Resources

Standards and Best Practices in Animal-Assisted Interventions

• Standards of Practice in Animal-Assisted Interventions (Pet Partners)
• Competencies for the Ethical Inclusion of Therapy Animals and Facility Animals (AAAIP) ​
• International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO)
  • IAHAIO White Paper: Definitions for Animal Assisted Intervention and Guidelines for Wellness of Animals Involved

• Animal Assisted Services International  (AASI)

  • Definitions (AASI)​

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Dog Training Resources - Positive Training

• American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior Position Statement on Humane Training

• Force Free DC (Northwest DC) 

• Your Dog’s Friend (Rockville, MD) -- training classes, free webinars, list of local positive trainers 

• Fur-Get Me Not (Arlington, VA)

• Comeback Dog Behavior and Training (Falls Church, VA)  

• WOOFS! Dog Training Center (Arlington, VA)

• How to Train Your Dog With Love and Science by Annie Grossman

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​Teaming with Your Dog in Animal-Assisted Interventions

• Heeling House (Sterling, VA) -- offers preparatory classes for therapy dog work

• Teaming With Your Therapy Dog by Ann R. Howie

• Therapy Dogs Today: Their Gifts, Our Obligation by Kris Butler

• The ABC's Of Hershey the Reading Therapy Dog Meet PAL Hershey and join him as he prepares for a school visit!

 

Professional Development in Human-Animal Interactions (HAI) and Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI)

• Association of Animal Assisted Intervention Professionals

• American Psychological Association-HAI section - (free to join)

• Institute for Human-Animal Connection

• Human Animal Bond Research Institute

• Society for Companion Animal Studies

 

Dogs and Our Relationships With Dogs

• Inside of a Dog and other materials by Alexandra Horowitz, scientist, author, audio storyteller, and Senior Research Fellow at the Dog Cognition Lab at Harvard

• Your Dog's Not Broken (and neither are you) -- podcast

• Bones Would Rain From the Sky - Deepening Our Relationships With Dogs by Suzanne Clothier

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Canine Body Language

• Understanding Canine Communication: iSpeakDog.org — Educational resources focused on canine body language, stress signals, behavior, and communication.

• (Webinar: Your Dog's Friend - The Language of Dogs)

• Canine “consent test,” aka “Does Your Dog REALLY Want to be Petted?”

• Calming Signals - The Art of Survival​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• Good Dog! - Kids Teach Kids About Dog Behavior and Training by Evelyn Pang & Hilary Louie

• Pet, Pat, Pause - teaching kids (and adults) how to greet a dog

• Doggie Language  by Lili Chin - Award-winning book introducing dog body language

• Animal behavior resources from artist Lili Chin

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Humane Education

• RedRover offers a training program and curriculum to be used in classrooms to teach children empathy and compassion for each other and animals

• HEART provides humane education resources for teachers and communities

 

Additional therapy dog groups

• AKC Recognized Therapy Dog Groups

• Alliance of Therapy Dogs - nationwide

• National Capital Therapy Dogs, Inc - Washington DC, Baltimore, eastern MD, southern VA, Delmarva region

• Pets on Wheels - Maryland

• Pet Partners - nationwide