The dogs will – of course – progress at their own pace but hopefully will be picking up various articles, turning on lights, opening doors or taking off socks by the afternoon. If they don’t achieve these things, no problem, you will have the knowledge to teach them when you are at home.

Please bring with you:
Plenty of small, tasty and varied treats
Two favourite toys
Clicker (if you use one)
Bed or mat for your dog to relax on