We connect wellbeing dogs with communities to improve social and emotional balance.
Leading the Way in Wellbeing Dog Integration
Dogs Connect is a pioneering, evidence-based program that supports communities to ethically and sustainably integrate a wellbeing dog into environments such as schools, community care, aged care, hospitals, justice settings, and emergency services.
Our model isn't about placing a trained therapy dog into your community — it's about co-creating a long-term, trauma-informed program where your dog becomes a valued member of the community. We guide you through every step of the journey — from preparation and training to embedding shared values, consent-based interactions, and structured learning that benefits both humans and dogs.
Every Dogs Connect program is grounded in the Five Domains Model of Animal Welfare, aligned with International Standards for Animal-Assisted Intervention, and shaped by contemporary research in education, canine behaviour, and social work ethics.
Why Dogs Connect?
Founded in Victorian schools, Dogs Connect has now supported over 400 communities across Australia. Schools consistently report:
- Improved attendance and engagement
- Increased emotional safety and connection
- Reduced anxiety and reactivity
- Stronger school culture and a renewed sense of community
This impact is now expanding into aged care, hospitals, prisons, and emergency services — settings where the need for meaningful, cross-species connection has never been greater.
More Than a Therapy Dog Program
We are not a therapy dog program.
We are a community education model that helps people rethink how wellbeing is built, shared, and sustained.
At the heart of Dogs Connect is the belief that wellbeing dogs should not be used as tools, but rather embraced as sentient, emotionally responsive individuals with their own needs, preferences, and rights. We prepare humans to understand this — and to build mutual, respectful relationships that foster growth, empathy, and healing.
How Can a Wellbeing Dog Support My Community?
The presence of a dog, when integrated with structure and understanding, can profoundly shift a community's emotional tone and relational culture.
For Children:
- Enhances emotional regulation and communication
- Increases engagement in learning by reducing self-consciousness
- Supports social learning and prosocial behaviours
For Adults:
- Supports co-regulation during stress or trauma
- Strengthens empathy, leadership, and social connection
- Helps disrupt the escalation cycle and restore relational safety
We continually evaluate and evolve our programs using both qualitative and quantitative data — in collaboration with research teams and independent advisors — to ensure ethical standards are upheld and community impact is measured with integrity.
Benefits of the Dogs Connect Model
Evidence-Informed
Rooted in scientific theory, best practice, and ethical frameworks that prioritise the wellbeing of both dogs and humans.
Connection-Centred
Not just about the dog — but about the connections that flow through your entire community.
Dog-First Approach
Dogs are not visitors or tools. They are active participants, with agency, preferences, and emotional lives that matter.
Supports Growth
Fosters social and emotional development at both the personal and professional level — including curriculum links, reflective practice, and wellbeing frameworks.
Restores Balance
Re-centres relationships, emotional literacy, and authentic human–animal bonds in environments often dominated by stress and disconnection.
Culture
The Dogs Connect program makes your community feel more supportive, connected, positive, nurturing, and welcoming.
Engaging
This program merges the instinctive love that people and animals have toward each other, providing comfort in a modern society rife with stress and anxiety.
Connectedness
Disconnect turns into strong connection on many levels. This connection flows through the entire community, not just through direct interaction with the dogs.
Supports Wellbeing
We help you find opportunities to enable connection and support in an authentic, mutual way.
Enables Growth
We link our programs to strong scientific theory and a wide range of evidence so that personal and professional growth is supported and planned for with confidence and competence.
Restores Balance
We offer in-depth opportunities for learning in order to bring social and emotional balance on a whole community level, as well as a personal level.
How the Dogs Connect Program Works
We tailor every Dogs Connect program to your setting, goals, timelines, and community culture. Our support includes:
- Assessing, sourcing, and selecting suitable canine partners
- Legal and ethical documentation, including risk assessments
- Training and mentoring staff and caregivers
- Whole-community preparation, education, and messaging
- Structuring the dog's day to avoid overwork and ensure balance
- Social and emotional learning content for students and staff
- Ongoing coaching, evaluation, and reflective development
The Dogs Connect Mentorship
Central to our model is The Dogs Connect Mentorship — our guided learning program that supports caregivers, educators, and community leaders to build the knowledge, language, and practical skills required to support a wellbeing dog in their unique context.
This includes structured modules such as:
- Understanding canine communication
- Teaching with consent and choice
- Using positive reinforcement and high-value rewards
- Navigating emotional escalation cycles with dogs and humans
- Creating safe zones and enrichment strategies
- Embedding a dog-centred culture in your setting