Welcome to the Adolescent Dogs Online Academy for Owner Trained Assistance Dogs in the UK

Who are we?

We are a team of qualified, force free dog trainers who have been training family dogs for over 15 years, often helping Owner Trained Assistance Dogs to reach their goals

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Sadly the waiting list for owners to seek help from charities is often long (up to 5 years), or their lists are full due to increasing demand, making it difficult for many owners to access the help they need and taking them further away from their dream of training their dog to assist them in everyday life

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Our mission is to help as many owners as possible to turn this dream into a reality, providing top quality training they can follow from home, along with our personal support and coaching, so that they can train their own dog to become an assistance dog for them.   

We are not a charity, and our practical trainer support is funded 100% from our own income generated from our Online Academy. If you'd like to help us support the training of Assistance Dogs, please join our Online Academy, where we'll provide you and your dog with training, whilst paying it forward to help Assistance Dogs.  Our resources are limited, but Owner Trained Assistance Dogs can now benefit from a 10% discount on residential stays if they choose to book themselves.  You can apply for one of our gifted residential stays, but we do have a waiting list.

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We provide training through all stages of development, from puppy training and early socialisation, temperament testing, basic to advanced obedience and teaching tasks. We offer our Canine Community Awards to members so that they can build clear training plans, and mirror the same high standards being used for assistance dogs around the world.

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Mission statement

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Helping dog owners with disabilities to train their own assistance dogs.  We will do this by:

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• Giving them access to qualified, force free trainers

• We will provide a high standard of training throughout each dog's life

• We will educate the public about disabled peoples rights under the Equality Act 2010.   

• We will commit to animal welfare and train and work only fit healthy dogs.  

• We will educate all our members about their legal responsibilities as a dog owner and an assistance dog handler.

• We will offer regular assessments every dog that is registered with the Adolescent Dogs Assistance Programme

• We will create a friendly community for members to support each other every step of the way.

Our Application Process

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Our programme is open to anyone wishing to train their own dog to aid in their disability. We accept puppies as young as 8 weeks of age to begin their learning journey

Not every dog is suitable to become an assistance dog, and not every dog / owner team will reach the standard of training required to pass all the assessments, which are held in Ewhurst, Surrey

You can join us right away and start training. You will need to provide the following documentation:

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• A letter from your doctor, counsellor or professional stating your disability and the fact that they consider that a dog would support you with your condition, or a medical letter detailing your disability

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To train as an Assistance Dog, your dog must:

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• Have a sound temperament; not show any fear or reactivity issues

• Be trained to an advanced level (we can help with this)

• Demonstrate 3 specific skills that provide assistance you need because of your disability (we can also help with this training)

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Dogs with behavioural issues are rarely suitable to train as assistance dogs, so please contact us for a free assessment.

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Assessments

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Assessments are not required by law. If your dog mitigates your disability in any way then you are covered under the Equality Act 2010. Your dog is an auxiliary aid just like a walking stick or wheelchair and as such cannot be denied access.

Organisations / companies requesting that your dog is trained by a specific organisation or to have an ID book is breaking the law!  

We recommend that your assistance dog is trained to a high standard, so that your dog does not cause disruption and can cope with supporting you with your disability in public.  We offer online Canine Community Awards that you can submit videos for to achieve certificates. 

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A certificate is provided for each level of training, from Puppy to Gold and Access Tests.

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Your dog must have achieved their Puppy Award before being allowed to purchase our Assistance Dog in Training Jackets, which can become a great aid for not only gaining public access, but also to ensure that the general public know to ignore your dog.