HDT

The Brochure

The brochure is the first result of the project. It is a form of a recommendation for partner countries, indicating the path and suggested measures to improve the quality of services in the area of AAI and the compliance with the IAHAIO standards described in the draft.

The Handbook

The methodology handbook is a collection of documents on the rules of conducting therapy with dogs and a description (with justification) of the methods, which should be applied while choosing and training a dog, who will support the therapy or education process.

The course

Dog assisted therapy and education learning course contains training materials, for teams working in AAT and AAE. It supports handlers on their way to making their job fully professional according to IAHAIO standards.

The aim of this project was

to increase the level of quality of the AAI sector in affiliate countries. In order to achieve this a wide range of actions has been done e.g. a precise diagnosis was conducted to establish the situation and needs of these countries (in the context of reaching the equivalent standard), developed the methodology handbook and the course that help attain skills and knowledge, a campaign was created that helped raise awareness among both therapists and the general public. This started the process of improving the level of services available on the market.

Conference summarizing the project

We organized the event summarizing the project

Around 200 Participants

participants form all over the Europe! Mostly from Poland, but we had guests from the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Romania, Ukraine, Sweden and England.

Great Speakers

it was great opportunity to listen to very experienced speakers – experts in the field of AAI in Europe. We combined different points of view – scientific and practical – to have a holistic view of the interventions. Our speakers are members of IAHAIO, which guarantee high competences. Our goal was also to make the speeches interesting, and our speakers stood up to the task.

Konwleadge Exchenge

The conference was not only the possibility to hear the professional speakers. We are prepared discussion panel that allowed exchange of information, good practises and experiences. Learning from each other is a big value and also very needed part of standardisation.

Helping professionalizing the field of Animal Assisted Interventions is one of the goals of the International Association of Human Animal Interaction Organizations. It is an honor to work with my colleagues in this great project.

Marie-Jose Enders-Slegers, President of IAHAIO and animal lover

As researcher of Antrozoölogy at the Open University of the Netherlands, I combine my background as dog lover, trainer/behavior consultant with the science of the human-animal bond. To develop best practices in AAI for humans and dogs!

Tynke de Winkel, Open University of the Netherlands

I have always been fascinated of the dog-human relationship and for the last years I have had my focus on training AAI-teams. For me the outcome of the interventions really depends on the dynamic between all the participants in the interventions. I really look forward to work with all these great people and hope that the product of this project will be beneficial also for others working in this field.

Line Sandstedt, The Norwegian Centre of Anthrozoology

I am committed to taking care of the welfare of all those involved in AAI. Therefore, I think it is important that the dogs used really like their job and that the dog handlers have competence in what they are doing. I am very happy to be a part of this project, and I hope that the work that will be done will be useful for all those working with dogs in AAI.

Christine Olsen, The Norwegian Centre of Anthrozoology

Dogs are all my life. I want to share a joy, happiness and calmness that they have given me with people in need. And educate people to build true, joyful relationship with their dogs.

President of Animals for People Association

Latest News

Here you can find latest information about our project and some interesting articles

The confernece

The aim of the conference was to promote a good quality standard in AAI. Mostly - informing about the standards of dog-assisted therapy and education. A very important issue raised at the conference was the welfare of working dogs – based on their behaviour and needs.

The blended learning course

The blended-learning course consists of an e-learning part and an extensive stationary course. In training a human-dog team, a direct interaction between the instructor and the trainee is necessary. This allows you to choose the training methods best suited to each team.

The methodology handbook

The handbook contains comprehensive knowledge in the field of therapy and education with dogs - the results of research confirming the effectiveness of this type of classes, and the experience of practitioners gathered in professional advice. An extensive chapter is also devoted to the welfare of dogs based on the One Helth concept. It extends thinking about well-being, draws attention to it as a basic value, which testifies to the high quality of classes.

The brochure

The brochure is intended as a guide to those who want to learn more about the project goals and outcomes like guidelines and stan - dards, recognized and accepted by international and European orga - nizations like International Associ - ation of Human-Animal Interacti - on Organizations (IAHAIO).

The need for standardization

There is a demand for the professional therapists and educators supported by dogs services on the European market and it is still increasing. Because there is a lack of uniform standards for AAI in partner countries, potential employers have a problem with the verification of candidates and often employ unqualified persons.

The summary of the surveys carried out in Poland

The survey was conducted in Poland among people actively involved in the fields of therapy and education. The survey was conducted online and by phone among organizations and individuals. There were 77 dogs' handlers who took part in the survey, 76 of whom actively work with dogs and one person is in the process of preparing the dog for work.