Paws For Assistance | Train your own assistance dog

Our Training Programme

Our program costs £55 per week or £220 per month

Programme Structure

We provide a full programme to train your dog and will advise you from the point of considering buying a puppy. We can also advise on the suitability of an existing family dog as an Emotional Support dog.

Stage 1

Preparation for owning a puppy or dog, and some basic knowledge and training.

Preparing for your puppy or dog

Choosing a puppy or dog

5 freedoms - Your home environment, dog’s routine and setting rules for your home

Owner Skills and Compliance with the Law

Basic training and obedience expectations

Stage 2

Canine Body Language

House Training

Socialisation

Training games to play with your dog

Grooming and Handling

Shaping your dog’s behaviour – Luring, positive reinforcement, clicker training

Hand and Voice Signals: watch, come, sit, down, stay, wait, let’s go, door and gate work, recall to handler

Lead walking

Stage 3

Controlled walking among people and dogs

Grooming

Recall skills

Vehicle control

Come away from distractions

Controlled greeting

Food manners

Walking in public places

Bespoke, specific family-based handler skills

Along with your basic training we will work on specific family-based handler skills. Training for these specific skills are dependent on your personal needs and will be covered throughout the programme when dog and owner are ready. This could include the following:

Anti-bolting anchor skills

Distraction from meltdown and severe anxiety

Response to hand signals for non-verbal handlers

Pass bottled drinks

Find and fetch own lead

Nudge, hug, applying body weight “cuddle” or pressure

Play with me

Supermarket skills

Settling in a café

Visit to hospital/ doctors

Public transport training

Lifts and travellators

Working with a wheelchair

Picking up dropped items

Public Access Training Programme:

There is no standard Public Access Training Programme or Assessment for dogs in the UK. However, we do have our own assessment which certifies that your dog has undergone many hours of training and has been judged competent to be appropriately behaved in a public place such as supermarkets. We have always found supermarkets and hospitals incredibly supportive, but if you are challenged you can show them this documentation and ask them to contact P4A for clarification that your Emotional Support Dog should be allowed access.

Public Access Assessment:

The Paws For Assistance Assessment covers the following skills, ensuring that the owner can dog can navigate:

Enter/exit vehicle

Crossing car parks

Remaining focused and avoid being distracted

Road safety

Risk management and journey planning

Entering and leaving a store

Navigating a store and trolleys

Behaviour at till side or in queues

Obedience required in restaurants

Toilet control

What we charge:

£55 per week or £220 per month

A Quick Reality Check

Paws For Assistance is a completely bespoke and comprehensive service. We believe in acting with integrity at all times and you should consider that you and your dog must commit to least two years of regular training and assessments. You should plan for this level of financial commitment plus planning for all other needs of your dog. If you are not able to commit to this in terms of your time, effort and finances you will not get the dog you want or need.

While this information may sound daunting, an Emotional Support dog will bring you a great deal of joy and will hopefully bring the benefits to your family that it did for ours. However, it is an established fact that to train a dog to the high standards required for public access work requires around 150 hours of 1:1 training. All dogs (like our children) require continued love, time, energy and financial commitment. You are planning on bringing an additional family member into your home, and it is important you recognise the time, commitment and financial impact that this will bring to your lives.

Emotional Support Dog Training Programme