Do any of you have some funny, warm, or heart felt stories to tell of your visits?

My Groenendael bitch Lily is a PAT dog and comes to work with me every Friday ( I work in a special school) - we go for walks with those children that are not physically able to access riding for the disabled ( which happens on a Friday ) - she walks really steadily by the side of their wheelchairs and lets them stroke her as she walks. She also will chase her ball and bring it back to them - although some of them  cannot throw it for her themselves they just love it when she drops it in their laps.

She will sit for hours with her head over the arm of their chairs so that they can stroke her  - I have some very Autistic youngsters in the group and although a couple are afraid of her ( and so do not take part) we have had the most amazing responses form some of our most 'locked in' kids - I had one boy who spent most of the day rocking,flicking his fingers and screaming to block out  world he could not understand- he stops completely when Lily visits and will lie quietly next to her just feeling her breathe.

Lily is now 10 and was also a show dog - gaining her stud book number and consistently being graded excellent by continental specialists - unfortunately she has epilepsy in her lines ( although she does not fit herself) so I have not been able to breed from her- I will have to think about retiring her soon - but don't know where I would find another like her -I have 7 Belgians and not one of them has her amazing temperament - PAT dogs are special and if your dog is able to do it then you should give it a go.

Yvonne

The guy who I trained my first dog with trains and works PAT dogs and I wa training him up for this but he died young so I never got involved in this work.  I have two young dogs now and I would like to have then work as PAT dogs at some point and am training them with that in mind. For them I think around the age of 3 or 4 would be ideal because I'd like them to be fully mature. Also I have not put as much work into these two as my last dog because I was all geared up to this before and now take things as they come... so is there any specific training I should be covering if I hipe to do this with them. WE have done all the normal things, obedience socialisation Good Citizen...but I notice you mentioned puting the ball in a lap which we encouraged our last dog to do... ... but this time we've taught ours to put it in the hand ... so tips like that would be great. Thanks. 

I am interested in your work with young people because so far I've only heard of dogs working with elderly and I wondered how welcoming other places are with PAT dogs and how you go about finding somewhere to work them once they've been asessed and  passes their test etc. Thanks.

My older girl has a wonderful temperament loves everyone is extremely friendly .
I have been in touch with our local pat dog rep and have had the pack sent to me  plus the address of the local test centre.
I am planning a litter soon so will wait until later on in the year as I really do think she will be a suitable candidate for it .
She brings our family such joy it would be wonderful to share her with others as she has plenty of loving kisses to share. :)

Roni

My dog is a PAT dog (amongst other things) and she originally went to visit a particular client in a home for the mentally handicapped.  I am proud to say that she managed to convert everyone, including a dear old lady who was terrified of dogs, into people who look forward to her regular visits.

One of mine is a pat dog which mainly does phobic work with kids.  We worked with a girl last year who had been bitten by a dog which had then made her scared of dogs. A few months went past then I received a lovely letter saying thank you we are now getting a dog as she had no fear of them anymore.

my mongrel is a pat dog and all i can say is that it is wonderful seeing the children's faces light up when i go.

I think its wonderful to think of all the good an animal does in helping people. some really nice stories, heartwarming.