If you're interested in contributing material for a blog post or a full blog post, please fill out our form. Please be aware that all blog posts must be educational in nature and no fundraising or promotional posts will be allowed. Members of the public may submit the initial interest form, but blog posts from ADI and ADI members are prioritized over publicly generated posts.
Training Expert Dogs to Thrive with Novice Handlers
Published Thursday, May 18, 2023 | by Miranda Turenne
How to select and train expert dogs to thrive with novice handlers is integral to the work that Assistance Dogs International (ADI) member programs do each day. This selection, preparation, and training involves not just the dog of course, but the handler as well.
Welcome to the family!
Published Monday, May 15, 2023 | by Chris Diefenthaler
It hardly seems possible that it’s a year since I wrote this blog to mark the UN International Day of Families.
Let’s hear it for autism assistance dogs!
Published Sunday, April 2, 2023 | by Chris Diefenthaler
April is a busy time for people with autism and their caregivers - and of course their assistance dogs! As we mark World Autism Awareness Day, World Autism Month and World Autism Acceptance Week, it’s a good time to celebrate the amazing work done by ADI member programs all over the world who raise, train and place life-changing autism assistance dogs.
Canine Companions' White Paper: Poorly Trained Service Dogs – The Impact on Trained Service Dog Teams
Published Wednesday, February 8, 2023 | by Tara Doherty
The immense benefits of task-trained assistance dogs for people with disabilities are physical, emotional and psychosocial. However, in the past decade, the negative impact of poorly trained assistance dogs and pet dogs in public places has been rising, limiting assistance dog users’ ability to fully access those benefits.
Assistance dogs are in a class of their own
Published Tuesday, January 24, 2023 | by Chris Diefenthaler
Facility dogs and therapy dogs are increasingly part of school, college and university life. For most, that’s a positive experience - but the growing popularity of dogs in educational settings makes it all the more important to make sure they are trained to the highest possible standards.
New Year, New Resolutions to Give
Published Wednesday, January 4, 2023 | by Kristina Stanley
When you volunteer to raise an assistance dog puppy, the volunteering becomes part of your life. It’s an easy way to give back to the community even when life is busy.
As international air travel opens up, assistance dogs and their partners must not be left grounded.
Published Wednesday, December 7, 2022 | by Chris Diefenthaler
You probably don’t know it, but today is International Civil Aviation Day, an official United Nations event to
raise awareness of the importance of international civil aviation to social and economic development. After
two years of lockdowns and travel restrictions, the global airline industry is cautiously getting back to
business as usual. Many of us are already making plans for a long overdue holiday in the sun or visit to
catch up with loved ones.
But for many assistance dogs’ users, air travel can be more hassle than it’s worth. A seemingly endless list
of obstacles from dogs not being allowed in the cabin to the bureaucratic nightmare of international pet
passports seem designed to exclude assistance dogs and their partners from enjoying the same access as
the rest of us.
Positive Reinforcement: It's not just for the dogs!
Published Monday, December 5, 2022 | by Haley Gorenflo
In the workplace, management can positively reinforce employees by providing bonuses, raises, verbal praise, recognition, additional benefits, and empowerment.