Oliver's Army Assistance and Therapy Dog's Public Access

We aim to have dogs of different breeds and cross breeds, small or large. Dogs must be over 2 years of age and no older than 6 years old. All dogs must not be sired or bred and must be spaded or neutered before they can sit the Public Access assessment. The dogs wellbeing is the most important thing to us and at Oliver's Army Assistance and Therapy Dog's we want all our dogs to be at full health. Everyone is required to provide evidence that a qualified veterinarian has cleared their dog for working and is in good physical condition.

We aim to have well behaved dogs with happy temperaments and have the correct skills to access public places. Dogs should have completed and passed the Kennel Club Scheme before working towards our Public Access Assessment.

The purpose of this Public Access Assessment is to ensure that dogs that have public access are stable well-behaved, and unobtrusive to the public. It is to ensure that the handler has control over the dog and the team is not a public hazard. The team will also learn skills/tasks which are are catered to the individuals needs.

Skills/Task Training

What is a Task?

A task is a certain desired behavior a dog is trained to perform. The dog is trained to respond to a command or a situation, which cues the dog to perform a task. The task must be related to your condition, helping you gain your independance and inhancing your quality of life.

What is meant by “catered to the individuals needs”?

A dog's task which have been “catered to the individually” is trained to perform tasks for the benefit of their handler and their handler's disability or needs. Examples of individually trained tasks could include providing deep pressure for a panic attack or alerting to an oncoming seizure.

What is NOT an individually trained task?

Spontaneous behavior a dog occasionally exhibits, such as licking someone’s face or barking, does not qualify as a “trained task”, even if it accidentally or coincidentally has a beneficial result. While everyone enjoys the emotional, social and safety benefits that a dog’s presence can provide, those benefits do not constitute trained tasks that would transform a disabled person’s pet into a legitimate Assistance Dog.

Why are individually trained tasks so important?

Assistance dogs are dogs that have been highly trained to carry out a range of tasks and alerts that support a disabled person or person with a long-term medical condition.

In the UK, disabled people have important rights under the Equality Act 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Northern Ireland). When it comes to accessing services (shops, cafes, public transport etc.) a highly trained assistance dog should be treated as an ‘auxiliary aid’ e.g. wheelchair or white cane, rather than as a pet dog.

In order to comply with the Equality Act then all dogs must be trained to high level and catered for an individuals disability. The tasks are the catered part of the training which qualifies a dog as an Assistance Dog.

Examples of Skill/Task Training

Physical tasks

Open and Close doors
Pickup dropped items
Retrieve named items (medication, keys, mail)
Find hidden items
Fetch a ringing phone
Opening cabinets/draws/fridge
Turning lights on and off
Pressing buttons in lifts or at traffic lights
Support handler with undressing
Emptying the washing machine
Tidying up and putting items away
Giving others items
Putting rubbish in a bin
Guiding to seating
Guiding to exits

Psychiatric Tasks

Deep pressure therapy
Tactile grounding via nuzzling or licking
Interrupt repetitive self harm
Retrieve self care kit
Interrupt flashbacks
Interrupt anxiety attacks
Crowd control
Lead to exits
Lead to seating
Alert caregiver
Provide comfort when crying
Alert to change in stress levels

Medical tasks

Alerting to low or high blood sugar
Alerting to a seizure
Alerting handler to high heart rate
Alert handler to asthma attack
Alert handler to changes in blood pressure
Alerting handler to repetitive motions or stimming
Lying with the handler when they collapse
Protecting handlers head during a seizure
Alerting caretaker
Retrieving medication
Lying across the handler's body for temperature regulation