We recently hosted Positive Action Leeds who kindly delivered a free seminar about Autism Assistance Dogs
Our thanks go to Roodi for taking the time to share their expertise with our community
If you want to have a discussion regarding assistance dogs or assistance dog training please contact Roodi at Pawstive Action Leeds
Below is a summary of the presentation for those of you who were unable to attend
What is an assistance dog?
An assistance dog is:
- A dog which has been trained to guide a blind person- A dog which has been trained to assist a deaf person
- A dog which has been trained by a prescribed charity to assist a disabled person who has a disability such as; epilepsy, mobility issues, etc
- A dog which has been trained to assist a disabled person who has a disability, other than one falling within point three, e.g autism
Assistance dogs and the law
Equality Act 2010
Under the Act, service providers, employers, and educational institutions are required to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate Assistance Dogs. This means that in most public places, such as shops, restaurants, hotels, and public transport, Assistance Dogs are legally allowed to accompany their owners.
The DDA prohibits certain types of dogs and allowing a dog of any type to be dangerously out of control in a public place or a private place where it is not allowed to be. The law also provides for such dogs to be seized.
- General obedience training for public access
- Walk on a loose lead (in some cases does not require a lead)
- Toilet on command/outside of buildings
- Respond to recall
- Specified handler tasks (or mitigating tasks
- daily personal care tasks (for example, retrieving or carrying items, opening and closing doors, switching lights on and off, pulling laundry from washing machines) or mobility assistance (for example, pulling wheelchairs or helping with balance) for people with physical disabilities including cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, or suffering long-term impacts after a serious accident.
- Guide (or ‘seeing eye’) dogs to assist people with vision impairments to move around safely.
- Hearing (or ‘hearing ear’) dogs to alert people with hearing impairments.
- Medical alert dogs (such as for the detection of impending seizures in people with epilepsy or of blood sugar changes in people with diabetes).
Charities/Links
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- autismdogs.co.uk
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- dogsforautism.org.uk/
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- supportdogs.org.uk
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- findadogtrainer.com
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- paws-assistancedogs.com
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- pawsable.com
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- pawsitiveactionleeds.org