Pawsitive Squad CIC

Enabling independence, therapy and learning

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Therapy dogs and community assistance dogs

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Our Therapy Dog & Community Assistance Dog Program offers a clear, supportive training pathway for dogs to assist individuals across a range of environments. All dogs begin at the Bronze Award level, where they build essential foundations in socialisation, obedience, handling, and an introduction to workplace-specific therapy concepts—preparing them for safe, responsive, and effective work in future settings.

The Silver Award marks the beginning of formal therapy dog training. At this level, dogs develop targeted therapy skills and begin working in your own workplace, such as a school, clinic, or community space, engaging in canine-assisted activities with clients or learners. We also introduce a structured program of activities divided into four key categories: Teamwork, Sensory & Physical, Life skills, and Nurture. These activities are designed to support a wide range of emotional, social, and developmental outcomes, and the Silver Award can be completed entirely virtually for maximum flexibility.

Progressing to the Gold Award, your dog can become a certified Community Assistance Dog, trained to work alongside you in public spaces and support clients with tasks that promote access, independence, and participation. To ensure consistency with the high standards required for assistance dogs working with disabled individuals, an in-person assessment is required at the Gold level, along with annual reassessments to ensure your dog remains safe, reliable, and capable in diverse environments.

Outcomes and impact

The therapeutic integration of dogs into professional settings—whether in education, healthcare, or allied health—offers wide-ranging benefits backed by a growing body of academic research. Numerous studies have demonstrated that structured human-animal interactions, particularly involving dogs, lead to measurable improvements in psychological, emotional, cognitive, and even physiological outcomes for a variety of client populations.

Evidence-Based Benefits

Reductions in Anxiety, Stress, and Cortisol
Interactions with therapy dogs have been consistently associated with reduced physiological indicators of stress. For instance, a 2020 randomized controlled trial found that children exposed to therapy dogs before anxiety-inducing tasks showed significantly lower cortisol levels than those who did not interact with a dog (Pendry & Vandagriff, 2020).
Improved Emotional Regulation and Engagement
Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) improve emotional regulation, motivation, and participation in therapeutic settings. In occupational therapy contexts, dog presence has been shown to increase social responsiveness and client engagement (Gee, Belcher, Grabski, DeJesus, & Riley, 2021).
Enhanced Learning and Cognitive Outcomes
In school and cognitive therapy environments, children working with dogs showed improvements in attention, reading fluency, and classroom behaviour (Uccheddu et al., 2019). These effects are especially significant for neurodiverse individuals, such as those with autism or ADHD.
Pain Reduction and Physical Benefits
Physical health outcomes are also improved in clinical settings. A study by Marcus et al. (2013) found that patients undergoing joint replacement surgery who spent time with therapy dogs reported significantly reduced pain and required fewer opioid medications.

Testimonial: An OT’s Perspective

“I am a member of Pawsitive Squad; having trained my dog to become a therapy dog for my work as an Occupational Therapist. Heather has been so helpful on this journey and the modules have allowed me to fit my OT knowledge alongside to make the most out of the therapy dog sessions in practice. Heather’s modules are thorough and ensure that each handler understands dog behaviour and welfare which has been extremely important to me also.”

— Rachel, Occupational Therapist

Rachel’s experience reflects the depth of learning and professional alignment our programme fosters. Our focus on ethical training, and tailored canine-assisted interventions enables professionals to deliver impactful services that are fun and effective for the dog and the clients.

Pawsitive Squad is a registered community interest company (non profit organisation) number 1145 1119 (England and Wales)

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