Dogs for the Disabled
Encyclopedia
Dogs for the Disabled is a UK-based charity
training and providing accredited assistance dog
s to children and adults with impaired mobility due to physical disabilities
.
, Warwickshire
. This was as a result of Frances personal experience with her own pet dog
helping Frances overcome her disability
.
Dogs for the Disabled trains registered assistance dogs to help people with disabilities live a more independent life. Their clients (people with a disability) have a wide range of disabilities from spinal injury to multiple sclerosis
, cerebral palsy
and stroke
. It was the first UK assistance dog charity to specifically train dogs to support the needs of children with physical disabilities. In 2007, the charity extended its services to train assistance dogs to support families with a child with autism
.
The charity is based in Banbury
, Oxfordshire
, with its own national training centre, including dedicated training kennel
s, and purpose-built residential accommodation for clients who attend a two-week course learning how to care for and work with their assistance dogs.
and is supported by public donation
s, corporate support, legacies and grants Dogs are often sponsored by individuals and companies, the sponsors receive regular updates and photographs on the progress of their dog through puppyhood, training and partnership.
or Labrador
puppies and live full time with volunteer socialisers until they are around 12 months old. The socialisers give the dogs basic obedience training
with guidance from the charity's specialist staff. During this period the dogs are allowed to visit public places and experience situations they will meet as a working assistance dog. To identify them as a 'puppy in training' they wear distinctive green coats and lead flashes.
The dogs are continually monitored for suitability, with the charity looking for calm confident dogs that want to work with people. At around twelve to fourteen months old, the puppy returns to the charity for intensive training
lasting approximately 4–6 months. Dogs for the Disabled skilled trainers assess each dog for its temperament
and skills before deciding which service they will be working in.
Each assistance dog is trained to undertake a range of practical tasks, including opening and closing doors, retrieving items that may have been dropped or are out of reach, push access buttons outside shops or bark on command to raise the alarm when help is needed. An assistance dog for autism supports a family with a child affected by autism. Each dog acts as a continuous focus, enabling a child to remain calm in places they may have previously found too challenging.
Towards the end of their training each dog is matched to a person on the charity's waiting list, the dog's skills and temperament are matched to the needs of their prospective client, so for example if a dog is to be matched to someone who has no movement on the right-hand side, the dog will be trained to only fetch and pass things to the person on the left-hand side.
Following completion of a two-week residential course, both dog and client receive additional training in the home, before being assessed to become a fully registered assistance dog partnership. A qualified dog now changes coat colour again to a high-visibility
yellow jacket.
, loss of confidence and lack of independence. An assistance dog becomes a social icebreaker, a reason to go out, giving a new found confidence that opens doors to fresh opportunities including friendships, hobbies, education
and even careers.
Dogs which are retired and can no longer live with the clients or dogs that are withdrawn from the training programme, usually for reasons of temperament or underlying health issues, are offered for rehoming with carefully screened families.
Dogs for the Disabled's chief executive, Peter Gorbing, has been President of Assistance Dogs International since 2007.
PAWS poject 'Parents Autism Workshops and Support' in 2010, working in partnership with the National Autistic Society and Lincoln University with funding from the National Lottery.
The aim is to bring together the parents and carers of children with autism to share experiences in workshops exploring the helping potential that a pet dog might have within their family. The workshops, held all around the country, are designed to provide parents with the information and long-term support for sourcing, choosing, handling and training a pet dog specifically to benefit a child with autism and the family as a whole. Dogs trained via this scheme do not become accredited assistance dogs but still provide a massive beneficial impact.
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
training and providing accredited assistance dog
Assistance dog
An assistance dog is a dog trained to aid or assist a person with a disability. Many are trained by a specific organization, while others are trained by their handler .-Classification:...
s to children and adults with impaired mobility due to physical disabilities
Physical disability
A physical disability is any impairment which limits the physical function of one or more limbs or fine or gross motor ability. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders and epilepsy....
.
History
The charity was founded in 1988 by Frances Hay (1950–90) in KenilworthKenilworth
Kenilworth is a town in central Warwickshire, England. In 2001 the town had a population of 22,582 . It is situated south of Coventry, north of Warwick and northwest of London....
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. This was as a result of Frances personal experience with her own pet dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
helping Frances overcome her disability
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
.
Dogs for the Disabled trains registered assistance dogs to help people with disabilities live a more independent life. Their clients (people with a disability) have a wide range of disabilities from spinal injury to multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
, cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
and stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. It was the first UK assistance dog charity to specifically train dogs to support the needs of children with physical disabilities. In 2007, the charity extended its services to train assistance dogs to support families with a child with autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
.
The charity is based in Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, with its own national training centre, including dedicated training kennel
Kennel
A kennel is the name given to any structure or shelter for dogs. A kennel is a doghouse, run, or other small structure in which a dog is kept...
s, and purpose-built residential accommodation for clients who attend a two-week course learning how to care for and work with their assistance dogs.
