There is a great deal of confusion over working dog terms. Facility dogs are professionally trained canines typically serving in medical, educational, and legal environments. This presentation is a comprehensive overview of facility dogs and what they offer to the working professional and their clients.

1. Facility Dogs
Enhancing the Professional Environment One Dog at a Time

2. Definition of a Facility Dog
(Assistance Dogs International)
 A specially trained dog that is working with a
volunteer or professional who is trained by a program.
The work of a facility dog can include visitations or
professional therapy in one or more locations. Public
access is permitted only when the dog and handler,
who is a trained volunteer or professional, is directly
working with a client with a disability

3. Definition of a Facility Dog
(Illinois SB 1389)
 "facility dog" means a dog that is a graduate of an
assistance dog organization that is a member of
Assistance Dogs International.

4. Definition of a Facility Dog
(Arkansas HB1855)
 A "Certified facility dog" means a dog that has:
(A) Graduated from a program of an assistance dog
organization that is a member of Assistance Dogs International
or a similar nonprofit organization that attempts to set the
highest standard of training for dogs for the purpose of reducing
stress in a child witness by enhancing the ability of the child
witness to speak in a judicial proceeding by providing emotional
comfort in a high stress environment;
 (B) Received two (2) years of training; and
 (C) Passed the same public access test as a service dog

5. Facility Dog Definition
(Canine Companions for Independence)
 Facility dogs are expertly trained dogs who partner with a facilitator
working in a health care, visitation or education setting.
Canine Companions facility dogs are trustworthy in professional
environments and can perform over 40 commands designed to
motivate and inspire clients with special needs.
In an educational setting, a facility dog helps engage students in
schools and special education classes.
In a health care environment, activities such as grooming, feeding and
playing fetch with a facility dog can aid patients in medical
rehabilitation and psychiatric programs.
A well-mannered and highly trained facility dog encourages feelings of
calm and security for clients in a visitation setting such as a courtroom.

6. Common Settings for Facility Dogs
 Rehabilitative Settings (Occupational Therapy,
Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy)
 Counseling and Mental Health
 Educational Settings – At risk student populations
 Legal/Courthouse Settings
 Law Enforcement Offices
 District Attorney’s Offices
 Child Advocacy Centers
 Child Advocacy Organizations

7. Who do Facility Dogs Work With?
 We can infer from the definition of Facility Dogs, that
these dogs typically work with vulnerable populations.
These populations may be vulnerable due to
compromised health (healthcare settings), youth
(educational settings), or trauma & adverse life events
(legal settings).
 Because these dogs work primarily with vulnerable
populations, it is important that these dogs are the
safest choice possible for them.

8. Facility Dogs are the Safest Choice!
 Facility Dogs are safe because they are purpose bred.
 Facility Dogs are safe because they have been
intentionally and strategically raised from birth.
 Facility Dogs are safe because they have been
professionally trained and assessed for suitability for
the work by professionals in animal behavior and
training.

9. A Facility Dog is……
PURPOSE BRED
 The DNA of a facility dog is specifically designed to
produce a dog that is low-reactive in emotionally
charged environments. Facility dogs, therefore are
bred for temperament. It is estimated that up to 80%
of a dog’s demeanor can be attributed to its DNA and
breeding. There are vast DNA differences that occur
between different breeds of dogs. For example, a dog
that is highly excitable or is known for aggressive
tendencies, would be a poor match for facility dog
work.

10. Canine Companions for
Independence
 “Our breeding program
staff checks each dog’s
temperament,
trainability, health,
physical attributes,
littermate trends and the
production history of the
dam and sire. Only then
are the “best of the best”
chosen as CCI breeder
dogs.”

11. A Facility Dog is…
INTENTIONALLY RAISED
 Breeder/Caretakers and Puppy Raisers are integral
members of the team that prepare a facility dog for
professional working life. Breeder/caretakers provide
strategic early life experiences to imprint the young
and developing nervous system to be deeply bonded to
humans. Puppy raisers continue this intentional early
life experience by socializing the puppy to a variety of
animals, environments, and people. Puppy raisers are
responsible for teaching the puppy 30 commands in
basic obedience.

13. A Facility Dog is …..
PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED
 At approximately the age of 18 months, puppy raisers
bring their trained puppy to an organization that is a
member of Assistance Dogs International where the
young dog will undergo 6-9 months of daily training
and observation/evaluation by a professional in
animal behavior and dog training. A facility dog
graduates after they are determined to be of sound
health and can pass a public access test which reflects
their ability to be safe in a public setting.

14. Implementing Dogs in the
The Professional Environment
 Requires a professional solution
 “a professional dog for a professional environment”
 Requires behavioral control/exceptional demeanor
 (so as not to disrupt professional work goals)
 Requires safety for all
 Safety for clients, safety and liability protection for
handler and agency/program.

15. A Facility Dog is Not…
 …a service dog.
There is a great deal of confusion in terms of
professional working dogs. A service dog serves one
person with a disability to mitigate the functional
impairment(s) of that disability. Because the training
of a facility dog parallels that of a certified* service dog
people often call facility dogs by their service
counterparts’ name. Also, because the effect of a
facility dog is highly therapeutic, the untrained public
often refers to them as therapy dogs.
* (Next slide)

16. The all-important asterisk*!
 According to the Americans with Disabilities Act a
service animal does not have to be trained by a
professional dog trainer. The law states that the dog
must be “individually trained”. It also states that a
miniature horse can qualify as a service animal.
 Conversely, a facility dog is only a graduate of an
organization that is a member of Assistance Dogs
International. Therefore, the training and
certification of a facility dog are nationally
standardized.

