Family Therapy Dogs
Important Information: Please Read!
Our Therapy Dog training program is fully booked for the foreseeable future and our waiting list is now closed. If you are in need of animal assisted therapy head to our community project page and please enquire about our therapy sessions, or other ways we may be able to assist.
Kind regards
James
Director
Bale's Buddies Therapy Dogs.
Family Therapy Dogs make such a huge impact to the difficulties surrounding a child with special needs. Our family Therapy Dogs give the parent and child real independence. They also provide a safer environment for the child so they feel more secure at home and in public areas. Our Therapy Dogs can be trained to help with whatever your struggles may be - mealtimes, being safe outside, bedtimes, transitions, behavioural intervention, anxiety distraction, emotional support as well as being the child's/children's best friend and companion. A Therapy Dog can provide life changing support to the whole family. The dog will boost independence and confidence allowing for quality family time. For more information on how a Therapy dog can help a child, check out our Blog all about Therapy dogs! Click here now.
Our Therapy Assistance dogs change the lives of the families they work for. Like all Service Dog teams, every Therapy Dog team is unique, since everyone has differing needs. However, some tasks occur more frequently than others. Learn more about some of the most common Autism Service Dog tasks below
What will my dog be trained to do and how will they support my Child and/or Family?
Below is a list of training aspects that your future Therapy dog could provide (This list is a selection of our most popular areas throughout our training, so it is not limited to)
Anxiety, Stress, Depression support
What do people say?
Louise Ion-Savage
"When working on a project as big as training a family pet to support our child and the rest of the family, Bale's Buddies have been awesome. They truly support you in every way possible and I cannot fault the service they have given us. I would highly recommend Bales Buddies to anyone who is looking for this kind of thing, the variety of training they can give is quite something and its truly eye opening to see the change in our dog along his journey to becoming an assistance dog.”
Alison Belka
“Milo has turned out to be the most amazing and integral part of our Family. He is so intuitive to my son's needs and is a best friend. Bale's Buddies have given us the perfect pal and we couldn’t recommend them highly enough. We feel a lot happier knowing that my son is safer and anxieties are reduced when Milo is around. Thank you Bales Buddies for finding Milo and making him the dog he is and giving our son a best buddy.”
What happens after I have applied?
We already have successful partnerships with more than several schools in Devon, with more wishing to join our programme.
The majority of our schools have their own full time dedicated Therapy Dog and some have visits from our Community School Dogs.
If your school is unable to commit to your own dedicated Therapy Dog, Bale's Buddies can offer hourly or daily Animal Assisted Therapy Sessions.
1.
The process starts with an initial consultation, followed by a full assessment of both the family, child and home to gain an understanding of needs, suitability and options.
2.
If successful, we source a puppy from one of our trusted breeders. We use larger breeds of dogs with great temperaments such as Portuguese Water Dogs (as they have a hypo allergenic coat, to avoid aggravating any allergies), Labradors and Golden Retrievers. Larger dogs allow for aspects of training such as - deep pressure therapy and road safety that smaller dogs simply cannot provide.
3.
The puppy will join the family and then after vaccinations, training begins! Bonding between the dog and the child is a natural process and it becomes unbreakable. As a trainee Therapy Dog they can aid in all aspects of life attending CAHMS, Hospital and Doctors appointments plus everyday activities such as shopping, walks and day trips out! In certain circumstances the dog can also attend School with the child they support.
Training takes approximately 2 years with weekly sessions and reports. The Bale's Buddies team are always on hand to answer queries and progress is measured with regular feedback and assessments.
For more information please feel free to contact us using the form below, by phone, email or via our Facebook page we are happy to answer any questions. We can also put you in touch with one of our current families who would be happy to share their experiences and the benefits they have seen from having a Therapy dog.