Can I Bring My Dog to Sessions?
As an animal-assisted practice, a question we get all the time is ‘can I bring my dog to my sessions?’ While we’d love to accommodate everyone, and we love meeting new dogs (obviously!) we also have to be considerate of our other clients and the therapy dogs working at the practice.
If you’d like to start bringing your own dog to sessions, please give us a call and we can arrange a Meet & Greet with admin or clinicians, as well as some of our therapy dogs, to get a sense of how you and your dog deal with the people and situations at the practice. Please don’t bring your dog along for a session until you’ve done the Meet and Greet as, if your dog isn’t suitable, we don’t want you to miss your session!
In order for us to consider allowing your dog to attend sessions at our practice, your dog MUST be:
desexed,
vaccinated, with an up-to-date vaccination certificate provided upon request,
in good health, clean, and free from parasites (fleas, worms etc.),
toilet trained, and
on leash or halter at ALL times.
Most importantly, your dog must NEVER have shown aggression to people or other dogs.
Please note that these requirements are not negotiable.
Ideally, your dog will also have at least basic obedience and manners. Preferred training providers include Lead the Way therapy-animal and support-animal training, Alpha Canine Group dog training or Patient Paws dog training. If you and your dog have done training through any of these organisations, it will be much easier for us to approve your dog.
Thank you for your understanding and helping us to keep 12 Points a safe and welcoming space for humans and canines alike!
Mathew Keany
Facilities & IT Manager
