Public Access Information

Standards for Public Access Rights

The standard any dog must achieve to qualify for public access rights is set by Assistance Dogs International (ADI), a coalition of dog training organizations worldwide. Assistance Dog UK is a member of ADI and set the standards for the UK. ADUK recommend that an assistance dog can as a minimum, perform the following when out and about with their owner:

Getting out of a vehicle in a controlled manner.
Entering through a doorway in a controlled manner.
Staying within six feet of the owner
Dealing confidently with distractions
Dining with the owner in a restaurant

Eligibility for a Public Access Test with TDT UK

We adhere fully with the standards set by ADI and ADUK. To pass a public access test with TDT UK in addition to the above requirements you will require:

Behaviour Training to a High Level:

Our course provides easy to learn online video-based dog training tutorials to help you achieve the necessary behavioural training for your owner-trained dog.
You will have access to all the required dog training criteria at your fingertips, allowing you to work at your own time and pace until you and your dog feel confident to take the public access test if you meet the eligibility criteria.

Eligibility for Public Access Rights:

You must be eligible for public access rights with your dog.
This eligibility is dependent on providing evidence of a legitimate diagnosis from a certified healthcare professional, such as a GP or medical consultant, and/or evidence of a benefit entitlement such as PIP or DLA (UK Benefits).

Dog's Age, Health and Temperament:

Your dog must be a minimum of 18 months old, fit and healthy and we would recommend dogs are fully retired from the demands of Assistance Dog work at the age of 8 years.
We will assess your dog's temperament to ensure suitability for being in public places, checking that your dog is not stressed or unhappy in public environments or when in contact with other people or dogs.

Task Performance:

Your dog will need to demonstrate the ability to perform three tasks in addition to the required training behaviours (see point 1). Your dog must not show any signs of stress when presenting the behaviours and tasks and should undertake them willingly without any force or undue persuasion from you.
Our course will coach you on various useful tasks to help in your daily life and for presentation (3 only required at your public access test).
In addition we will also check that your dog is able to:
Politely greet other dogs and humans when instructed to do so.
Toilet in appropriate places or when instructed to do so.
Be left with another person if necessary for a short time.
Be left alone without feeling stressed or unhappy for short periods in the car.
Walk in a controlled way on a loose lead and be aware of his/her surroundings in public places.

Be called back to you when called, on and off lead.

Ethical and Force-Free Training Methods:

We will ensure that your training methods are ethical and force-free and that you do not use any aversive training methods or equipment. We only recommend using a flat collar and flat lead, a body or a guide harness.
Food, praise, toys and stroking your dog can all be used as rewards for tasks that have been completed, no punishment or physical restraint is acceptable. Lures are used when training your dog but all tasks must be completed without luring.

Other Considerations

We will advise you on gaining the necessary public liability insurance as well as recommending annual public access assessments for your dog.

A certificate is issued to you Family Dog - Foundation Training for Assistance dogs as documentary proof of eligibility for public access if you pass the TDT UK Public Access assessment with us – you must meet the criteria for eligibility.

Identity documentation, dog coats, lead sheaths are available to you when you have passed the public access assessment. These are available at an additional cost.

N.B At the present time our public access tests are conducted by our UK based Trusted Trainers. The team who are located across the UK are fully qualified canine trainers/behaviourists delivering ethical and force free training programmes.

The charge for the public access assessment with TDT UK is between £65.00 and £100 depending on your location. You must have completed our Family Dog - Foundation Training for Assistance Dogs course fully to arrange the test.

There is a full Public Access Test check list as used by our training team for you to download in Chapter 6 of the online course to help you understand the test fully.

When you have fully completed the course, we will write to you regarding arranging a Public Access Test. As long as you are eligible and meet the criteria above we will be happy to arrange a test with us or one of our TDT UK Trusted Trainers across the UK or another organisation if this is deemed more appropriate for your circumstances or location. *Please note: we do not train or test UK banned breeds or breeds who cannot obtain UK insurance*

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Public Access Information

Standards for Public Access Rights

Getting out of a vehicle in a controlled manner.

Entering through a doorway in a controlled manner.

Staying within six feet of the owner

Dealing confidently with distractions

Dining with the owner in a restaurant

Eligibility for a Public Access Test with TDT UK

We adhere fully with the standards set by ADI and ADUK. To pass a public access test with TDT UK in addition to the above requirements you will require:

Our course provides easy to learn online video-based dog training tutorials to help you achieve the necessary behavioural training for your owner-trained dog.

You will have access to all the required dog training criteria at your fingertips, allowing you to work at your own time and pace until you and your dog feel confident to take the public access test if you meet the eligibility criteria.

You must be eligible for public access rights with your dog.

This eligibility is dependent on providing evidence of a legitimate diagnosis from a certified healthcare professional, such as a GP or medical consultant, and/or evidence of a benefit entitlement such as PIP or DLA (UK Benefits).

Your dog must be a minimum of 18 months old, fit and healthy and we would recommend dogs are fully retired from the demands of Assistance Dog work at the age of 8 years.

We will assess your dog's temperament to ensure suitability for being in public places, checking that your dog is not stressed or unhappy in public environments or when in contact with other people or dogs.

Your dog will need to demonstrate the ability to perform three tasks in addition to the required training behaviours (see point 1). Your dog must not show any signs of stress when presenting the behaviours and tasks and should undertake them willingly without any force or undue persuasion from you.

Our course will coach you on various useful tasks to help in your daily life and for presentation (3 only required at your public access test).

Be called back to you when called, on and off lead.

We will ensure that your training methods are ethical and force-free and that you do not use any aversive training methods or equipment. We only recommend using a flat collar and flat lead, a body or a guide harness.

Food, praise, toys and stroking your dog can all be used as rewards for tasks that have been completed, no punishment or physical restraint is acceptable. Lures are used when training your dog but all tasks must be completed without luring.

Other Considerations