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Welcome to Good Karma Assistance Dogs
Our Mission
Good Karma Assistance Dogs provides specialised support and training for individuals seeking to train their beloved canine companions as psychiatric assistance dogs. We serve clients of all ages and accommodate a wide spectrum of psychiatric conditions, ranging from anxiety to PTSD, we also cater for those who have ADHD and Autism or other neurodivergent disabilities.
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About Assistance Dogs
What is an Assistance Dog?
An assistance dog is a task-trained dog that helps an individual manage their disability. These dogs are protected under the Equality Act 2010, allowing them to accompany their handlers in public places.
It is important to note that an assistance dog is not the same as an emotional support animal or a therapy dog. Under the Equality Act 2010, emotional support animals and therapy dogs do not have the same access rights as assistance dogs.
Furthermore, an emotional support dog differs from a psychiatric assistance dog; emotional support dogs are not trained to perform specific tasks and primarily provide comfort to their owners.
Assistance Dog Registration and Identification
In the UK, there is no official registry for Assistance Dogs. Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) issues a yellow booklet to its members, and some organizations provide identification cards containing legal information for their members. However, these identifications are not mandatory and should not be requested. Owner-trained or privately trained assistance dogs are not required to provide any form of identification.
There have been registrations set up that aim to scam vulnerable individuals, as there is no government-approved registry system for assistance dogs in the UK.
Do I need to get a certificate to have an assistance dog?
Assistance Dogs are not legally required to have a certificate. Organisations and individuals who issue certificates will issue them to show a person will have completed their training, although they’re not legally binding they will help if you’re applying for employment or further/higher education to show that necessary training has been completed, a risk assessment will usually require these.
Certificates outside of organisations are not required to show proof that your dog is an assistance dog. They have no legal binding.
Assistance Dog Laws
An assistance dog is legally protected under the Equality Act 2010 and must accompany their handler or owner in all circumstances.
It is ILLEGAL to harm, maim, or kill an assistance dog, and such actions may result in imprisonment.
Prohibiting the access of an assistance dog is illegal in most situations, with a few exceptions, such as:
- Sterile areas, including kitchens where food is prepared, certain poolsides, and hospital surgery rooms.
- Locations with wildlife that may pose a risk to other animals, such as primates.
The following reasons do not justify prohibiting the access of an assistance dog:
- Allergies to dogs.
- Phobias of dogs.
- Religious beliefs that deem dogs unclean. This applies even during special occasions like Ramadan and Eid; an assistance dog cannot legally be denied access.
To accommodate an assistance dog and their handler, businesses can take measures such as disinfecting areas the dog has entered, conducting appointments via Zoom or Teams, or having someone else attend the appointment on behalf of the individual.
A business can only legally ask an assistance dog to leave if the dog is:
- Fouling or urinating.
- Barking excessively to the point of causing a disturbance.
- Wandering around unattended (note that seeking help is appropriate).
- An assistance dog in training without proof of an access request.
Assistance Dogs in Training do not have legal rights to enter public places without permission, as they are not fully trained until they have completed public access training.
For more information, you can visit the ERHC website by following the link below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Towards the end of 2023 I (the Director and Head Trainer) wanted to become a dog trainer in general, training dogs from all walks of life. Teaching anything from basic obedience to advanced trick training and then moving on to bite work and protection training.
In the beginning of 2024 I decided that this is not something that I wanted to do. Although I’m part of the training community, I didn’t feel like that sort of training was for me.
I am part of the disabled community and most of my friends and followers have or want assistance dogs. Where I live in the UK doesn’t have an assistance dog organisation that is within a reasonable distance for me to travel to with my other commitments outside of this community.
Ultimately I decided to set my own up. After doing a lot of research, reading up on a lot of things to set up an organisation like this I started creating Good Karma Assistance Dogs.
The name was taken from my old training company name and decided that by adding ‘Good’ in the name would show that everyone with a disability deserves some good karma in their lives.
I rallied around, asking friends if they wanted to join me and help me on my journey, I was delighted when they said yes.
We are always expanding our journey and could be on the look out for more trainers in the future. Keep an eye on instagram or Facebook for open vacancies.
Good Karma Assistance Dogs is funded through donations from individuals, and grants from foundations, you can support our mission by donating today.
NO
We are a force/fear free organisation who uses positive methods of training.
We don't allow tools such as:
- prong collars
- ecollars/stim collar/pulse collars and bark collars
- choke chains/Slip leads/martingale collars and Grote collars
- Head collars
All these tools are prohibited from use during any of our training and any of our group meet ups.
We provide our members with a vest featuring the organization's logo. Members are given an "Assistance Dog in Training" vest during their training period. Upon completion of the program, they receive an "Assistance Dog" vest, which doesn't include the "in training" designation.
For those who are only taking the Public Access Test and already have their own vest, an additional organization vest is not required.
If you are participating in our refresher course and already possess your own vest, having the organization vest is optional.
Dogs with dog reactivity are not allowed to join the program due to the unpredictability of their behaviours. This is to keep us safe and the general public safe.
Purely for ethical reasons, we won’t accept applications from dog owners with dogs over the age of 6. Purely because larger breeds tend to retire earlier due to health conditions such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and blindness.
There is no legal requirement to register an assistance dog. Such registration is a scam, they’re set up to take money from vulnerable people. If anyone tells you their assistance dog is registered, they have been scammed. This however doesn’t mean they don’t have an assistance dog. The behaviour of the dog and the training makes the assistance dog.
All our moneys that get given to us whether it’s from a customer becoming a member, a donation or given to us as a grant will go back to our Organisation. We do not profit from the money, we don’t have a payroll to create a wage, all staff members are unpaid and do their jobs entirely voluntarily.
It takes roughly 18 months to 2 years to fully train a dog to become an assistance dog, handlers and trainers put in tireless effort to get their dog where they need them.
While under our Organisation members will not be passed on their public access before 6 months of being a member but we will allow members to go at a slow pace and take their time.
Help Our Cause
Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our goals and help us give independence back to those who need it. Your generous donation will fund our mission.
if you have any question or concerns email at
Admin opening time :
Monday - Sunday
9 am - 10 pm
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