Glossary of Terms
- Assistance Dog: A generic term for guide, hearing, or service dog specifically trained to do more than one task to mitigate the effects of an individual's disability. The presence of a dog for protection, personal defense, or comfort does not qualify that dog as an assistance dog.
- Assistance Dog Instructor: A person affiliated with a program who is recognized by that program as being directly responsible for educating an assistance dog team and/or meeting other educational requirements of the program.
- Assistance Dog Trainer: A person affiliated with a program as being directly responsible for the training and conduct of an assistance dog in training.
- Client: Any individual who is an applicant, student, or graduate of an assistance dog program.
- Facility Dog: 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.
- Hearing Dog: A dog that alerts individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to specific sounds.
- Privately Trained Assistance Dog: An assistance dog trained by an individual who is not affiliated with an assistance dog training program.
- Program: An organization involved in the training of assistance dogs.
- Public Access: The right of a person with a disability to be accompanied by his/her assistance dog in all public accommodations. Public access is granted to the person with the disability, not to the assistance dog.
- Public Access for Assistance Dog Instructors and Assistance Dog Trainers: The ability of an assistance dog trainer to work with a dog in public places in order to replicate rather than simulate real life situations.
- Puppy raiser: A person or family appointed by a program to socialize and prepare a young dog to enter formal training.
- Service Dog: A dog that works for individuals with disabilities other than blindness or deafness. They are trained to perform a wide variety of tasks including but not limited to; pulling a wheelchair, bracing, retrieving, alerting to a medical crisis, and providing assistance in a medical crisis.