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.
The Power of Involving Incarcerated Individuals in Assistance Dog Training Programs
Published Tuesday, September 5, 2023 | by Samantha Jagt
The practice of engaging incarcerated individuals in the care and training of animals is not a new trend. Involving incarcerated individuals in the training of assistance dogs yields multifaceted benefits that extend to inmate handlers, prison staff, non-participating inmates, and the broader community. Numerous correctional facilities now collaborate with programs that breed, raise, and train assistance dogs, fostering benefits that reach far beyond individual participants.
Paths to Positive Partnerships: looking forward to the 2023 ADI conference
Published Monday, July 31, 2023 | by ADI
With the 2023 conference less than two months away, excitement is building here at Assistance Dogs International! It’s been seven long years since we last met in Europe, so this year’s event in Zagreb, Croatia, promises to be extra special.
Technology in Training: Harnessing the Power of Remote Treat Delivery Systems
Published Thursday, July 6, 2023 | by Haley Gorenflo
Delivering effective rewards to assistance dogs after task completion can be challenging, necessitating innovative solutions for timely and precise reward delivery. With the advent of technology, remote treat delivery systems have emerged as invaluable tools in assistance dog training.
Tools for Social Media Success
Published Tuesday, June 6, 2023 | by Stephanie Colman and Tara Doherty
Guidelines for Member Program Volunteers
What are social media guidelines, why are they important and what factors should you consider when drafting guidelines for your assistance dog program?
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.