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Assistance Dog Programme

UK's leading Owner Trained Assistance Dog Programme

We proudly support the training of Owner Trained Assistance Dogs in the UK and worldwide through our Online Assistance Dog Programme.

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Why Choose Us?
 

We mirror and exceed the highest standards recognized for assistance dogs around the world, ensuring your dog receives the best training possible.

 

We Support a Wide Range of Disabilities:

✅ Physical
✅ Medical
✅ Psychological

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All breeds are welcome, and there’s no waiting list! 

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Choose How You Train:

  • Train your dog yourself from home with our comprehensive online programme, OR

  • Let us train your dog for you via our Residential Training Programme

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Join today and start building the perfect partnership with your dog! 

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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 18 years, helping Owner Trained Assistance Dog teams to reach their goals

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Our mission is to make assistance dog training accessible to all. The inclusive nature of our programme allows us to have no waiting lists, no breed restrictions or neuter requirements, allowing more people to fulfil their dream of having a trained assistance dog without the barriers than often exist with traditional routes.

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By providing home-based training options and ongoing support, we're able to empower individuals to take control of their own assistance dog journey, which is a powerful and much needed service in todays world. 

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Watson

Watson

PTSD support

Willow

Willow

PTSD & Autism Support

Pumpkin

Pumpkin

PTSD Support

Sky

Sky

Mobility Support

What disabilities do we support?

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We support a wide range of disabilities including:

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  • Physical disabilities (wheelchair users, PoTS, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis, ME, Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy, Spinal Injuries, Brain injuries, Strokes, Amputees etc)

  • Medical support (Diabetes, Epilepsy, Seizures, Addisons, Allergies, Blood Pressure, Migraines, POTS, Crohns, non epileptic seizures)

  • Guiding & Hearing - we only currently have light guiding & hearing videos available, but our trainers are happy to support your training journey in any way we can

  • Psychiatric & neurological support (Autism, Downs Syndrome, PTSD, C-PTSD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, FASD, Bipolar Disorder, Major depression, Severe anxiety) Your dog would need to ease your symptoms via specially taught tasks

  • Emotional support dogs: An emotional support dog is a dog who provides emotional support and eases your anxiety/symptoms without any training.  Unfortunately Emotional Support Dogs are not recognised in the UK. 

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To utilise an assistance dog, regardless of the type of disability, a handler must qualify as disabled under the Equality Act of 2010. This means that their disability must have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.  We do not discriminate based upon diagnosis and we are open to recipients with any psychological condition with recommendation from their Psychiatrist

Assistance dog in training

Online Programme

Train your assistance dog from home

We offer comprehensive training for your assistance dog, from puppyhood to fully trained assistance dog, guiding you through every stage of the process

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With instant access to over 450 step-by-step video tutorials, you can learn everything from puppy training and socialisation to basic and advanced obedience, distraction-proofing, public access training, and tackling behavioural challenges.

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Our tutorials also include specific task training to help your dog mitigate the effects of your unique disability.

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You’ll receive live trainer support 7 days a week, plus the option to join weekly live Zoom meetings for personalised guidance.

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Progress through our Award system, from Puppy to Gold level (similar to the KC Awards), and the Mitigating Task Award, before qualifying for the Access Test, which is conducted in person when your dog is 18 months or older

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Our Public Access Test meets and exceeds international assistance dog standards. 

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In addition to our online resources, we offer practical support through one-on-one lessons, assistance dog workshops, and residential training.

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Current list of tasks available to choose from

Frequently Asked Questions​

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How do I sign up? Simply fill in the questionnaire below and email us proof of your diagnosis. You'll be approved within 24 hours and can then choose to setup either monthly or yearly membership

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How does the programme work? Once signed up, you'll gain instant access to over 450 video tutorials covering obedience exercises and tasks. You can work through our Award levels from Puppy to Gold by submitting videos of the training exercises. We also offer an 'access test' level which is done with our trainer in Guildford (or within 50 miles)

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What if I don't live in the UK? We accept teams from all over the world. You will need to check your local laws regarding assistance dogs. You can take your awards via video submission and utilise a local trainer for your Access Test (this needs to be recorded)

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Is there a waiting list?  We have NO waiting list to join our programme

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Is my dog suitable?  As long as your dog is under 6 years of age (depending on breed), in good health and without any concerns over their temperament, you can begin your training journey. If you are concerned about any of the above, please send us a message. We offer free assessments. There is a mandatory temperament assessment before dogs can take their Silver Award. This can be done with a local trainer

