Assistance Dog

I have no experience with Assistant Dogs!

But these sites might help:

FAQs - Assistance Dogs Australia

Assistance dog registration scheme | Updates | Registration, legislation and permits | Domestic Animals Act | Animal Welfare Victoria | Livestock and animals | Agriculture Victoria

Just tagging @Emelia8 in this she may be able to help 😊. I'm in the process of training my own assistance dog also 😊

@SchizOttie Thanks! I'll take a look 😁

@MissGremlin That's amazing! How are you finding the training process? Can I ask which dog breed you have and whether you adopted or bought them as a puppy? Thanks for tagging them.

Animals are beautiful things.

@puppydoglover so far I've been working with Casper (my puppy) on the basics, so making sure he can go toilet on command, walking calmly on lead, ignoring things, exposure to different surroundings and noises etc. I've got permission from a few places that I go so that he can get used to being around people and crowds aswell as trolleys, lifts, stairs etc. Casper is a Labrador and I've had him since 8 weeks old, that's the breed I chose and he is my 6th Labrador that I've had so I have experience with the breed. Adopting is also a good option though, my rescue girl that I had would have been a perfect assistance dog and she basically was for me but without the official label. I previously went through a different service with my other assistance dog that passed away when she was 3 years old but they have limited how many people they take on now and I couldn't get in to them again last time so this time I'm going with mind dogs 😊.

It's an amazing journey to go through, it can be trying at times but the good thing is that you can take it at your and your dogs pace 😊.

Animals are truly amazing and so helpful with mental health issues aswell as other disabilities, they offer support and companionship ❤️.

Here's a couple of pics of my boy Casper 😊.

@puppydoglover

@MissGremlin Thank you so much for this information 😊 How long have you been working with Casper?

I am still deciding between whether to buy a puppy or adopt, I think they both have their pros and cons. It's great that the places you attend have allowed Casper to enter so that you can practice training. Are trainee mindDogs not allowed to access public spaces otherwise?

I'm so sorry to hear that your other dog passed away. 😔❤️

@MissGremlin He is beautiful! As you can tell from my username I absolutely love dogs. Did mindDog provide the service dog vest or did you have to buy that yourself?

@puppydoglover you're welcome 😊.

I've been working with him since day 1 basically so 8 weeks old and he is almost 8 months old now.

There's definitely pro's and con's to both, like I said my rescue girl was amazing but then I had a puppy i brought last year a lab of course but i had to hand her back to the breeder as she was out of control and there's no way she was going to be an assistance dog, she had anxiety herself and we were both feeding off each other. Until they have passed a public access test no they can't go to public spaces but you can always approach places and ask permission, the worst they can say is no.

My girl that I lost was my world and she helped me so much when I was struggling. I had to put 4 dogs down in a 5 year period so it was incredibly tough. So I'm very grateful to have Casper now ❤️.

Thankyou, he's a bit cute 😊. Would never have guessed from the username hehe 😂. The vest I purchased myself 😊.

Hi @puppydoglover 😊 and thanks @MissGremlin for the tag

@puppydoglover I have an assistance dog in training. My girls name is Hannah and she is a 5.4kg Cavoodle. She will be 2 next month.

I have gone through MindDog Australia because I knew nothing about the processes involved in training and getting a AD accredited. Hannah is about 8 months through her 12 month training process, and so far she is doing really well.

I have found MindDog to be very good and very supportive. I would highly recommend them. There is a cost, as you would expect. But keep in mind they are a non profit organisation, and rely on donations to survive and carry out their vital service

If you have any questions I am happy to answer if I can.

Here is a pic of Hannah in her "working" vest.