17. A Facility Dog is not…
 …a “career-changed” dog. To use the term “career-
changed” is to infer that the dog failed out of the
assistance dog program. Facility dogs are full
graduates of organizations that are members of
Assistance Dogs International. They must pass the
same public access test given to certified service dogs.
Facility dogs must also report back for periodic re-
assessment of the public access test to ensure that
their training standards are being maintained and that
they continue to be safe in the public setting.

18. A Facility Dog is not….
 …. a “career-changed” dog. The term “career-changed”
is jargon for a dog that was unable to graduate from
professional training due to a variety of reasons. These
reasons may be due to a minor behavioral or health
issue. All facility dog handlers should be able to
produce documentation to show that the dog is a
graduate of an organization that is a member of
Assistance Dogs International, and that the dog is in
current compliance with all recertification
requirements.

19. A Facility Dog is not…
 …a pet therapy dog.
The Delta Society published “American Humane:
Therapy Animals Supporting Kids (TASK) Program”
which outlines the role of therapy dogs in the legal
environment. This manual erroneously states that a
facility dog is another term for a therapy dog (pg. 9). It
is important to note that there are no national
standards that exist for the training of therapy dogs.
Therapy dogs are not certified, rather the dog/handler
teams that pass evaluations are registered as a team.

20. Handler Selection and Training
 The other half of the equation that provides for the
success of the facility dog in a professional
environment is the selection and training of the
handler. In the definition of a facility dog provided by
Assistance Dogs International, it states that the dog is
handled by a trained volunteer or professional.
Organizations that are members of Assistance Dogs
International provide specific training to handlers that
they have carefully vetted and selected to receive one
of their highly trained canines.

21. Handler Selection and Training
 Facility dog handlers are vetted through their own
employers/programs as well. Conversely, Therapy
Dogs International has stated that there is no
minimum age for a therapy dog handler. If a potential
handler is under the age of 18, they must be
accompanied by an adult for the evaluation of the
dog/handler team. (There is no mention that a
handler under 18 must be accompanied by an adult for
therapy dog work.) It also stipulates that the handler
must be “of good moral character” but they do not
outline how that is determined.

22. Safety around children
 Integral to the
professional training of
facility dogs is their
ability to remain calm
and controlled around
young children. The
public access test for
facility dogs requires a
child to approach a dog
and pet it and for the
dog to remain in a down
position.

23. Safety around children
 Therapy Dogs International does not allow contact
with children during the evaluation process. Therapy
Dogs International also does not require that a dog
presenting for evaluation/registration to have taken
any obedience or training classes.

24. The Need for the Highest Standard
 In confirmation of the ADI standards, the US Office of Veterans
Affairs ruled that only dogs from ADI accredited service dog
organizations would qualify for reimbursement for veterans with
physical disabilities. The VA stated that it will only provide
benefits coverage to veterans if the service dog and veteran have
successfully completed a training program accredited by
Assistance Dogs International or the International Guide Dog
Federation. In support of this ruling the VA stated that when
administering service dog benefits, it must ensure that tested
and proven criteria regarding service dog training and behavior
are in place to ensure the integrity of the service dog
benefits administered, and the safety of veterans and
others who might come in contact with the veteran or the
dog. (Courthouse Dogs Foundation – www.courthousedogs.org)

25. Facility Dogs are Professional
Working Dogs
 Certified Facility Dogs can work an 8 hour day/40 hour
work week. The Delta Society recommends that even
a seasoned therapy animal work no more than two
hours per day. The reason for this difference is in the
extensive training and preparation received by a
certified facility dog from birth through beginning its
career. Certified facility dogs have been intentionally
bred and prepared from birth for a professional
working life.

26. Registration vs. Certification
 Therapy dog teams that pass an evaluation by a
therapy dog program (different programs can have
different standards), are certified or registered as a
team. There are no follow up requirements after initial
registration of the team.
 Facility dogs that pass the nationally standardized
public access test administered by a certified evaluator
(Assistance Dogs International) are certified and must
return for follow-up assessments on a periodic basis to
ensure their continued safety in the public setting.

27. “Nomad, our facility dog from
Canine Companions for
Independence is the strong, silent
type. Never ruffled, never upset by
what happens in the forensic
interview room or play therapy
room. Always supportive, always
comforting, always present in the
moment for children who have
experienced the trauma of abuse.”
~ Donna Callis, play therapist
Children’s Advocacy Center of
Bristol and Washington County, VA

28. Ace, trained by ECAD
(Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities)
 “What Ace does best is to
give children someone to
safely love with all their
hearts. He is without
question the best co-
therapist I’ve ever had.”
- Dr. David Crenshaw,
Children’s Home of
Poughkeepsie, NY

29. …For more information -
Canine Companions for Independence www.cci.org
ECAD www.ecad1.org
Assistance Dogs of the West
www.assistancedogsofthewest.org
Courthouse Dogs Foundation www.courthousedogs.org
Assistance Dogs International
www.assistancedogsinternational.org