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Does my dog need insurance? Yes, your dog must have 3rd party liability insurance (this will need to include cover as an assistance dog before you begin any public access training). Agria, Many Pets and Petplan cover assistance dogs

 

What age can I start my dog? We accept puppies from 8 weeks of age. You'll find video tutorials covering all of your puppy's needs throughout their first year, from puppy socialisation tips, confidence building, obedience and the foundations for tasks.  As the journey can take 2 years, we don't recommend commencing training with dogs over the age of 6

 

How long does it take to train a dog? To train your dog from puppy to fully trained (ready to pass an access test), takes a minimum of 18 months. You should expect the entire process to take roughly 2 years (depending on how much time you put into training and how suitable your dog is)

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Can I train more than one dog? We don't recommend training more than one dog at a time. This is due to the amount of time and commitment required to train each dog. As well as the on-going training needed throughout your dog's life to keep the training in place. If you do decide to train more than 1 dog, please ask us about a price to have 2 dogs on the programme

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Does my dog need to be neutered? We don't recommend neutering your dog unless there is a medical or behavioural need to do so. With girls, you may prefer to neuter after the 2nd season to reduce how often your dog will need to rest from supporting you

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Will my dog become a registered assistance dog? There is no official registration or certification for assistance dogs in the UK. As long as your dog is well trained and mitigates your disability, you are covered by the Equality Act 2010. We have no association with ADUK or ADI, so if you wish to visit places or travel with airlines/trains that require your dog to be ADUK or ADI registered, you will need to join a programme that offers this​

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Can your programme help with air travel? Air travel rules are changing all the time. We recommend checking with your chosen airlines before signing up if this is a goal for you as many are governed by DEFRA who require dogs to be trained by ADUK or ADI charities. 

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Will I be able to buy training vests? Yes, once your dog has passed their temperament assessment and Silver Award from 9 months, you can purchase an 'assistance dog in training' vest, settle mat and lead slip with our logo on it. You can fully customise your gear with your own preferred colours and design. This will help you with access whilst your dog is still training. An 'Assistance Dog' jacket can be purchased once your dog passes the Public Access test (from 18 months0

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Can you support with access issues? Yes, we can provide official letters confirming your membership with our programme and the level of training your dog has achieved, as well as providing membership cards. We are also happy to email any establishments refusing you access such as Universities, Businesses, Colleges and Services.

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Do you offer In Person support? Yes, we offer 20% off one to one lessons in Surrey with Mike and 10% off one to one lessons in Guildford and Stafford. We also offer a 10% to 20% discount off our residential training stays which are a popular choice for fast-tracking your training, overcoming training struggles, teaching tasks or preparing your dog for public access training

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What if my dog is already highly trained? You can still join us, but you'll still need to submit videos for Bronze to Gold and pass a temperament test before taking your Access Test

Private video
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Private video

Bruce has just completed his four-week assistance dog residential stay with us, providing his owners with the best possible foundation for continuing his training at home. Their ultimate goal is for Bruce to become an assistance dog, so they wanted to ensure he had a strong start and ongoing support throughout this journey. One of Bruce's biggest challenges was feeling overwhelmed by people and other dogs when outside, often leading to vocal reactions. Addressing this was a key focus during his training. We’re happy to share that Bruce has made amazing progress—he’s much calmer and more focused now, making outdoor adventures far more enjoyable for both him and his family. Learning to be neutral in these situations is such an important skill for an assistance dog, and Bruce is well on his way! In addition to this, we’ve worked on Bruce’s core obedience skills, helping him get used to working alongside his owners. We’ve also trained him to walk nicely on the lead without pulling, which will help him be more manageable as he grows and make outings stress-free. Lastly, we focused on teaching Bruce recall, so he can enjoy his time off-lead just as much as his time working. It’s been a pleasure having Bruce with us, and we’re excited to see his journey continue! www.adolescentdogs.com
Benny the Labrador - 4 Weeks Assistance Dog Residential Training
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Benny the Labrador - 4 Weeks Assistance Dog Residential Training

