Breed dogs for therapy dogs for care homes, hospitals and hospices? 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 therapy dogs for care homes, hospitals and hospices
A therapy dog in the UK is almost always somebody’s own pet. There is no market in ready-trained therapy dogs: volunteers take their temperament-assessed dogs into care homes, hospitals and hospices through charities that assess, register and insure the visits. This page explains how therapy dog volunteering works, who runs it and what to look for in a puppy you hope might one day become a care home visiting dog or hospital therapy dog.
What this work involves
A volunteer and their dog spend an hour or two with residents or patients, stopping for a stroke and a chat. In NHS hospitals, Pets As Therapy visits are coordinated through each trust’s Voluntary Services team, and hospitals and hospices set their own infection-control and risk rules. Therapy Dogs Nationwide says some volunteers give an hour a month, others an hour a week.
The dog performs no trained tasks. What matters is temperament. Pets As Therapy’s assessment looks for dogs that enjoy being stroked and handled, walk on a relaxed lead, take treats gently, recover quickly from a sudden noise and are happy having their paws, ears and tail touched; jumping up, pawing and licking are common reasons for deferral. The volunteer’s job is to read their dog, keep sessions comfortable and stop if the dog shows signs of stress.
Who trains and supplies these dogs in the UK
Nobody supplies a trained therapy dog. Two national charities assess owners and their pets as a team.
Pets As Therapy (registered charity 1112194 in England and Wales, SC038910 in Scotland) has thousands of volunteers visiting hospitals, care homes, schools, prisons and workplaces. To become a PAT dog, your dog must be at least a year old, have lived with you for at least nine months, be vaccinated, wormed and flea-treated, and eat a diet free of raw meat, raw bones, raw chews and unpasteurised milk. An accredited assessor meets you in a public place for an assessment of about 45 minutes. Volunteers complete online safeguarding training and pay an annual £25 contribution towards administration and third-party insurance. Hospital and school visits are free; care homes pay PAT an annual registration fee once visits begin.
Therapy Dogs Nationwide (registered charity 1167622) accepts dogs over nine months old that have lived with their owner for at least six months. It says no special training is needed, though it recommends reaching the standard of the Royal Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme Bronze award, or equivalent, before assessment. Its volunteers visit care homes, hospitals, hospices, schools, prisons and coroners’ courts, pay a £30 annual subscription and are covered by public liability insurance with a £10 million indemnity limit.
The breeder’s part comes earlier: producing a sound, sociable puppy and starting its socialisation well. The owner trains the dog and the charity assesses it.
Breeds and lines
There is no breed requirement. Therapy Dogs Nationwide says size, breed, pedigree or crossbreed and rescue background are immaterial, and judges each dog on temperament. Pets As Therapy accepts pedigrees and crossbreeds but cannot accept dogs listed under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Breeds known for a steady, people-focused nature, such as Labrador and Golden Retrievers, are an obvious starting point; Cavalier King Charles Spaniels offer gentleness in a manageable size; and many Greyhounds are calm and quiet indoors.
Temperament is partly inherited and partly shaped by rearing, so look at the parents and at how the breeder raises the litter. Health matters too, because a dog in discomfort will not enjoy being handled. Ask whether both parents meet the Royal Kennel Club Health Standard for the breed.
What to ask a breeder
- How do both parents behave with strangers, and can I meet the mother?
- Have any dogs from this line been assessed as Pets As Therapy or Therapy Dogs Nationwide visiting dogs?
- How are puppies handled (paws, ears, tail and mouth) and introduced to unfamiliar sounds and equipment such as wheelchairs and walking frames?
- Do both parents meet the Royal Kennel Club Health Standard for the breed?
- What are the puppies fed? Pets As Therapy does not accept dogs on a raw diet, although Therapy Dogs Nationwide does.
- Will you stay in touch while the dog matures to assessment age?
Legal and welfare notes
Therapy dogs have no special legal status and no access rights under the Equality Act 2010, which protects disabled people, including those who rely on trained assistance dogs. A therapy dog visits by invitation, under the charity’s assessment, rules and insurance, and each care home or hospital can set its own conditions. The owner remains responsible for the dog’s welfare throughout, including rest, water and the freedom to end a visit; Pets As Therapy expects volunteers to take a break or end a visit if their dog seems stressed, tired or unhappy.
Frequently asked questions
How do I become a PAT dog volunteer?
Apply online to Pets As Therapy once your dog is at least a year old and has lived with you for nine months, with vaccination records and two referees who are not family. An accredited assessor meets you both; if you pass and complete safeguarding training, you are registered, insured and can start visiting.
Can I buy a trained therapy dog?
The UK’s visiting-dog charities do not sell dogs; they assess volunteers’ own pets. There is no official UK register or certificate for therapy dogs, so treat any ‘certified therapy dog’ for sale with caution.
Does my dog need special training?
Not formal training, but it needs good everyday manners: walking nicely on a lead, not jumping up and accepting handling calmly. The Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme is a useful benchmark.
Are you a breeder whose puppies have gone on to become registered visiting dogs? List your breeding on caninebreeder.co.uk and tell families about your temperament work, socialisation and health testing. We don’t certify therapy dogs, but we help owners find breeders whose dogs show the aptitude for it.