Therapy Work
Our therapy dogs can visit a variety of different settings and offer comfort and support in many different ways.
Schools can book one or both of our therapy dogs to provide a reading to dogs programme whereby children read aloud to the dog in a suitable location in the school. The dog’s presence has a calming effect on children and they will listen without judgement or criticism, which can help children develop literacy skills, build confidence and improve their social skills.
The dog provides comfort, enhances self-esteem, motivates the desire to read and encourages positive social behaviour. In addition, our dogs enjoy performing tricks and will happily engage with pupils who wish to have a go at some basic, fun training activities with the dog. In order to get the dog to understand what they want them to do, the child will need to speak clearly and may need to use body language signals.
This is a great method to help children develop basic fundamental communication skills in a fun way. The dogs are also a great way to teach children about empathy – we can talk about how the dog might be feeling and why they might be feeling that way. Children can get involved in basic care for the dogs such as brushing them, filling their water bowls, putting out a blanket or filling one of their food toys for them. All of these activities can have a calming, focussed effect on a stressed child.
Our therapy dogs can also visit other settings such as care homes, hospices, clubs (for adults or children) and other educational providers.
Please get in touch with us for an informal chat and a bespoke quote based on your needs.
Dog Safety Talks
More people than ever have dogs in their lives, and inevitably there can be conflicts between humans and dogs from time to time. The better understanding we have of dog behaviour and body language, the easier it is to prevent dog bites. It is also essential that we have an understanding of what we should do in the event that we, or someone we are with, is bitten by a dog.
We offer dog safety talks for both children and adults, to help educate people on how to interact safely with our canine friends. These range from simple talks to young children so that they understand how to behave around dogs and gain a knowledge of some basic dog body language which might tell them that a dog is not happy, right up to more complex presentations for adults where we delve more into bite prevention, how to recognise signs that a dog may bite and what to do in the event of a dog attack.
These talks are available to any organisation, including schools, clubs, any business which may involve contact with dogs, universities and self-defence organisations etc. Our talks are very much bespoke and we will chat to you in advance so that we can gain an understanding of exactly what it is that you would like us to deliver. We can also bring along one or two of our dogs as part of the talk, although this is not essential.
Please get in touch with us for an informal chat and a bespoke quote based on your needs.
Events Display Team
Are you running an event and would like to show people what responsible dog ownership looks like? Would you like to encourage members of the public to train their dogs so that they not only enrich their dog’s life but also prevent their dog from becoming a nuisance or danger to members of the public?
We have a team of dog owners with their pet dogs who love to show off what their dogs can do. All of them have attended our classes and take their responsibility as dog owners very seriously. It is important that we raise our dogs in way that they can manage in society without becoming a nuisance or danger to anyone, and our displays promote this idea that any dog (regardless of breed or age) can be trained.
Our displays are up-beat and fun, with some sequences to music, competitions amongst the team and (if you would like this) the opportunity for audience participation. They are entertaining and enjoyable for people to watch. In amongst the fun and camaraderie, is a serious message that we as dog owners need to ensure that we put the work in with our dogs in order to ensure that they are under good control in terms of the law, and actually this very achievable with any dog.
Our displays are flexible and can take place indoors or outdoors and we can work in a variety of different sized spaces. The typical length of our displays is around 20-25 minutes, but we can adjust this if needed. We can just perform one slot during the day, or several.
Contact us for more information.