Cleo the 6 month old Golden Retriever returns home tomorrow after completing her 2.5 week assistance dog residential stay Cleo’s main area of focus has been building her confidence and food motivation. Cleo is sensitive to sounds and can find the world a scary and overwhelming place. This has made it difficult for her owner to progress her training During her 2 weeks with us, we’ve worked on building her food motivation alongside growing her self confidence. Utilising puppy parkour games and putting sniffing on cue, we’ve been able to grow her confidence in new places and slowly built her exposure to busier environments. Her confidence around other dogs has also grown and she’s less worried about approaching them on walks. We’ve also worked separately on building all of her obedience cues, so she’s able to recall away from dogs, walk to heel, respond to cues from a distance and the emergency stop. In addition to this, we’ve worked on the teaching her to greet people more calmly , helping to reduce her jumping up. The combination of confidence building and growing her understanding of cues will set her up for future success with working towards her assistance dog awards For now, Cleo needs to have fun being a puppy, exploring the world at her own pace and growing a trusting relationship with her owner Good luck Cleo
Cleo the Golden Retriever Puppy - 2.5 Weeks Assistance Dog Residential Training
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Cleo the Golden Retriever Puppy - 2.5 Weeks Assistance Dog Residential Training

Buddy the Cavapoo is heading home after his 3 week residential training stay to help him with confidence building to give him the best chance of becoming an assistance dog for his family one day. Buddy is a very anxious little boy and struggles in new environments, by roads and different noises. We’ve carefully exposed Buddy to a variety of environments and worked hard on desensitising him to roads. He’s done really well and has progressed significantly with his confidence but it’s going to be a long road ahead to keep this up and get give him the best chance of maturing into a well rounded adult. We also worked on all of the bronze assistance awards so buddy is able to complete this. We will continue to support Buddy’s owners on his journey to hopefully becoming an assistance dog in the future! www.adolescentdogs.com
Buddy the Cavapoo - 3 Weeks Assistance Dog Residential Stay
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Buddy the Cavapoo - 3 Weeks Assistance Dog Residential Stay

Pretty Poppy the Goldie x Cocker has completed her 3 week assistance dog residential stay Poppy was with her trainer Monday to Friday and went home to her little lovely family each weekend. She’s such a great dog with bundles of energy and will be working towards becoming an assistance dog. Her family wanted to give Poppy the opportunity to have a good start to her training and undo some bad habits that were starting to appear Pulling on the lead was one thing that we’ve helped Poppy to master. Equipment cues have been marvellous to help Poppy understand what’s expected of her. We’ve also been helping to reduce Poppys excessive jumping. This will take time to fully achieve but she’s on the right path to offering much more desirable behaviours. We’ve also improved Poppys responses on walks and sharpened up her recall. It’s been lovely having Poppys to stay and we wish her every success in the future. Go smash it Poppy ❤️ www.adolescentdogs.com 08002229007 Info@adolescentdogs.com
Poppy the Goldie x Cocker - 3 Weeks Residential Dog Training
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Poppy the Goldie x Cocker - 3 Weeks Residential Dog Training

Raven the 17 month old Labrador has completed his 2 week residential training stay. He is a member of our Assistance Dog Programme and his owner was struggling with his confidence, in particular vehicles and loud sounds. During his stay we worked on Raven’s confidence, taking him to appropriate environments and controlling exposure ensuring he had a positive experience. We also strengthened his basic obedience to help his owner to continue to make progress and work towards becoming an assistance dog, in particular his loose lead walking and steadiness with commands. In the house we continued to extend his settling skills to allow more control and apply this skill when out in public. Raven is a lovely sensitive boy who needs patience and consistency to help him to slowly increase his confidence at his own pace, he is very lucky to have such dedicated owners who are committed to achieve this. www.adolescentdogs.com 08002229007 Info@adolescentdogs.com

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.

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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

 

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 stating your medical diagnosis 

  • Proof of pet insurance that covers third party liability (you must tell them your dog is working before you begin any public access training or they aren't covered)

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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

  • Receive yearly vet checks to confirm suitability and be in good health.

  • Have public liability insurance

  • Be trained to an advanced level (we can help with this).  Dogs can take the Awards at any age, but Access Tests are only available once your dog reaches 18 months of age.

  • Demonstrate 3 specially taught 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 if you are unsure if your dog is a suitable candidate.

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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. 

 

However, Owner Trained Teams often struggle with Access issues, so having the assessments to prove training level, along with our training vests can help with access (please note, our programme does not guarantee you won't have problems with Access, especially with air travel)

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Organisations / companies requesting that your dog is trained by a specific organisation or to have an ID book is breaking the law!  There is no 'registration' or 'certification' for assistance dogs in the UK, nor is it a legal requirement. 

 

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 Awards that you can submit videos for you to achieve certificates. 

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A certificate is provided for each level of training, from Puppy to Gold and Access Tests.  Dogs can take their Puppy at any age, Bronze test from 6 months, the Silver from 9 months after a temperament assessment, Gold from 12 months and Access Tests at 18 months.

