Have you ever noticed your mood improve when you spend time with your dog?  Remember that peaceful feeling when all your troubles melt away as you snuggle into your dog’s soft fur and breathe in their calming and familiar doggie scent. This is because animals offer unconditional acceptance and become a calm and welcome comfort when you are feeling emotionally distressed.

Interacting with a dog has also been shown to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) which brings with it a range of other benefits, such as:

• Reduced depression and anxiety
• More confidence, self-esteem and independence
• Increased ability to feel empathy towards others
• Better communication skills
• Improved family and social relationships
• Greater engagement in routine and structure

And your dog loves it too!  Science tells us that if you want to de-stress, the best way to do it is with your dog… and that’s where we come in!

Assistance dogs provide specialised support for people with mental illness or autism.

They are for people of all ages, and we provide comprehensive training programs to support your journey. We will tailor your assistance dog’s training to meet your specific health condition and ensure it will provide you with appropriate support in conjunction with your treating team.

We have flexible training options and can arrange for one of our trainers to either –

• Come to you
• You come to us or
• we can meet at a preferred location

The team at Pat Dogs Australia highly value the positive impact that dogs can have on enhancing people’s lives. Whether you have a mental illness or are diagnosed with autism, an assistance dog can help you.

Some of the areas in which an assistance dog can help you are –

We work with you to train your own dog to perform specific tasks that directly assist your everyday needs.

An example is dogs may be trained to provide deep pressure therapy, wake you in the event of night terrors, recognise the signs of the onset of a panic attack and prevent it from escalating or a range of other behaviours as required.

• Not all dogs and breeds are suited to assistance dog roles. We encourage prospective clients to discuss their specific needs with us before selecting a dog. Please be aware that some breeds do not meet our program requirements.

What to expect when applying for and accrediting an assistance dog –

• Complete the Pat Dogs Australia application form and include all supporting documents.
• We will review the application form, and if it is fully complete with supporting documents,
• We will also get you to do a temperament & hygiene assessment on your dog. This assessment will flag any concerns for your dog, for which the accredited trainers can then assess and help provide you with specific training recommendations to alleviate any issues for your dog working as an assistance dog.
• We will also arrange for an assessor to complete an in-person Suitability test. We do this to ensure it is suitable for our program as an assistance dog “In-Training”.
• If your dog passes the in-person Suitability test, you will get confirmation of acceptance into Stage 2 of our assistance dog program, you will be issued your Assistance Dog “In-Training” ID card. We can help you with getting a Assistance Dog Transport ID card (eg. NSW Transport Assistance Animal Permit, QLD Translink Assistance Animal Pass, Public Transport Victoria Assistance Animal Pass etc), as well as updating your dog registration with Council as an assistance dog.
• You can also arrange to use of one of our “In-training” jackets for your dog. This jacket remains the property of PAT Dogs Australia, and in the event that the assistance dog leaves our program for any reason e.g. its status is cancelled or revoked, the jacket must be returned either in person or via registered post to the PAT Dogs Australia office. For a dog to be in our program, the handler must be willing for their dog to wear our standard Assistance Dog jacket.
• We will then put you in touch with one of the accredited trainers and give you access to our online assistance dog foundation course;
• Our Assistance Dog Foundations course is online and will step you through the basics of training an assistance dog.
• Once you complete our assistance dog foundation course, we will provide you access to the Pat Dogs Assistance Dog Academy to continue your training.
• You will also be required to complete a quarterly progress report, which you will send in, and this will help us understand how your training is progressing.
• You will also be required to keep a training & outing log of all training and outings you complete either by yourself or with one of the accredited trainers.
• Our online course is designed to support someone from a puppy with basic obedience through to a fully qualified assistance dog; however, We also require the dog to be trained in at least three disability-related tasks. We can work with you to determine what tasks will be best suited to help mitigate the effects of the handler’s disability.
• Once you have completed our assistance dog academy training program, you will be ready to sit a Public Access Test (PAT).
• We will arrange for you to complete a further temperament assessment and for an assessor to complete the Pat Dogs Public Access Test (PAT) with you. (Please remember that only desexed dogs are eligible to sit the Public Access Test in our program).
• To be able to pass our Public Access Test, you will need to be able to articulate and demonstrate at least three disability related tasks that the dog does to help alleviates the effects of your disability.
• If you pass your Public Access Test (PAT) and any temperament issues have been addressed, we will issue you a notification of completion, issue you with your fully accredited Assistance Dog ID Card, get you travel rights for your dog with Virgin Australia and also send you your new assistance dog patches for your assistance dog jacket.

What skill sets will your dog learn during the program –

• Obedience – As an Assistance dog, your dog will be required to learn a range of obedience commands such as Sit, Drop, Stay, Come, Leave It, Heel, etc. and will need to be proficient with these to a high standard and be able to perform them in a range of locations. This ensures you and your dog’s safety.
• Public Access Skills –  Your dog will be required to learn a range of public access skills; these are the types of skills you see tested on the Public Access Test (PAT). These skills are considered the minimum standards required for dogs that access public places. You should, however, be aiming not for the minimum but for your dog to excel at these tasks.
• Disability-related tasks – Now, this skill set is the real skill set that converts your dog from being a well-trained pet to being considered an Assistance Dog (or even a medical aid). It is important to have a clear idea of what tasks your dog will or can do for you. If you are unsure, please discuss this with us in more detail

What to expect after your dog is fully certified –

• You are expected to maintain all the standards of hygiene and behaviour appropriate for an animal in a public place.
• You and your dog must have a Public Access Test (PAT) annually by one of our certified assessors.
• You will be required to maintain an annual membership to Pat Dogs Australia and
• You will be required to provide updated copies of your vaccination and Vet certificates annually.
• You will be required to abide by the PAT Dogs Australia Terms and Conditions and also our standards and ethics.

What will it cost?

• An upfront application fee of $599 ($499 for Government Pensioner Concession Card holders, DVA White or Gold Card holders) This fee is non-refundable
• There is a $249 fee for each time we need to send an assessor out to conduct an assessment. This would be our Public Access test. There is just one Public Access Test is needed each year.
• Annual membership fee of $199 p/a, which starts from year 2.
• One-on-one training with one of the accredited trainers is an additional cost and will be determined based on your and your dog’s abilities and the required skills and location of the trainer. This can possibly be funded via NDIS; ask us how.

Please note we always try to keep our fees as low as possible, but fees are subject to change over time and maybe updated without prior notice. The fees on this page are correct as of the date of publishing.