Assistance Dogs

Assistance dogs are trained to enhance the quality of life of physically or mentally challenged persons whilst still maintaining as much independence for the handler. This means that the dog will be a permanent working companion for the disabled handler and will assist with a myriad of task work but whilst still having the handler work and interact as much as physically or mentally possible.

Assistance dogs are trained to turn lights on and off, open and close doors, pick up and or retrieve dropped or wanted items, indicate when handler needs assistance either by alerting a carer or by pushing a medical alarm etc. We train each dog to the individual handler’s needs. There are basic tasks that are taught to each assistance dog but every handler will have different physical needs so there will be different individual tasks required for every handler

Assistance dogs have public access under the Disability Discrimination Act. Currently Queensland Government are working towards having a separate Act to cover Assistance Dogs. Craig is a qualified Assistance Dog Trainer after attending a course in the United States of America on Assistance, Service and Therapy Dogs.

Assistance Dogs Questions

• Where do we access Assistance dog candidates?
  Our aim is to breed our own Assistance dog candidates. We currently breed Golden Retrievers and Labradors to be able to pick the best possible pups from the litter to run on and train. We also check dog pounds, giveaways, etc. and assess each particular dog to ensure that they would have the correct training drives that we would require them to have to be an Assistance dog candidate. We have a select group of breeders that are purposely breeding for sound temperament and great drives that suit our Assistance Dog program.
• What do we look for in an Assistance dog candidate?
  We look for a well socialised dog that has a great outlook on life. We require them to be extremely social with people and all other animals. They shouldn’t have any fears or phobias that would prevent them from doing their job. They also have to have an extreme play and food drive that we can naturally enhance to achieve the desired responses in their training regime.
• How long does it take to train an Assistance dog?
  How long is a piece of string? It also depends on each individual dog and their particular learning curves. For a well motivated dog, it could take as little as four months. The norm is around the six to eight month period. Occassionally we will come across a dog that excels in it’s training and if it seems to be a natural in it’s learning, it could be possible to get a dog out with a handler within three months of solid training.
• How much does it cost to produce an Assistance dog?
  This depends on each indivual handler’s needs. The basic cost for a reliable, sociable Assistance dog with several tasks and public access would be approximately $20,000.00. Every handler has individual tasks that they will require with their particular dog and this is training development that needs to be done once the dog has bonded with the new handler. The cost for an Assistance dog that is trained to an advanced level that has multi-tasks would be approximately $50,000.00. There is always maintenance training that is required as the dogs are not robots and definitely need ongoing development and basic maintenance training.
• How do we fund our Assistance dog program?
  We currently use funds from our commercial dog training business to fund our Assistance Dog program. We also rely on donations from businesses and the public to assist us with our program. Every bit of help and assistance is greatly appreciated! Our aim is to enhance quality of life and independence whilst also providing companionship for the dog and handler.

Key Sponsors

We would like to thank the following key supporters. Without these key supporters to help us with our endeavours in training and supplying these dogs to their disabled partners, it would be impossible or extremely difficult to achieve.