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Providing Assistance Dogs for Special Needs Children

Smart Pups enriches the lives of children with special needs by training and placing quality, task specific Assistance Dogs. This provides increased independence for the children and much needed assistance to their families.

At Smart we train our Assistance Dogs to have the right ‘task specific’ skills to improve the quality of life for children with Autism and Seizure related syndromes.

Smart Pups Assistance Dogs are tested and qualified for Full Public Access.

Welcome to Smart Pups, the Australian organisation providing assistance dogs for autistic children. To date we have well over a dozen such assistance dogs in homes around Australia, and a huge waiting list.

In fact, over 300 families have asked for our help and provide them with a dog. The results to date have proven that the placing of a dog with a family with a child on the autism spectrum makes a huge difference to the family.

A Smart Pup is trained to guide its recipient child through his or her daily routine and acts as a bridge between the child and the rest of the world. Our dogs reduce childrens’ stress levels and increase their daily successes in a variety of ways.This improves the happiness, health and safety of children on the Autism Spectrum or who have Seizure related syndromes. Our dogs change peoples lives for the better. Our dogs are all trained on a reward and game based training program. So to them this job is fun!!!

One of many tasks our dogs are specially trained to assist with is to disrupt behavior outside of the child’s set behavioral pattern. It’s well known that many children on the autism spectrum can “dart away” at shopping centres, parks, in fact, anywhere. Autism Assistance dogs from Smart Pups are trained to track the child as quickly as possible should he or she wader away. Smart Pups can also become “extra help” when out shopping, heading to the park or in any away from home situation through having the child tethered to the dog. While the child is waring a harness and tethered to the dog, the dog will act as an anchor which keeps the child calm and safe. In addition to the skills a Smart Pup offers, their primary purpose is to also be a best friend, confidante and playmate for a child.

It takes around 14 months to train a dog, and costs $25,000, which is why we have a big red ‘Donate Now’ button. We ask for your help to keep this organisation going.