Glossery of terms

A

Accreditation: the recognition of a program or institution that maintains standards of professional practice

Animal Assisted Activities (AAA) are most often conducted on a volunteer basis by people and animals (usually dogs), which have received at least introductory training and preparation for visitation in social institutions for motivational, educational and/or recreational reasons.

Depending on the amount of training these people have received, some are also qualified to advise institutions and coordinate their AAT/AAE programs with remuneration

As a membership category of AAII (Animal Assisted Intervention International), AAA  refers to an organization that participates in activities in which a specially trained dog-handler team is an integral part and which provides opportunities that are recreation & leisure based. AAA is provided in a variety of settings, may be group or individual in nature and may be implemented for persons of any age. Professionals, semi-professionals, and/or animal handlers all who are specially trained by an organization and meet the minimum standards set fourth by AAII may deliver AAA. Teams who provide AAA may also participate in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) or Animal Assisted Education (AAE) when the team is working directly with a healthcare or social service provider, as long as they abide by the AAT standards of practice

Animal Assisted Education (AAE): goal-directed interventions designed to promote improvement in cognitive functioning of the person(s) involved and in which a specially trained dog-handler team is an integral part of the educational process. AAE is directed and/or delivered by a licensed/degreed (or equivalent) professional with education, and specialized expertise and within the scope of education. AAE may be provided in a variety of settings, may be group or individual in nature and may be implemented for persons of any age. There are specific educational goals for each individual involved and the process is documented and evaluated

Animal Assisted Handler: a person who has been trained to handle dogs that have already been trained for AAA, AAT, or AAE

Animal Assisted Interventions: term encompasses various procedures that are goal-directed and targets the specific aspects (developmental, therapeutic, emotional, behavioral …) of individual or groups of people involved in working with trained animals. It is conducted by animal-handler team, by meeting the standards of the competent organization

Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT): goal-directed interventions designed to promote improvement in physical, social, emotional and/or cognitive functioning of the person(s) involved and in which a specially trained animal-handler team is an integral part of the treatment process. AAT is directed and/or delivered by a licensed/degreed (or equivalent) healthcare/human service professional with education and specialized expertise and within the scope of practice of his/her profession. AAT may be provided in a variety of settings, may be group or individual in nature and may be implemented for persons of any age. There are specific goals for each individual involved and the process is documented and evaluated. This is a type of Animal Assisted Intervention

Animal Assisted Therapy Team: see Team

Animal instructor: someone who teaches animals how to handle when being involved in AAI

Applicant: a person or an institute who applies for AAI service

Assessment: measurement of performance

B

Begging: in the case of dogs this relates to dogs seeking attention from a person in hopes of obtaining food

Board: Board of Trustees or Directors

C

Canine Assisted Activity (CAA): an activity in which a specially trained dog-handler team is an integral part and which provides opportunities for motivational, educational, recreational, and/or therapeutic benefits to enhance the quality of life of the person(s) involved. CAA is provided in a variety of settings, may be group or individual in nature and may be implemented for persons of any age. CAA may be delivered by professionals, semi-professionals, and/or animal handlers all who are specially trained by the program. This is not a goal-directed intervention.

Canine-Assisted Intervention (CAI): goal-directed interventions designed to promote improvement in physical, social, emotional and/or cognitive functioning of the person(s) involved and in which a specially trained dog-handler team is an integral part. CAI is directed and/or delivered by a professional with specialized expertise and within the scope of practice of his/her profession. CAI may be provided in a variety of settings, may be group or individual in nature and may be implemented for persons of any age. There are specific goals for each individual involved and the process is documented and evaluated. Canine-Assisted Education (CAE) and Canine-Assisted Therapy (CAT) are forms of Canine Assisted Intervention.

Canine Assisted Education (CAE): goal-directed interventions designed to promote improvement in cognitive functioning of the person(s) involved and in which a specially trained dog-handler team is an integral part of the educational process. CAE is directed and/or delivered by an educational professional with specialized expertise and within the scope of practice of his/her profession. CAE may be provided in a variety of settings, may be group or individual in nature and may be implemented for persons of any age. There are specific goals for each individual involved and the process is documented and evaluated. This is a type of Canine-Assisted Intervention.

Canine Assisted Therapy (CAT): goal-directed interventions designed to promote improvement in physical, social, emotional and/or cognitive functioning of the person(s) involved and in which a specially trained dog-handler team is an integral part of the treatment process. CAT is directed and/or delivered by a health/human service professional with specialized expertise and within the scope of practice of his/her profession. CAT may be provided in a variety of settings, may be group or individual in nature and may be implemented for persons of any age. There are specific goals for each individual involved and the process is documented and evaluated. This is a type of Canine-Assisted Intervention (CAI).

Chip: electronic tag used in order to identify a dog.

Clients:
• an applicant for a skilled home companion dog for an individual
• a care facility involved in the AAI programs
• or the individual persons (usually within the care facility itself) involved in the AAI programs.
Community: members of the public who may come into contact with an assistance dog in public places.

D

Dog Instructor: a person affiliated with a program recognized by that program as being directly responsible for educating a human-dog team and/or meeting other educational requirements of the program.
Dog/Animal Support Trainer: a person who has skills and knowledge in the area of training animals/behavior modification for engagement in Animal Assisted Activities (AAA), Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), or Animal Assisted Education (AAE).

