Irish Dogs for the Disabled trains three main breeds of dogs the Golden
Retriever, Labrador Retriever and German Shepherd.
However many other dog assistance organisations have had wonderful
results using
crosses between Golden Retrievers and
Poodles. We
are forever striving to improve the quality of our dogs and we have
undertaken the ownership of two
'Goldendoodles' and they will be entering our training programme in the
near future.
Goldendoodle Milo (l) and Marley
(r) make their appearance.
Our puppies have a great start in life with our
volunteer Puppy Socialisors who give them
plenty of TLC.
They will be guided along during
their first twelve months to bring out the special qualities necessary
for them to become Dogs for the Disabled. Then the official training
will begin which includes a lot of play activities e.g. retrieving,
pushing, pulling, barking to raise alarms etc. Once the dogs are at the
required standard, set by the Assistance Dogs International they will be
matched to a suitable applicant and advanced training will commence.
Apart from the obvious benefits of the dog’s
technical work, the greater gift is the companionship and
unconditional love the dog will give.
As part of our community visitation and home companion programme our
assistance puppies in training visit people in long-term residential
care, special needs facilities and hospitals. This
programme lets people enjoy the healing presence of animals. The
wonderful sight of a playful puppy, a lick on the hand that says, "I
care about you," can once again brighten their lives.
The
aim of Irish Dogs for the Disabled is to improve the quality of
life and provide greater independence for our clients. Our puppies are
specially selected for our programme and once fully trained they will be
matched to the appropriate client, dependant on their individual needs
and requirements.
Puppy Socialisers
Wanted
If
you would like to be considered by Irish Dogs for the Disabled as a
puppy trainer we would like to hear from you. Puppy training lasts
twelve months and we give full support to the trainer and meet all costs
associated with feeding and veterinarian care.
Click here
to go to the Puppy Socialiser Page
