Connections Program
Co-designed by Happy Paws Happy Hearts (HPHH) and Assistance Dogs Australia (ADA)
Train real life assistance puppies while building real skills, making connections and finding purpose.
The Connections Program is a unique and innovative program offering people with disability, mental health challenges or other vulnerabilities the chance to develop life skills, confidence and independence through the rewarding experience of training and socialising Assistance puppies in training. Participants connect with others, strengthen their communication and teamwork skills, and enjoy being part of each puppy’s journey toward becoming a future Assistance Dog.
The program welcomes people with disability who access the NDIS, SLES or other support schemes; or self-funded.
An Inclusive Pathway to Confidence and Community
What’s involved?
In this 12-week program, participants will join a weekly, small group session where they will learn the foundational skills to train, socialise and prepare puppies in advancing toward their roles as Assistance Dogs, while equipping participants with social and vocational skills that aims to support them on their journey of change.
Connections Program
Why join?
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Hands-on with puppies
Work with adorable ADA puppies as you learn the foundations of animal care and training.
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Skills for life
Build confidence, independence and valuable life-management skills.
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Part of a team
Work in small teams with others who share a similar passion for animals.
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Be part of the journey
Become a part of each puppy's journey towards their future roles as Assistance Dogs assisting individuals with disabilities, veterans with PTSD, and children with autism.
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Have fun!
What you can expect to learn!
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Introduction to Happy Paws Happy Hearts, Assistance Dogs Australia and each other!
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Introduction to learning theories and using games
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Grooming and Handling of puppies
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Nutrition and Feeding
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Canine health assessments - understanding what a normal healthy pup looks like.
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Training games for obedience
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Therapeutic Play and the T-Touch
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Controlled play and training recall
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Simulated public scenarios
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Swapping puppies around to work with new handlers/participants
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Real world excursion to put learnings into practice
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Graduation Week - for participants and puppies!
WHO CAN JOIN?
This program is suitable for participants who are:
aged 12+ with various abilities* and support needs.
located in the Southern Sydney Shire to attend the Waterfall facility or Western Sydney region to attend Orchard Hills
part of the NDIS, SLES or other disability support schemes, or self-funded. We offer flexible payment options (i.e. part private funding and part insurance scheme payments)
interested in capacity building, goal setting, learning specific tasks related to animal care and training, and working in a team!
Places are limited. If you know of someone who might be the “pawfect” fit for our Connections Program, please get in touch as soon as possible to enquire about joining our next upcoming program.
*While our programs and facilities across our Happy Paws Happy Hearts sites and locations are designed to be inclusive and welcoming to individuals of all abilities, we acknowledge that the current setup of the new Connections Program with Assistance Dogs Australia (ADA) at our Waterfall facility in Southern Sydney presents some accessibility limitations. Due to the program’s hands-on nature—requiring participants to regularly enter and exit kennel areas—the experience is unfortunately not yet suitable for individuals who use wheelchairs or mobility devices. Although the training room and general facilities remain accessible, we recognise that full participation in the kennel-based components of the Handle program is essential to the experience. We understand this is not ideal and are actively working towards making future iterations of the program more accessible as we expand our offerings in partnership with ADA.
Program dates
The Connections Program runs in 12-week terms with set start and end dates throughout the year (every 3-4 months), and places are limited. If you enquire while a program is running, we'll add you to the waitlist for the next one.
Session days and times
Our Participant Experience Team will talk you through the session days and times for the next program when you enrol.
Connections Program
Our locations
Waterfall NSW 2233
Orchard Hills NSW 2748
For service providers & referrers
Want to know more? Let's have a chat.
You don't need a participant in mind to get in touch. Whether you're exploring options for the people you support or simply want to understand how Connections works to support participants alongside assistance dogs.
- No participant details needed
- A quick, no-obligation chat at a time that suits you
- Learn about outcomes, funding, referrals and site visits
Fill out this quick form and one of our representatives will be in touch to chat through our programs and answer any questions.
Prefer to talk now? Call 1300 077 984
HEAR FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS
Tails of Connections Journeys
About Assistance Dogs Australia (ADA)
ADA is a national for purpose organisation that trains Assistance Dogs to internationally accredited standards for people with physical disability, severe PTSD and complex autism. Their purpose is to empower connection, inclusion and independence for people with disability and this program allows them to broaden the impact of their dogs.
Puppies in the Connections program will go on to support individuals with physical disabilities, veterans and First Responders with severe PTSD, and children with complex autism. From this, participants will gain foundational skills in animal training while improving their independence, confidence and social skills by working with others in a team.