The value of international assistance dog standards

As we celebrate International Assistance Dog Week, Dogs for Good is proud to be an accredited member of Assistance Dogs International (ADI), the global authority in the assistance dog industry.

Founded in 1986, ADI fosters a collaborative global community dedicated to the highest standards of excellence for the assistance dog industry. This is a vital mission as we all strive to do everything possible to ensure the wellbeing of both people and dogs.

Training assistance dogs is a time-consuming, complicated and highly skilled activity - yet not many national governments have clear standards or regulate assistance dog training work, which is why ADI decided many years ago to do something about that to protect the interests of people and dogs. ADI has created a clear set of standards, agreed by member organisations and regularly reviewed, that ensure the needs of the dogs and the people we support are met.

Happy, health dogs are at the heart of everything we do. Ensuring the welfare of our dogs involves giving them the right veterinary and welfare care, encouraging our dog to express themselves, and working alongside the people we support to help them understand the needs of our dogs.

As part of our work involves creating assistance dog partnerships, we have a duty to create a supportive and safe environment where the people we support can to learn to live with their dog. The ADI standards create a brilliant framework for us to do that and cover all key areas including training, dog welfare and wellbeing, client support, administrative support and governance. Being partnered with a dog from an accredited member of ADI means that people can feel confident that they'll get the right support and training to build a thriving partnership with their dog.

The process for creating the ADI standards involves colleagues and volunteers from member organisations and other experts who bring specific skills and knowledge. Once the standards are created, they are turned into an accreditation process - this is led by assessors and gives organisations like Dogs for Good the chance to prove that they're meeting the ADI standards in all areas of their assistance dog work. The ADI assessors’ group is made up of the most experienced assistance dog trainers in the world – all picked for their knowledge of every aspect of assistance dog training and support. Organisations that provide they meet the ADI standards are given accredited status for five years.

Being part of an international assistance dog network means we can share ideas and good practice - helping us to learn and become more effective and efficient. There is a huge amount of knowledge within the ADI membership and the global community is constantly sharing information and ideas that benefit every assistance dog partnership across the world.

As Dogs for Good has developed new services, we've benefited hugely from the experience of other organisations. And we've been able to share our expertise and knowledge too, for example on training assistance dogs to support people with dementia and their carers.

There is a lot to celebrate during International Assistance Dog Week, not least Dogs for Good’s pride in being part of ADI – a global community that is constantly striving to do everything to create life-changing assistance dog partnerships.