What Is an Assistance Dog and What Do They Do?

For some people, dogs are more than just cuddly companions, they’re lifelines. They offer independence, confidence and even lifesaving support every single day. Seen a dog in a special harness and wondered what they actually do, whether they’re allowed indoors or if you can say hello? You’re not the only one and we’re here to clear things up about assistance dogs.

What is an assistance dog?

In the UK, an assistance dog is specially trained to support someone with a disability. Unlike pets, these dogs have gone through serious training to learn how to help with specific tasks - everything from guiding someone who’s blind, to helping someone with mobility issues pick things up or even alerting their owner to medical emergencies like seizures. They’re not just well-behaved pooches, they’re working animals.

Are they all guide dogs?

Not quite. While Guide Dogs for the blind or partially sighted are probably the most well-known type, there are several kinds of assistance dogs in the UK. Here are a few:

• Guide Dogs: For people with sight loss.
• Hearing Dogs: Help deaf people by alerting them to important sounds like alarms, doorbells or even a baby crying.
• Mobility Assistance Dogs: Trained to help with everyday tasks like opening doors, picking things up or pressing buttons.
• Medical Alert Dogs: These super-smart pups can detect changes in their owner's body scent to warn them of things like low blood sugar or an oncoming seizure.
• Autism Assistance Dogs: Offer support to autistic people (particularly children) helping with safety, communication and anxiety.

Each dog is matched to an individual based on their needs, lifestyle and personality.

Can someone have an assistance dog for anxiety?

Yes, but it’s not as straightforward as it is with guide dogs or hearing dogs. In the UK, a dog can be recognised as an assistance dog for anxiety if it’s properly trained to carry out specific tasks like interrupting harmful behaviours, creating space in crowds or waking someone from nightmares.

Importantly, the person must have a disability under the Equality Act 2010, which means their anxiety significantly affects their daily life. Conditions like severe anxiety or PTSD can sometimes meet this requirement.

Emotional support dogs vs assistance dogs

In practice, though, it’s more common in the UK for people with anxiety to have emotional support dogs rather than fully trained assistance dogs. Emotional support dogs offer comfort simply through their presence, which can help ease feelings of anxiety and provide a sense of calm. However, the important difference is that emotional support dogs aren’t trained to perform specific tasks to manage a disability. Because of this, they don’t have the same legal rights as assistance dogs. 

Can you pet an assistance dog?

We get it… they’re usually wearing a little harness or vest, they look incredibly well-behaved and the temptation to give them a cuddle is strong. But here’s the thing: when an assistance dog is out and about with their owner, they’re working! And distracting them (even if it’s just a quick stroke) could be dangerous.

So, as hard as it is, it's best to admire from a distance unless the owner says it's OK to interact.

Do they have legal rights?

Absolutely. Under the Equality Act 2010, people with assistance dogs have the right to take them into most public places, including restaurants, shops, taxis and even hospitals. Businesses and service providers can’t legally turn someone away just because they’ve got a dog with them.

Also, while assistance dogs usually wear a vest or ID to show they’re legit, it’s not actually a legal requirement - so don’t assume a dog isn’t an assistance animal just because it’s not in uniform.

How are they trained?

Most assistance dogs in the UK are trained and provided by organisations like:

• Guide Dogs
  
• Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
  
• Dogs for Good
  
• Support Dogs
  
• Medical Detection Dogs

These organisations train the dogs for up to two years before placing them with someone. But it's not just about the dog, there's training for the human, too. They learn how to bond, work together and build a solid partnership.

Some people also train their own assistance dogs (this is called “owner-trained”), although it takes a lot of time, patience and commitment.