Breed dogs for university and student wellbeing 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 university and student wellbeing dogs
Exam season is stressful, and some universities and colleges invite therapy dogs to help. Student wellbeing dogs are not a special breed or a product anyone sells. They are volunteers’ own pets, assessed and insured by visiting-dog charities, and each visit is arranged between the charity and the institution. Here is how university therapy dogs work and what to look for in a puppy that might one day do this job.
What this work involves
A typical visit is a drop-in session in a library, students’ union or other campus space, often timed for exam weeks or the start of term when students may be homesick. Students sit with a dog for a few minutes, stroke it and talk. Sessions are busier than care-home visits, so handlers limit how many people crowd the dog, take breaks and finish early if their dog is tiring.
The benefit is short-term relief rather than treatment: a moment of calm, a conversation starter and a reminder of home. Visits work best alongside a university’s own wellbeing and counselling services, not as a substitute for them.
Who trains and supplies these dogs in the UK
Therapy Dogs Nationwide (registered charity 1167622) lists universities among the places it visits, noting that university life can be stressful, particularly during exam season, and that its visits aim to give students a moment of relaxation. Institutions can request a visit through the charity. Its dogs must be over nine months old, have lived with their owner for at least six months and pass a temperament assessment, and the charity provides public liability insurance.
Pets As Therapy has thousands of volunteers visiting schools, hospitals, care homes, prisons and workplaces, and organisations can register interest in a visit through its website.
Neither charity sells dogs or trains them for owners. The owner raises and trains their own pet, the charity assesses it, and the university agrees the visit and its conditions with the charity. The breeder’s part is producing a sound, sociable puppy with the temperament to cope with a crowd.
Breeds and lines
Any temperament-assessed pet dog can take part. Labrador and Golden Retrievers are often steady in busy rooms, and many Greyhounds have a quiet, gentle manner indoors. Size matters less than tolerance. During therapy dog visits at a university, a dog may be surrounded by several people at once, reached for from different directions and exposed to noise, so a dog that stays soft and relaxed under that pressure is what counts.
Look for lines where both parents are confident with unfamiliar adults and recover quickly from a surprise. Ask whether both parents meet the Royal Kennel Club Health Standard for the breed, because a dog in discomfort will not enjoy being handled by strangers.
What to ask a breeder
- How do both parents react when several unfamiliar adults approach at once?
- How were the puppies introduced to crowds, noise, stairs, lifts and slippery floors?
- Have any dogs from this line become registered visiting dogs?
- Do both parents meet the Royal Kennel Club Health Standard for the breed?
- Which puppy in the litter seems most relaxed with strangers, and why?
Frequently asked questions
Do exam stress dogs really help?
Therapy Dogs Nationwide points to research on the stress-reducing effects of therapy dogs for university students during exam periods. Treat visits as a welcome, short-term break, not a replacement for professional support.
How can a university arrange therapy dog visits?
Contact Therapy Dogs Nationwide or Pets As Therapy to ask about volunteer availability in your area. Expect to agree a venue, timings, a risk assessment and rules for how students interact with the dogs.
Can a student keep their own wellbeing dog in halls?
Only if the accommodation provider allows it. A pet or emotional support dog has no special legal status. Trained assistance dogs are different, and Assistance Dogs UK publishes a guide for further and higher education providers on welcoming students with assistance dogs.
Have dogs from your breeding gone on to volunteer on campus? List your breeding on caninebreeder.co.uk and describe the temperament and socialisation that set your lines apart. We don’t certify therapy dogs, but we help owners find breeders whose dogs have the aptitude for visiting work.