Breed dogs for animal-assisted therapy and community dogs? Advertise here
Buyers and trainers use this page to find breeders whose lines do this work. List your kennel free, tick the industries your dogs work in, and advertise litters and stud dogs from proven working lines.
No breeders are listed here yet, so the first profiles get the page to themselves.
- Free basic profile: your breeder or company name, website, social media, location, breeds and industries.
- Litters and stud dogs advertised in their own sections, never mixed with puppies for sale.
- Premium showcase for your services and prices, previous customers, awards, video, gallery and health certificates, with your phone and email shown to buyers.
- Sponsored articles about your breed or industry, written and published by our team.
- Featured placement at the top of this page, labelled as sponsored.
Is it free to advertise here?
Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.
Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?
In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.
Is my listing already here?
We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.
About animal-assisted therapy and community dogs
An animal-assisted therapy dog works with a trained handler in planned sessions with clear goals, alongside clinicians, teachers or social-care staff. In the UK this work is also described as animal-assisted intervention or animal-assisted services, and a well-known example is the community dog. This page explains how it differs from a therapy dog visit, who runs it, and why community dogs are not dogs you can buy.
What this work involves
A therapy dog with handler visiting a care home offers comfort and company. Animal-assisted intervention goes further: sessions are designed with a practitioner around a person’s goals, such as motivation during rehabilitation, communication for someone with a learning disability or engagement for someone living with dementia. Depending on the aim, the dog might be groomed, walked, given cues or simply sat beside.
Because the work is structured and repeated, the dog must be highly reliable, the handler trained to read both the dog and the setting, and sessions planned so the dog is never overloaded.
Who trains and supplies these dogs in the UK
Dogs for Good (registered charity 1092960 in England and Wales, SC039828 in Scotland) runs a Community Dog programme in which its dogs work alongside the charity’s own handlers and practitioners, in partnership with local services. Sessions are based on Animal Assisted Services and tailored to each person’s goals. Settings the charity describes include young people’s mental-health services, social care for adults with learning disabilities, a school supporting grieving pupils, a stroke rehabilitation unit at Inverclyde Hospital and dementia support in England and Scotland, delivered in Scotland with Alzheimer Scotland. Dogs for Good breeds its own puppies and also takes donated and purchased puppies from breeders; its community dogs work with the charity’s handlers and are not available to buy.
Pets As Therapy volunteers offer a lighter-touch service: visits by assessed pet dogs to hospitals, care homes and other settings, providing company rather than goal-directed therapy.
Internationally, Animal Assisted Services International (formerly Animal Assisted Intervention International) publishes standards of practice and competencies and offers accreditation for practitioners in this field.
Some therapists and practitioners work with their own dogs. In that case the practitioner, not the breeder, is responsible for the dog’s training, assessment, insurance and professional standards.
Breeds and lines
Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and Labrador x Golden Retriever crosses are frequent choices, as in assistance-dog programmes. Dogs for Good’s puppies are mainly Labradors, Golden Retrievers, working Cocker Spaniels and their crosses, and the charity requires parents to have good, below breed-average results under British Veterinary Association health schemes.
For a practitioner buying a puppy to train for sessions, the same principles apply: calm, biddable lines, strong health results, and parents that are relaxed with strangers and with handling.
What to ask a breeder
- Have dogs from this line worked in assistance, community or therapy roles?
- Are both parents’ hip and elbow scores below the breed average under the BVA schemes, and what are their eye and DNA results?
- How do the parents respond to wheelchairs, walking aids and unpredictable movement?
- How are puppies introduced to handling, grooming and being approached by several people?
- Will you advise which puppy best suits structured work, and take the dog back if it proves unsuitable?
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between animal-assisted therapy and a therapy dog visit?
A visit offers informal comfort and company. Animal-assisted therapy is planned with a professional around a person’s goals, with progress reviewed over several sessions.
Can I get a dementia therapy dog for a family member?
Community dogs work with their handlers rather than living with families. Dogs for Good’s dementia assistance dog service is currently available only in Scotland, and it runs dementia workshops, with Alzheimer Scotland, for families who have or want their own pet dog. Visiting-dog charities also go into care homes.
Can a breeder sell a community dog?
No. Community and dog-assisted intervention dogs are trained and handled by charities or qualified practitioners. A breeder can supply a well-bred puppy, but not a trained intervention dog.
Do dogs from your breeding work alongside handlers in community or therapy programmes? List your breeding on caninebreeder.co.uk and describe your health results, temperament and any history with charity programmes. We don’t certify intervention dogs, but we help practitioners and families find breeders whose dogs have the aptitude for this work.