Funding and costs
Dogs for the Disabled receives no government fundingFunding
Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money , or other values such as effort or time , for a project, a person, a business or any other private or public institutions...
and is supported by public donation
Donation
A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...
s, corporate support, legacies and grants Dogs are often sponsored by individuals and companies, the sponsors receive regular updates and photographs on the progress of their dog through puppyhood, training and partnership.
Training an assistance dog partnership
Dogs normally enter the scheme as young golden retrieverGolden Retriever
The Golden Retriever is a medium-sized breed of dog. They were historically developed as gundogs to retrieve shot waterfowl such as ducks and upland game birds during hunting and shooting parties. As such, they were bred to have a soft mouth to retrieve game undamaged and have an instinctive love...
or Labrador
Labrador Retriever
The Labrador Retriever is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed's original purpose of retrieving fishing nets. The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Canada, the United...
puppies and live full time with volunteer socialisers until they are around 12 months old. The socialisers give the dogs basic obedience training
Obedience training
Obedience training usually refers to the training of a dog and the term is most commonly used in that context. Obedience training ranges from very basic training, such as teaching the dog to reliably respond to basic commands such as "sit", "down", "come", and "stay", to high level competition...
with guidance from the charity's specialist staff. During this period the dogs are allowed to visit public places and experience situations they will meet as a working assistance dog. To identify them as a 'puppy in training' they wear distinctive green coats and lead flashes.
The dogs are continually monitored for suitability, with the charity looking for calm confident dogs that want to work with people. At around twelve to fourteen months old, the puppy returns to the charity for intensive training
Training
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
lasting approximately 4–6 months. Dogs for the Disabled skilled trainers assess each dog for its temperament
Temperament
In psychology, temperament refers to those aspects of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learned...
and skills before deciding which service they will be working in.
Each assistance dog is trained to undertake a range of practical tasks, including opening and closing doors, retrieving items that may have been dropped or are out of reach, push access buttons outside shops or bark on command to raise the alarm when help is needed. An assistance dog for autism supports a family with a child affected by autism. Each dog acts as a continuous focus, enabling a child to remain calm in places they may have previously found too challenging.
Towards the end of their training each dog is matched to a person on the charity's waiting list, the dog's skills and temperament are matched to the needs of their prospective client, so for example if a dog is to be matched to someone who has no movement on the right-hand side, the dog will be trained to only fetch and pass things to the person on the left-hand side.
Following completion of a two-week residential course, both dog and client receive additional training in the home, before being assessed to become a fully registered assistance dog partnership. A qualified dog now changes coat colour again to a high-visibility
High-visibility clothing
High-visibility clothing, a type of personal protective equipment , is any clothing worn that has highly reflective properties or a colour that is easily discernible from any background. Yellow waistcoats worn by emergency services are a common example....
yellow jacket.
Benefits
Partnership with an assistance dog offers far more than practical help they also provide pet therapy. Disability can have a profound effect on both the individual and their loved ones. Prior to partnership, many clients describe feelings of isolationSolitude
Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation .Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one...
, loss of confidence and lack of independence. An assistance dog becomes a social icebreaker, a reason to go out, giving a new found confidence that opens doors to fresh opportunities including friendships, hobbies, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and even careers.
Retired dogs and dogs withdrawn from the scheme
The charity is committed to financially supporting the dogs whilst in training, partnership, and when they are formally 'retired' from working even if they continue to live in the clients household.Dogs which are retired and can no longer live with the clients or dogs that are withdrawn from the training programme, usually for reasons of temperament or underlying health issues, are offered for rehoming with carefully screened families.
Accessibility
Dogs for the Disabled is a fully accredited member of Assistance Dogs International, the worldwide body that sets standards for and accredits the assistance dog movement. The charity is also an accredited member of Assistance Dogs UK. Members of both these organisations also work to improve understanding of assistance dogs amongst the public and to maintain and improve accessibility into public places for all assistance dog partnerships.Dogs for the Disabled's chief executive, Peter Gorbing, has been President of Assistance Dogs International since 2007.
PAWS Project
Building on the experience of training assistance dogs for families with autistic children, Dogs for the Disabled helped form thePAWS poject 'Parents Autism Workshops and Support' in 2010, working in partnership with the National Autistic Society and Lincoln University with funding from the National Lottery.
The aim is to bring together the parents and carers of children with autism to share experiences in workshops exploring the helping potential that a pet dog might have within their family. The workshops, held all around the country, are designed to provide parents with the information and long-term support for sourcing, choosing, handling and training a pet dog specifically to benefit a child with autism and the family as a whole. Dogs trained via this scheme do not become accredited assistance dogs but still provide a massive beneficial impact.
External links
- http://www.dogsforthedisabled.org Dogs for the Disabled website
- http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org Assistance Dogs International website
- http://www.k9assistance.co.uk Website of Caesar a Dogs for the Disabled Trained Assistance Dog