Assistance Dog

An assistance dog is a working dog able to provide individualised specialised support for people with specific mental and physical disabilities/illnesses. Assistance dogs undergo intensive training.

They are also called service dogs.

Assistance or service dogs can help individuals who have:

• physical disabilities

• disabling illnesses

• post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental conditions

• autism

• dementia

There are 3 main types of assistance dogs.

• Assistance Dogs are trained to assist people who have various disabilities to manage personal and other tasks.

• Guide Dogs or seeing eye dogs are trained to help blind or visually impaired people get around safely and independently.

• Hearing dogs are trained to assist people who are deaf or have hearing problems by alerting them to sounds.