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Your dog must have passed their Silver Award and Temperament Test before being allowed to purchase our Assistance Dog in Training Vests, which can become a great aid for encouraging the general public to ignore your dog.

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Membership

There is a membership fee which can be paid monthly or annually. 

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Members will be able to access:

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  • The entire Online Academy of over 450 video tutorials

  • The Assistance Dog Academy with task tutorials

  • New video tutorials created upon request unique to your needs

  • Expert support teaching mitigating tasks

  • Daily online trainer support & direct message the trainer

  • Feedback on your progress: post videos of training sessions 

  • Help building training plans & finding videos

  • Weekly Live Zoom Q&A with the Head Trainer for individual support

  • 10% to 30% off residential training stays

  • Access one to one lessons in Surrey (20% discount) or Stafford (10% discount)

  • Support with access issues

  • Ongoing support & evaluation

  • The right to wear an Adolescent Dogs 'in training' vest and carry a membership card

  • Purchase organisation vests & gear customised to your own style

  • Free Assistance Dog Award assessment via online video submission

  • Be part of the Facebook Support group and meet other teams

  • Access test is in Guildford or within 50 miles (£120: includes lifetime membership to the Academy, ongoing support with access issues, the right to carry a membership card & the right to wear an Assistance Dog vest with the Adolescent Dogs Logo). Yearly re-testing is required, but can be done for free via video

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Membership will only be granted to those who meet the eligibility criteria. All documents must be sent to info@adolescentdogs.com 

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Once you've completed your application form, please email your documents to info@adolescentdogs.com and then sign up for your membership option below

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MONTHLY

£23.99 per month

Monthly membership plan. Includes full access to the online video tutorials and online trainer support. 

From:

£23.99

Sign up
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LIFETIME PLUS

£998

Lifetime PLUS

  • Full access to the online video tutorials

  • Unlimited access to the monthly assistance dog workshops in Guildford (Worth £480 per year)

  • The Access Test (worth £120)

  • A Dog in Training Vest (after Silver) (worth £60)

  • An 'Assistance Dog' vest after the Access Test (worth £60)

  • Membership card with lanyard

From:

£998

Sign up
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ANNUAL

£202 per year (£16.99 per month)

Yearly membership plan. Includes full access to the online video tutorials and online trainer support. *most popular*

From:

£202

Sign up
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LIFETIME standard

£498

Lifetime standard includes

  • Full access to the online video tutorials

  • The Access Test (worth £120)

  • A Dog in Training Vest (after Silver) (worth £60)

  • Membership card with lanyard

From:

£498

Sign up

Paying it Forward​

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All of the profits from our Online Academy Memberships are put towards our own Assistance Dog Programme, where we carefully select puppies from reputable breeders, put the necessary training and tasks in place for their first year of life, and then match each puppy to a family. We also offer the occasional gifted or heavily discounted residential stay to members of our Assistance Dog Programme

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We are not a charity, and our practical trainer support is funded 100% from our own income generated from our Online Academy, so the availability of gifted stays and discounted stays is limited.  Please contact us direct to find out more. 

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We also work closely with charities such as PTSDUK, DefineFine and Spectrum, donating 20% of their membership signups back to their charities for fundraising. If you know of any Charities wanting to get involved with our affiliate scheme, please get in touch.

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We are currently raising and training Willow, a Labrador puppy, Ember, a Cocker Spaniel & Enzo a Labrador puppy gifted to us from AG Labradors.  Our online academy memberships help to support their 2 year training journey to becoming an assistance dog

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Puppy raising & training

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We are looking for breeders who would like to donate well bred puppies for us to raise, train and match to a person in need of an assistance dog. It costs us over £30,000 to train each puppy for their first year.  Please get in touch if you have a puppy to donate. We are particularly interested in Labradors, Cocker Spaniels, Cobberdogs and Standard Poodles

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Discounted residential stays

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We offer a limited number of gifted and discounted residential stays and one to one lessons each year to members of our Assistance Dog Programme.  Sadly we don't currently have enough members to offer as many stays as we would like. We have provided over £60,000 worth of gifted stays between 2021 to 2023. In order to help as many teams as possible, we offer a 10% to 20% discount on residential stays, with increased discounts when we are able to offer them. We highly recommend residential stays to fast track your dog's training journey. We can help at different stages of your journey:

  • Early puppy socialisation and training

  • Overcoming new behaviours (barking/lunging/distraction training)

  • Teaching specific tasks

  • Practising public access training

  • Preparing your dog for taking their Awards with you 

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“Brilliant, adaptive, efficient training delivered...” Written on 12072021 by CrystalSanct
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