Companion Dogs

[grandmoon]

What are they for ?

Are they treated like Guide dogs ? 

[azureline**]

Companion dogs? or assistance dogs? they are different, assistance dogs are those for people with disabilities, specially trained.

Companion dogs are not considered the same as guide dogs.

[azureline**]

A Companion Dog is a dog trained to support an adult or child who would benefit from the companionship of a well-trained dog in a home environment. They are not trained to provide assistance in public areas.

Assistance Dogs Australia provides freedom and independence to people with physical disabilities.

We are a national charity that trains Labradors and Golden Retrievers to perform everyday tasks for people with disabilities.

Assistance Dogs increase independence, reduce reliance on human caregivers and act as a great ice-breaker helping overcome social isolation.

Assistance Dogs can pick up dropped items, open and close doors and cupboards, press the pedestrian button at the lights, pay the cashier at the shops, get the phone, unload the washing machine and alert bark if their owner is in troubl

[azureline**]

Do Assistance Dogs have public access rights?

Yes. Service Dogs who are placed with people that use wheelchairs have public access rights and are distinguishable by their blue jacket. They and their recipient undergo yearly public access testing and are issued with a license. It is illegal to discriminate against or refuse entry to a person with an Assistance Dog and anyone who does so can be prosecuted. Any entry fee must not be charged to an animal that is an assistance animal.

[grandmoon]

Thanks we have a woman who comes in where I work and brings her dog that she refers to as a companion dog.  This dog is not welled trained and is a nuisance getting under other peoples feet.  The woman is telling us that she has the right to have him with her. 

[harley_babes_hoard]

from the guide dogs website.


Service Dogs – are placed with adults with physical disabilities, these dogs are the most highly trained to help their owner inside and outside of the house. All service dogs have full public access right so they can accompany their owner anywhere in the community.
Companion Dogs – are mainly provided families with a child with a disability or to people who may need some assistance around the home.
Facility Dogs – Trained to be companions to everyone at care facilities such as nursing homes or children’s hospices.

You may have to be careful as it does say they do assist.

[*crikey*mate*]

does he have a blue coat? and a harness?

It could also be a Therapy Dog, which is kind of a combination of the two. Hard to explain, but do you know why this lady has a Companion Dog? Whilst Therapy Dogs aren't specifically trained like the stereotypical Guide Dog that helps blind people cross the road, they certainly are trained to accompany their carers into public. Their main purpose is to detect anxiety levels and to assist their handler in recognizing the signs they might be missing of an impending attack and to help them to control their anxiety, before it gets out of hand and requiring external intervention.

When they were first triaslled, they experimented with a lot of different breeds, the whole program is still really in its infancy only being about 6 years old, so some of the breeds aren't as great as others, but a lot of selection and choice of the specific breed is also tied into what is compatible with the handler.

I haven't heard of one being "naughty" though. Haven't heard of one that doesn't stay by their handlers side in public. At least on a regular basis, sometimes, especially when they are young, they might go for a bit of a wander and explore a bit if things seem very calm and relaxed, but they should be very obedient and when called to task, will return to their place.

Is it possible that the lady is not handling him correctly? This would seem odd because when they are young, they do a lot of obedience training, and then from 2 years of age they do "top up" training every 3 to 6 months - depending on the shrink's recommendations, but quite short periods to pick up and correct and train both the handler and dog and make sure they are working together well etc.

Of course, Hugh Heffner also had a lot of "companions" LOL, but this lady may have a dog who was retired from the program as not suitable but her "issues" and attatchment to him might have made it hard for her to surrender him. So whilst he might not be licensed, he may still be needed, and if there is room for flexibility i'e, there are no real health reasons why the pup can't be where you work, the dog is actually benefiting the lady more than he is an inconvenience, it might not hurt to find out exactly why she thinks she "needs him" and what his history is iykwim.

[*crikey*mate*]

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@harley_babes_hoard wrote:
from the guide dogs website.


Service Dogs – are placed with adults with physical disabilities, these dogs are the most highly trained to help their owner inside and outside of the house. All service dogs have full public access right so they can accompany their owner anywhere in the community.
Companion Dogs – are mainly provided families with a child with a disability or to people who may need some assistance around the home.
Facility Dogs – Trained to be companions to everyone at care facilities such as nursing homes or children’s hospices.

You may have to be careful as it does say they do assist.

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but to remain accredited, there are strict gyuidelines as to their behaviour, and regular training and assessment is mandatory for continued accreditation.

They do "assist", but they're not allowed to be "rogue" either.

In reality, apart from him being the elephant in the room, others shouldn't really know he is there.

I know that some idiotic red tape had some of the therapy dogs removed from their carers when they went from child to adult "in the system" and these pups were presumedly rehomed, and others were "retired" as not suitable.

But if the dog is legit, she should have a licence for him, a log book of his training, assessments etc.

[topsidesoul]

Why make a big deal?

Wish I had a dog at work to eleviate boredome.

[azureline**]

The nursing home my FIL is in has 2 companion dogs that visit regularly. However, they are specific to the elderly for interaction. It works well.They have to leave the dining room when food is served as they are not assistance or service dogs.