Training dogs to work with people

VOLUNTEERS: Riley Cull with Lyra (left), Merania Donne with Anya and Sandy de Kock with Nadia. PICTURE / PAUL BROOKS

Volunteer Whanganui is recognising two volunteers of the month with awards for February and March.
Riley Cull and Sandy de Kock are volunteers with Kotuku Foundation Assistance Animals Aotearoa (KFAAA).
They were nominated by Merenia Donne who formed the foundation in 2006.
Each receives a certificate, a volunteer badge and a $40 voucher from Mud Ducks cafe.

"The point of this is to say that without volunteers the world would pretty much stop," says Sandra Rickey, Volunteer Whanganui manager.

Also present were two Borzoi bitches — Nadia with Sandy and Anya with Merenia and with Riley was a German Shepherd called Lyra. Borzoi is a breed of Russian hunting hound.
The Borzoi breed has a huge aristocratic history behind them, says Sandy, who is also well known in Whanganui as an artist.
"They have been used successfully overseas as assistance dogs, as mobility dogs because they're big enough for you to lean on. We are the first people in New Zealand doing this with Borzois," says Sandy. Sandy has four dogs at home — two greyhounds and two Borzois. She has had Borzois since the 1980s when she lived in South Africa.

The women accept that dogs instantly attract attention but they say while a dog is in training they discourage people coming up to pat them.
"Dogs can suffer from overload," says Sandy.

Kotuku Foundation dogs are trained to assist people with mobility issues and PTSD. The dogs are supplied by reputable breeders.
"You can train these dogs for PTSD and things like that but it's invaluable if they demonstrate they've got that intuitive edge, that they already instinctively know what they should be doing," says Merenia.
Assistance dogs are allowed most places, with a few exceptions like sterile areas (hospitals) and zoos.

The three women agree that taking on the training of assistance dogs also involves educating the public who often don't understand why some people, especially those showing no obvious disability, find a dog necessary for their wellbeing.

Kotuku Foundation will also train privately owned dogs.
One of the first dogs they trained was a Siberian husky owned by a woman with type 1 diabetes.

Riley is a vet nurse and she is training Lyra, a German Shepherd.
"Lyra is 20 months old and I've had her since she was eight weeks old," she says. She had recently moved from Auckland with her husband and two children. "I contacted Merenia and asked if there is anything I can help with ... we talked about how there could be a German Shepherd puppy that I'd be interested in fostering. She's part of the family but we will have to let her go at some point when she has finished her training. We're trying to match her up with someone at the moment."
KFAAA has been working with the RSA so Lyra could find a home as companion for an RSA veteran.
"It will be so rewarding to see her make such a difference to someone," says Riley.
"We would like more of our dogs to go to veterans," says Merenia. "There's a lot of them out there for whom it would be life transforming."

Riley, Merenia and Sandy stress that fostering and training an assistance dog involves a lot more than just owning a "pet".
"When she was really little it was so important to get her out there in as many different situations as possible. We'd be going up elevators, into buildings, meeting children, older people, people wearing hats ... you do have to put time and effort in," says Riley.
"It's a huge responsibility," says Sandy.
"Dogs love a job, and some dogs do some jobs better than others."

The dogs undergo a general training programme and then, depending on their strengths, are matched up with a person they can help.
KFAAA has a total of 25 volunteers, ready to be called upon when needed.