Training centre in the wings

A charity that trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities is building a centre to help its animals get work-ready.

K9 Search Medical Detection is planning the 510 square metre training centre in Cheltenham. It has the resource consent and is ready to go.

Now, it needs to raise $300,000, but it’s made a good start, already having enough for work to begin on the centre’s concrete base, which will be poured later this month.

If it raises enough money the centre could be finished later this year.

Charity chief executive Pete Gifford, who has trained dogs for about 35 years, said the purposebuilt breeding and training centre was a first for New Zealand.

Other organisations tended to work through foster homes.

The charity has just received public access certification from the Department of Internal Affairs for dogs it trained to be classed as disability assistance animals, meaning they can be taken anywhere.

They might help people who were diabetic, had epilepsy or anxiety, and be trained to pick up certain signs.

Gifford said the training centre would help meet a need – similar organisations had a five-year waiting lists for people wanting animal assistants.

People who needed the dogs would apply to the charity and it would see if it could train a dog to help them.

Seven dogs were in training and the charity was about to take on four more puppies.

Assessing if a dog was suitable was not dependent on their breed, rather a dog’s ability to concentrate on its job and not be distracted or fearful.

A puppy could be taken on once they were about a year old, before another four to six months – sometimes up to 12months – of training before they were ready to work.

‘‘After five to seven days you get an idea about whether it’s worth considering,’’ Gifford said.

‘‘We will train the dogs, then we will work with the people to be able to handle their dog.’’

The new centre would include accommodation for people being matched with dogs during their transition periods.

They would then have a threemonth assessment to make sure it was working out and annual reviews, he said.

People can donate to the charity through its website.

DAVID UNWIN/STUFF K9 Search Medical Detection Kelsi Hoggard, with puppy Scarlett (and pictured below). The charity is building a training and breeding centre at Cheltenham.