Therapy Dogs in Education

The Reality: Therapy Dogs need structured rest periods and limited working hours. This is especially true for dogs in schools, as school environments are highly stimulating, so it is critical we are protecting the dog’s wellbeing and avoid burnout.
Optimising animal welfare = safety for students.
Healthy dogs make better therapy partners.
Learn what you need to know!

You may have heard a range of titles for dogs used in schools:
• School Support Dog
• Library Dog
• Wellbeing Dog
• Education Support Dog
But if a dog is providing comfort or emotional support under the guidance of a handler, it fits the definition of a Therapy Dog.
Changing the name does not change the responsibilities.
Duty of care, safety and animal welfare standards still apply.

What is in place to reduce your legal liability and meet your duty of care requirements?

Workshop for school staff! Limited spaces remain! Get your journey started. Book online via www.therapydogsineducation.com.au/workshops

Discover the transformative impact therapy dogs can have in educational settings, enhancing student well-being and fostering a positive learning environment. Also learn how to ensure student safety, animal welfare and how to meet your duty of care to students and staff.

https://therapydogsineducation.com.au/workshops

Well said The Pet Girl… a very frustrating (and all too common) problem and an unreasonable risk to the community.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/R7zG84fuBNRRB4So/?mibextid=WC7FNe

🐕‍🦺 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸…

😐 Okay fake assistance dogs, I’m calling you out!

👉🏽 Do you know someone who uses a ‘service dog’ or ‘therapy dog’ or ‘assistance dog’ vest on their pet dog (that isn’t an actual qualified assistance dog) and goes out to public places like a shop, or grocery store?

👌🏽 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞?

☝🏽Did you know that in order to take your dog out in places such as a grocery store, on a plane, inside a doctor surgery or around a shopping mall, they need to recognised as an actually certified Assistance Dog?

🐕 Assistance Dogs are considered a medical aid, specifically trained to assist a person with visible and non visible disabilities. They are given additional permissions and protections under the law than pet dogs.

🐩 Therapy Dogs are pets, and while they may offer therapeutic support, are not considered a medical necessity.

🤯 Now to make you a little more confused, Therapy Dogs do access places such as nursing homes, schools and some hospitals. However, whilst there is no legislation about the training requirements for Therapy Dogs, it is expected that to access these places, the dogs would have undergone training by a company such as Therapy Dogs Australia.

😡 So what’s the beef that I have?

🫵🏽 People using their ordinary pet dogs and pretending they are qualified by using a fake jacket they purchased off Etsy to enter public places.

👎🏽 Untrained dogs can cause serious issues for people that rely on their qualified Assistance Dog in public places. Distracting a dog that is trained for a purpose could pose serious physical and medical risks to their human handler. You could also put the dog at risk for future work as well.

👎🏽 Your untrained dog could be putting a member of the public at risk. Some people have genuine fears of dogs and have a right to live in the community safely without having your untrained dog engage with them.

👎🏽 You are ruining it for the people that do the right thing. We fight hard to have the community accept our dogs. If your dog is a poor example of dogs in public, we may start losing the privilege of having them sit at cafe etc.

👎🏽👎🏽 Finally, morally and ethically, it’s the wrong thing to do.

✅ Please share this far and wide, and hopefully someone will see it that does this and think about it.

💬 Do you have a story about this? Post below:

Merry Christmas to all, from School Therapy Dogs, Wilbur and Lucy

We are here to help! Consult an expert today!

How good are dogs!!!

Did you know... Therapy Dogs should not be working everyday! Research has found that the role of a Therapy Dogs is exhausting with so many interactions and processing so many smells each work day. It has consistently been recommended that Therapy Dogs do not work full-time (unlike their human counterparts) and instead should have at least 24 hours rest between work days! What a life!

Are you thinking it would be fun to take your dog to school?
Are you keen to learn about what is involved and how to do it with success and safety?
Come along to our next workshop to learn more!
Thursday 22nd February 2024

Introduction to Therapy Dogs in Schools - Online Workshop - Thursday 22nd February 2024 - Delivered ONLINE This is an introductory workshop into the use of therapy dogs in schools. We explore the key terminology of Animal-Assisted Services, current industry guidelines, best practice approaches, planning for success, animal welfare considerations and future steps and training options. We also allow for qu...