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Psychological Assistance dogs UK

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Has anyone had any experience using this charity? I am thinking of getting in contact with them about the possibility of having an assistance dog to aid my mental health. I thought about contacting some other assistance dog charities like Support Dogs but they do not as yet help people with mental health problems. Any info on this would be really appreciated. Thanks

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This is completely new to me so I am sorry I cannot be of any help. Having checked the website I see that applicants have to be registered disabled:

To utilise an assistance dog, regardless of the type of disability, a handler must qualify as disabled under the Equality Act of 2010. This means that their disability must have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Psychological assistance dogs in other countries have been used by people with a wide variety of diagnoses, including Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and Schizophrenia. PADsUK does not discriminate based upon diagnosis (or anything else, for that matter) and is open to recipients with any psychological condition, provided they meet the legal standard to qualify as disabled. Potential clients will be assessed to assure that they would benefit from an assistance dog, that they can provide for the dog’s needs, and that the use of the assistance dog would complement their treatment plan.

 

The link here explains what sort of things dogs are trained to help with and the list seems (to me) to be pretty formidable. It's a lot to ask of a dog but perhaps the dog might only need to learn a few of those things dependent upon the handler's needs.

 

If you are thinking of applying for one maybe you could think about things that you cannot do or need help with and how the dog could support you in your everyday life.

 

I wonder what might happen if the handler improves in health to the extent that they no longer need the dog? Also, what would happen if the handler's mental health fluctuates/deteriorates to the extent that they cannot look after the dog properly? Hopefully there would be a backup plan in such situations.

 

For anyone who is interested, here is the website.

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Thanks for the interesting thoughts and links etc. I thought the same in terms of it seems like the dogs will be asked to do too many things in training that they would find difficult to keep pace with. I think in principle it's a good idea for people with mental health problems to have a support dog just as it is for someone with physical disabilities because for those people their condition can also fluctuate and they would possible also be taking medication. Look forward to people's thoughts on PAD UK.

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TBH my first thought was that a dog wouldn't need to be trained to help a person with mental illness. The positive effects of canine companionship on people's health and well-being are well documented. I can see that this takes it a step further though. It is astonishing that (for instance) you can train a dog to detect a panic attack coming on and to intervene to prevent it becoming full blown.

 

From what I read on their website it is a relatively new thing in this country but if you were to contact them maybe they would put you in touch with someone who already has a trained dog. This would help you to make an informed decision.

Edited by ccit

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It is astonishing that (for instance) you can train a dog to detect a panic attack coming on and to intervene to prevent it becoming full blown.
no it isn't :confused: anybody who shows dogs knows that the handler's nerves in the ring travel straight down the lead - the dog always knows what is going on with its human. The majority of them also do what they can to placate in this situation too

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The other concern that I have, which applies to some organisations that train support dogs, not just this one, is the disruption in the dog's lives. My friends have had personal experience of selling their puppies to one of them and they were not entirely satisfied with the welfare. It had a failure rate of in excess of 50% with the result that those dogs who had failed needed to be rehomed. Whether this is because they were buying dogs in rather than having their own breeding programme I do not know. These people have not allowed any more of their puppies to go to this or any other organisation.

Surely a selection process is to be expected, and being an assistance dog requires both skill and reliability which cannot be met by every dog entering ANY training program. The flip view is that only the very best and most suitable dogs are supporting the people who need them

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Strix - this thread was started by Rosa asking for information. Are you able to offer her anything useful?

Rosa - I hope that you find more information about this and also whether an assistance dog might be of use to you. Good luck.

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TBH my first thought was that a dog wouldn't need to be trained to help a person with mental illness. The positive effects of canine companionship on people's health and well-being are well documented. I can see that this takes it a step further though. It is astonishing that (for instance) you can train a dog to detect a panic attack coming on and to intervene to prevent it becoming full blown.

 

From what I read on their website it is a relatively new thing in this country but if you were to contact them maybe they would put you in touch with someone who already has a trained dog. This would help you to make an informed decision.

 

No, the dog might very well already have the inherent skills to be of help to the person, but like guide dogs and other assistance dogs, but they will have to go through the same amount of training, which when my old dog qualified, was 180 hours.

 

Within that training there was mandatory "Environmental Health" training whereby the dog would be proven to not be a risk to health and hygiene when going into a restaurant or a food store, and pose a risk to the food. (simple things like not begging, or scavenging, or going near the foodstuffs)

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This is all very interesting. My partner used to have Guide dogs and agrees that the dog will feel how the owner is feeling by the lead. Apparently you shouldn't work a dog when you are feeling ill with Guide dogs for this reason.

 

My wish is that "Support dogs" trained dogs for mental health patients as I have not seen much in favour of PAD UK.

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Strix - this thread was started by Rosa asking for information. Are you able to offer her anything useful?

Rosa - I hope that you find more information about this and also whether an assistance dog might be of use to you. Good luck.

This is a discussion forum. The correction of misinformation is relevant to a thread

 

Your above post is off topic btw

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Rosa, what is it you are needing an assistance dog to do for you?

 

So far this thread has highlighted that the majority of dogs are capable of some form of 'assistance' through their natural attributes. Would the right pet dog be adequate to assist you with your problem?

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This is all very interesting. My partner used to have Guide dogs and agrees that the dog will feel how the owner is feeling by the lead. Apparently you shouldn't work a dog when you are feeling ill with Guide dogs for this reason.

 

My wish is that "Support dogs" trained dogs for mental health patients as I have not seen much in favour of PAD UK.

 

sometimes Rosa you don't have much option ive had to work fern,ramble & gwenda when i haven't been very well like going to the doctors for instance

but they could always tell when i wasn't very well & would walk slower with me & just let me sleep when i got home :)

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