Trading Standards Warning – Training And Supply Of Service/Support Dogs
Blaenau Gwent Trading Standards have recently been receiving complaints from customers who have paid considerable amounts of money for autism support dogs that have turned out to be unsuitable to perform the role of assistance dogs for their autistic /disabled children. This has caused a great deal of emotional upset for the families involved as the dogs have had to be rehomed and the families have suffered financially.
Currently in the UK there are no official qualifications required for assistance dog trainers; parliament is being lobbied in order for this situation to be changed but at the moment the sector is relatively unregulated.
There is a voluntary organisation Assistance Dogs International (ADI) Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) which is made up of registered charities which are affiliated to ADI and train support dogs based on strict guidelines of good practice laid down by the organisations. Trading Standards advise the public that when considering choosing a service dog trainer that they check that the trainer is ADI registered.
If customers decide to enter a contract with a trainer who is not registered then consumers should be on their guard and do as many checks as possible. Speak to previous customers of the business; carry out internet checks/reviews. Do not on any account just rely on customer review information placed on the businesses own website as this information can often be misleading with poor reviews removed.
Service dogs are expensive and require many months of training and it is essential that the right dog is matched with the handler/child. If a trainer is offering a dog that can be trained in a relatively short time period for a very attractive price be very aware of the old saying: “if something seams too good to be true it usually is nottrue.”
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