Bowlers raise money for assistance dog training

February 29, 2024

On Thursday, February 22, Oberon RSL Women's Bowling Club hosted Defence Community Dogs. It was a demonstration of the training and capabilities of dogs trained as Assistance Dogs for serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members who need physical and emotional support for mood, depressive and anxiety disorders.

To quote DCD, "Defence Community Dogs provides highly trained Assistance Dogs to Australian Defence Force Veterans. Trained in specific tasks to support mood, depressive and anxiety disorders including Post Traumatic Stress."

The program was developed in 2014 and is an initiative of the Defence Bank Foundation. The dogs are trained by prison inmates and handed over to the veterans when fully trained, which can take almost a year. Once the dogs are ready, the veterans go through an eight-day handover during which they develop a rapport with the dog and learn how to control and interact with it.

"We've seen veterans who were almost afraid of the dog on the first day but become best friends a week later," said an unnamed trainer. (As the trainers are all serving prison inmates their names can't be revealed or their faces photographed.)

"The scheme is great for everyone involved - the dogs get good homes to go to, the veterans who get to keep the dogs get a companion who will look after them, and we trainers get something useful to do while we serve out our time."

The program is a win/win/win scheme - the inmates get a purpose to life rather than just waiting until they finish their sentences and go home, the dogs, who are all rescue dogs and often come out of difficult environments, get trained and looked after, and the veterans get a companion and the motivation to change. "Some of these men wouldn't go outside at all," the spokesman for the trainers said, "but they have to take the dogs for a walk every day."

All the dogs are rescued Labradors. "We could train any dog to do what these dogs do," Alison from Defence Community Dogs said. "Because people associate the breed with guide dogs and other assistance animals, there is rarely any problem getting the dogs into public transport or taxis. Other breeds could cause confusion or the need to go through the process of producing documentation."

The program is a marvellous way of helping veterans with difficulties, while simultaneously helping prison inmates and the dogs themselves. Truly a win all round.

One "trick" the dogs do impressed everyone. They are trained to react to tics and actions that could signify stress or anxiety, such as hand wringing or excessive foot tapping. When the dogs see this they react to calm the handler by gently putting a paw on the relevant part of the handler's body. As these tics are often involuntary, the action by the dog warns the handler that something is wrong.

The Oberon RSL Women's Bowling Club chooses a charity each year to support, so as well as seeing a display of very well trained dogs in action, money raised on the day became a donation of $2,500 to DCD to support the good work they do.

More information about Defence Community Dogs can be found here, and any ladies who might like a friendly game of lawn bowls can contact the Club through their Facebook page.

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