Dog’s waste: feces; excrement

E

Emergency alarms: these include sounds such as fire alarm, smoke alarm, carbon monoxide alarm, burglar alarm etc…
Evaluation: assessment, the careful appraisal and study of something to determine its feasibility or effectiveness at meeting its goals and objectives

Evaluator: measurer of performance of a program or organization

F

Facility: a building or place that provides a particular service to people who are in need for special care, e.g. a hospital, an elderly home etcetera

Facility Dog: a specially trained dog that is working with a volunteer or professional who is trained by a program. The work of a facility dog can include visitations or professional therapy in one or more locations. Public access is permitted only when the dog and handler, who is a trained volunteer or professional, is directly working with a client with a disability

G

Gentle Leader: see Head Collar

H

Human-Animal Intervention: see Animal Assisted Intervention.
Human-Animal Intervention Specialist: a person who has been formally educated about disability, animals, and the interactions between the two.

Halti: see Head Collar.

Handler: person trained and evaluated with a dog in order to assess ability and suitability for involvement in AAI programs. A handler can be part of a residential skilled home companion dog team for an individual or of a social dog visiting team.

Head Collar: humane head halter worn by dog to minimize pulling. Various versions exist, for example Halti; Gentle Leader

I

ID card: identity card.
Individual Skilled Home Companion Team: See Skilled Home Companion Dog Team.
Instructor: someone who teaches people how to handle when being involved in AAI (Animal Assisted Interventions)

J

Jacket: coat, vest or cape worn by assistance dog for purpose of identification

K

L

M

N

Neutering: refers to both spaying of bitches and castration of male dogs.

Named person: Name of the person in charge of the intervention programme. This person should be qualified as a human healthcare practitioner or social service provider. See also Fields and Criteria

O

Organization: any group that trains residential social dog teams or social dog visiting teams. An organization may incorporate a number of “programs”, for example a program dedicated to training service dogs as well as a program dedicated to training social therapy, facility or therapy dogs

P

Participant/Client: any individual who is an applicant, student, or graduate of an assistance dog program.
Personal files: records relating to clients, volunteers or staff, including application forms, interview forms, medical evaluations, etc.

Practitioner: a person who has successfully passed testing for their professional education in the areas of human and/or animal.
Primary Membership Category: this is the category for which membership is recognized according to the primary scope of work. The membership fee is based on this category, and may be individual or organizational in nature. This is the area for which an organization representative or individual member may have voting rights.
A Professional is an individual/organization that is experienced and skillful in their field, maintains a practice of at least minimum standards and participates in continuing education.
Program: an organization involved in the use of animal assisted activities, animal assisted education, animal assisted therapy, and/or animal training for professional services.
Program Dog Trainer/Handler: a person affiliated with a professional program that maintains dogs specifically for ongoing AAA, AAE, and AAT, and is directly responsible for the training and conduct of an assistance dog in training.

Public places: places where the community members will come into contact with an assistance dog, including streets, shops, markets, restaurants etc…

Public Access: the right of a person with a disability to be accompanied by his/her assistance dog in all public accommodations. Public access is granted to the person with the disability, not to the assistance dog. Public access is not included for AAI-teams, per se.

Q

R

Residential Social Dog: a dog who is permanently placed in a home or care giving facility to provide therapeutic benefits. A trained designator facilitator is required to oversee and supervise the activities and care of the dog. The dog is trained and evaluated with a handler that is able to guarantee the safety and well being of the dog and to assist the interactions with the dog

S

Screened: tested; assessed; checked.
Secondary Membership Category: this is the category for which the organization or individual has an interest, but may not be the primary scope of work. For a nominal additional fee, an individual or organization may select this as a secondary membership category, but may not have voting rights for secondary membership category.
Skilled Home Companion Dog Team: dog and human handler team that is trained and evaluated for suitability and capability for involvement in AAI programs, normally in a home setting. The dog is prepared for a particular individual with a disability and for involvement in AAI programs with this individual. The dog is trained and evaluated with a handler. Normally the individual for whom the dog is prepared is not able to handle and care for the dog without assistance from the handler, usually a close family member or care giver that is able to guarantee the safety and well being of the dog and to assist the individual in interactions with the dog.
Social Dog Visiting Team: dog and handler team that is trained and evaluated for suitability and capability for involvement in programs of AAI. The dog is usually owned by the handler/organization prior to the start of the training and evaluation process.

Standard: a set of rules defining the quality of the program.

Student: a person undergoing training or studies.
Support system: family; friends; caretakers, etc…

T

Task: this is a trained behavior that the dog does on cue (or command) to mitigate its partner’s disability. The cue can be verbal, a hand signal, something in the environment and/or some behavior exhibited by the partner or another person. Examples of a verbal cue could be “take it” and a hand signal could be pointing at an object to indicate to the dog to retrieve it. A cue in the environment might be a strap on a door, a car in the road or an alarm clock ringing. The behavior of a person could be falling to the ground, hand shaking, or emitting odor of low blood sugar.

Tattoo: identification code tattooed onto ear/leg/stomach of dog.

Team: a handler-dog team that has successfully passed training and evaluation.
Therapy support dog: a dog that has been trained for Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) and can be included in AAA, AAT and/or AAE programs.

Trainer: a person who trains animals for special abilities

U

V

W

Welfare: physical and emotional health

X

Y

Z

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