Owner-Assisted Training
Owner Assisted Training (OAT) for assistance dogs is where we work with you to train your own pet dog to become an Assistance dog for yourself or someone in your household.
Instead of receiving a fully trained dog, the owner works closely with the trainer to teach the dog specific skills tailored to their individual needs, such as retrieving items, providing mobility support, or alerting to medical conditions. OAT can be a more flexible and cost-effective alternative to traditional programs while still ensuring the dog meets the standards required for public access and assistance work.
This is offered both online and in-person to ensure we can fully meet the accessible needs of our clients. Online sessions may be beneficial for those who are too far from a trainer for overly frequent in-person training, having a bad health day/period but still wish to continue training at home or want advice.
Our Hubs are located in the following areas:
- Peterborough/Huntingdon, England
- London, England
- Gloucestershire, England
- Birmingham, England
- Nottingham, England
- Leicester, England
- Sheffield, England
- Dorset, England
- Hereford, England
- Cardiff, Wales
- Dublin, Ireland
Membership options & Testing.
Please note, you will need to undergo our eligibility assessment prior to joining a membership. You can do this by filling out the form under 'Register Today'.
Basic Membership - £15/month
For our confident handlers:
- Required to visit a hub 1x/year
- Includes 2 hours in person training
- Text check ins 1x/month
- Membership perks
Bronze Membership - £22/month
- Required to visit a hub 2x/year
- Includes 4 hours in person training
- Includes 4x 30 minute online checkins/year
- Text check ins 1x/month
- Membership perks
Silver Membership - £40/month
- Required to travel to hub 3-6x/year
- Includes 6 hours training in person
- Includes 6 hours online training
- Text check ins 1x/month
- Membership perks
Gold Membership - £50/month
- Required to travel to hub, event or training day 4-12x/year
- Includes 12 hours in person training
- Text check ins 1x/month
- Membership perks
Graduate Membership - £5/month
- Required to visit a hub 1x/year for their annual PAT resit
- Text check ins every 3 months
- Membership perks
Yearly resit - £25
Once your dog has become fully qualified, they will need to take an annual retake Public Access Test to ensure they still meet the legal standards of an Assistance Dog.
Public Access Test - £60
Public Access Test assessed in person once. Examiner will choose the criteria on the day.
Resits £25
Frequently asked questions
Here are some common questions about our memberships.
Membership Perks - included in all memberships
- Access to bi-weekly educational webinars,
- Access to online academy with on-demand educational and tutorial videos which is consistently being added to,
- Access to online resource including email templates, educational booklets, etc,
- Access to access issue support,
- Access to our community WhatsApp group,
- Ability to use Canine Allies branded gear (after passing a Public Access Suitability Assessment).
Members on any membership can purchase additional sessions if they would like extra sessions on top of what is included in their membership. This allows for flexibility to get the best out of your membership and training.
- 1 hour in person session - £35
- 30 minute online session - £10
- 60-90 minute in person group class - £25
- Intensive Day Train (3hrs) - £90
All members will need to undergo a 'Public Access suitability assessment' to begin Public Access and wear any Canine Allies branded gear.
The basic membership has the lowest level of support for our confident handlers, with progressing levels of support up to the gold membership where you get support every month. If you are unsure what may be best for you feel free to email us at info@canineallies.co.uk for a chat.
Yes, you can stack hours. For example on our gold membership, you can travel to a hub only 4x a year and do 3 hour sessions each visit totalling 12 hours at the end of the year. Similarly, you can travel to a hub 3x a year for 2 hours each time on the silver membership. As long as the total hours remain the same, you can stack them however fits you best.