Ringwood Dogs Isabelle Papé is an approved Helpful Hounds Trainer, specialising in training dogs to become certified Assistance Dogs to support children and young people with a range of conditions who, with their family, would benefit greatly from having the support of an Assistance Dog.
The term “Assistance Dog” is used to describe a dog that works with individuals who experience Autism, Down’s Syndrome, Neurodiversity and emotional issues. In addition, some of the Assistance Dogs work with their child or young person who is physically disabled or requires an assistance dog who can alert them to the onset of a medical situation such as diabetes, Pott’s or epilepsy.
Along with being an accredited dog trainer with the IMDT (Institute of Modern Dog Trainers), Isabelle also holds a Specialist Assistance Dog Trainer qualification with the DTC (Dog Training College) and is an accredited dog trainer with the KAD (Kids Around Dogs). She holds an Advanced DBS Certificate No. 001947583010 and an Advanced Safeguarding Children Certification.
Helpful Hounds Assistance Dogs is a Mental Health Organisation (Registered in England and Wales No.1181017) and is dedicated to empowering children and young people build greater confidence, independence and quality of life. Their objective is to help the child or young person achieve their maximum potential, whether that is educationally, socially or in a work opportunity. My role as their trainer is to guide you through this journey, step by step – using positive, reward-based training methods that build confidence and strengthen the bond between child or young person and their dog. Whether working with an Assistance Dog in training or a family pet at home, I take a calm, structured and compassionate approach to help each dog and their human succeed.
The Families I Can Help
I provide personalised, hands-on training for:
- Families with children and young people who have physical disabilities, such as POTS, Cerebral Palsy and Muscular Dystrophy.
- Families with children and young people who have medical conditions such as diabetes and epilepsy.
- Families with children and young people with developmental, neurodivergent, or anxiety/emotional disorders, such as depression, anxiety, OCD and Tourette’s.
- Families who wish to train their own dog to assistance standards, with professional guidance.
The Helpful Hounds Approach
Every dog and every child and young person is unique. I take a gentle, patient, compassionate and adaptable approach that prioritises:
- The wellbeing and confidence of both the handler and the dog.
- Clear, compassionate communication.
- Building dependable skills through proven, force-free training techniques.
- Making the process encouraging, fun, safe, and empowering.
The Assistance Dog Training Plan
- Assessing your dog’s suitability for assistance work.
- Create structured, achievable training plans tailored to the child and young person’s abilities, personality, lifestyle and goals.
- Teaching foundation and advanced assistance tasks (e.g., grounding, interruption, support behaviours, retrieval tasks, promoting calmness in public).
- Work through the Helpful Hounds 4 levels of progression to become an Assistance Dog.
- Supporting behaviour development, focus, social skills, and public access manners.
- Work towards the final Public Access Assessment test to achieve Assistance Dog Certification and status.
- Ongoing coaching and progress reviews to help ensure long-term success.
Next Steps
To make an appointment or find out more information about Ringwood Dogs based in Three Legged Cross on the Dorset, Hampshire and New Forest border, please visit my “Your Dog Trainer” page or email me via the Contact Me page.
If you would like your dog to become an assistance dog for your child or young person, please get in touch to arrange an assessment, so that I can guide you through the registration process and allocate your family and dog to the training programme.
To find out more about Helpful Hounds, please visit their website https://helpfulhounds.org.uk/.
Isabelle Papé IMDT, ISAP, KAD
Ringwood Dogs, Three Legged Cross on the Dorset, Hampshire and New Forest border.
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