Our Assistance Dog Waiting List is OPEN

Am I Eligible to Apply?

Assistance Dog Eligibility

Our assistance dogs are specially trained to provide practical support for people with physical disabilities. As a result, we are unable to provide assistance dogs where the primary reason for applying is:

Autism
Dementia
A mental health condition
A condition requiring medical alert, such as epilepsy, POTS, or diabetes

Our Assistance Dog Programmes

To benefit from one of our assistance dogs, applicants must be able to give their dog clear verbal instructions and have the cognitive ability to work safely and effectively with the dog.

Our Assistance Dog Programmes

Task Dogs for Adult Wheelchair Users

Age: 18 years and over

Our task dogs are trained to assist adult wheelchair users with everyday activities, including:

Picking up dropped items
Opening and closing doors and drawers
Fetching everyday objects

If your balance is affected, you must use a wheelchair when walking your assistance dog.

Skilled Facility Dog

Facility dogs work alongside trained professionals to support motivation and participation of clients in a clinical environment. These dogs have trained behaviours to help clients engage with clinicians and work towards therapeutic goals. Facility dogs work with anyone who works with people with disabilities:

Physiotherapists
Occupational therapists
Play therapists
Speech and language
Dentists etc.

Stability Dogs for Children

Age: 6 - 12 years old

Our stability dogs support children whose balance or mobility is affected while walking. They can provide:

Forward momentum
Counterbalance support, similar to the sensation of holding an adult's hand
Assistance navigating uneven ground, steps, and kerbs

Other Programmes

Home Support Dog

Not every dog we train will meet the standards required to become an assistance dog, and not every applicant will be eligible for an assistance dog. These dogs are matched with people whose mobility or cognitive support needs mean they are unable to manage or direct an assistance dog.

The Home Support Dog Program allows us to create meaningful partnerships for dogs that may not be suited to the full demands of an assistance dog role but still have valuable qualities and skills to offer. These dogs are not assistance dogs, and do not have access rights, but provide companionship, confidence, and support in daily life in the home for people with complex physical disabilities and high support needs.

The primary handler of the dog must be a parent or full-time carer of the applicant.

Parkinson’s Dogs

The Parkinson’s dog program is a pilot program run in conjunction with the Neurological Institute in Dublin. It is designed for people diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease whose symptoms include freezing gait.

Our dogs are specially trained to help their partners regulate walking speed and maintain a more relaxed posture and walking pattern.

Looking for Other Assistance Dog Programmes?

If you are not eligible for a Dogs for the Disabled assistance dog, you may be able to find another organisation that meets your needs through the Assistance Dogs International website.

Our assistance dogs are fully trained, adult, large-breed dogs. We currently train Labradors, Golden Retrievers, and Standard Poodles. We do not place puppies with clients.
All assistance dogs are indoor dogs and live with you as part of your household.
Dogs for the Disabled retains ownership of all dogs throughout their working lifetime. This helps us ensure the ongoing welfare and wellbeing of both the dog and the client.
Assistance dogs are living beings with their own personalities. While they receive extensive training, behaviour can change over time. Ongoing training is a normal and important part of having an assistance dog. Clients are expected to continue practising skills and reinforcing behaviours as part of daily life, with support from the DFD team where needed.
As part of the process, the DFD team may visit your home and any relevant work, education, or community settings to make sure the environment is safe, suitable, and supportive for a working assistance dog.

Considerations before applying

We have a very strict policy that no money passes hands for any of our dogs, for any specific child or adult. This is to ensure we retain legal ownership of each dog, which enables us to maintain their welfare and also so that our beneficiaries receive their dog based on NEED and not financial status.