Mentoring Frequently Asked Questions

We offer sessions during school hours or after school, whichever suits you best. 

Our flexible mentoring accommodates sessions at school (with the principal's permission), the student's home, or a safe community centre or library.

Canine Comprehension’s Vision is to provide accessible support to young people through dog-assisted learning. ‘Accessible support’ can be understood in our value statement: Flexible Service; if our client's circumstances change, we change with them. 

We hold sessions at homes, offices, community buildings and schools - we go wherever the young person feels appropriate.

If we are attending outside the home, please refer the other stakeholders to our website for information.  They usually need the following information:

Who needs to know the dogs are coming to the school?

Schools should inform their staff when a Canine Comprehension mentor and therapy dog will visit. Our dogs are easily identifiable by their working harnesses, and staff members wear a distinct uniform. It's important to reiterate that our dogs are specially trained, up-to-date with vaccinations, undergo regular health checks, and have comprehensive medical records.

Do you need a staff member to be present in the program?

We require a staff member to be within calling distance. An adult's availability to react if we call on them at each session is crucial for safety and reporting.

We are happy to consult with the school; we will work together to determine the most suitable time and location that aligns with your school's and student's needs. Typically, we require a classroom-sized space for flexible seating arrangements and access to an outdoor area for certain activities. - please pass on our email admin@caninecomprehension.com.au

How does the program fit around our school timetable?

In the booking form, you provide your bell times and three preferences for times that will work well with your timetable, and we will structure programs around this. If your bell times are unusual, don’t worry; we are experienced in this situation and have solutions.

How long does a program run?

Each program has to cover eight sessions, each for 50 minutes.

What do the therapy dogs do in sessions?

The dogs have many jobs.  Their main goal is to be a friendly, calming presence and support young people in connecting and focusing so the mentor can do their job more effectively.  We aim to keep the emotional health and well-being of young people; here are examples of how we use dogs to do this:

• In mindfulness sessions, young people learn breathing techniques by watching a snoozing dog.

• Agility exercises, where young people have to problem solve and effectively communicate to get the dog through the course.

• Games with the dog, where the young person has to work out more robust and weaker motivators for the dog.

• Dog body language study, where young people discuss the zones of regulation the dog may be experiencing.

Our Facebook and Instagram pages are a great source of photos of our sessions - this will give you a better understanding of the dog's role in our work.

Experience the transformative power of mentoring with therapy dogs! Our service fosters confidence, resilience, and motivation for students' learning journey. Highly qualified mentors and friendly therapy dogs conduct personalised sessions tailored to each student's needs.

The therapy dog/student bond is crucial in helping young individuals overcome limiting beliefs and learning-related anxiety while developing resilience, empathy, and positive peer relationships.

Usually 50mins - 1 hour.

$244.00 inc GST, travel, materials etc.

Sessions are invoiced after the session has been completed, or you can pay upfront, whichever is more manageable. 

Our bookings are ongoing to build a trusting relationship with our clients and provide maximum benefit from our sessions. If you want to cease services, please email admin@caninecomprehension.com.au, giving 24 hrs notice.

We work with young people K-12 throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria.

The most straightforward way teachers, parents, legal guardians or caseworkers can access our services is by completing our booking form:

• Individuals

We'd like to hear from you about the specific needs of your young person and are prepared to adapt our sessions and materials accordingly to provide tailored support.

The dogs have many jobs.  Their main goal is to be a friendly, calming presence and support young people in connecting and focusing so the mentor can do their job more effectively.  We aim to keep the emotional health and well-being of young people; here are examples of how we use dogs to do this:

• In mindfulness sessions, young people learn breathing techniques by watching a snoozing dog.

• Agility exercises, where young people have to problem solve and effectively communicate to get the dog through the course.

• Games with the dog, where the young person has to work out more robust and weaker motivators for the dog.

• Dog body language study, where young people discuss the zones of regulation the dog may be experiencing.

Our Facebook and Instagram pages are a great source of photos of our sessions - this will give you a better understanding of the dog's role in our work.

Yes. Canine Comprehension excels in working with neurodiverse children and children with disabilities.  We recognise these students' unique challenges in traditional classroom settings. Research consistently highlights the positive impact of animal interactions on children with disabilities and learning difficulties. Some students with disabilities benefit from the presence of our Canine Comprehension dogs, who assist them in various aspects of school and home life.

Our evaluations and studies have demonstrated that children with disabilities can experience a range of advantages through these interactions, including enhanced cooperation with peers and adults, greater engagement in learning, improved behavioural control, increased social interactions and engagement for children with autism spectrum disorders, improved focus for students with attention deficit disorder, and enhanced academic engagement for those with emotional and behavioural disorders.

Our interactions have been linked to reductions in ADHD symptoms, hyperactivity, impulsive disruptions, and agitated and aggressive behaviour, as well as improvements in attention, coping skills, and a decrease in anger. Canine Comprehension recognises the significance of these findings and is committed to providing tailored, supportive experiences for children with disabilities in educational settings.

Yes, under certain circumstances, We only take on NDIS self-managed clients.

If your NDIS plan circumstances change and you become self-managed, please reconnect with Canine Comprehension to start the booking process.

Please get in touch with us to discuss further.

Yes, absolutely.  You can download all our risk assessments and compliance documents here.

Fear: We pride ourselves on our approachability and dedication to inclusive learning spaces; we have worked with many students who were afraid of dogs and had a ‘toolbox’ of activities to help them manage this particular fear.  If a child is afraid of dogs, we will calmly work on that fear at a pace the child feels comfortable with. We have had great success diminishing the fear of dogs in our students because our dogs are obedient and carefully handled by the mentor. 

Please let us know if the young person may be afraid of dogs and the depth of that fear.  We may arrange a meet and greet where the dog is instructed to drop and stay still, allowing the child to approach the dog in a less threatening environment.  If the fear is more significant, we can discuss ensuring a reasonable distance between the dog and the student.  

Communication is the key here. Let us know, and we will do our best to improve the solution.  In almost all cases, the student with a previous fear of dogs has accepted our dog due to its calm nature and high-quality training.

Allergies: Health concerns are taken very seriously at Canine Comprehension.  Before commencement, we ask the parent/guardian to let us know of any health concerns. Depending on the severity of the health issue, the young person may have to avoid contact, wear gloves, take an antihistamine 15 minutes before we arrive or keep a safe distance.

To limit allergens, dogs are kept extremely clean.  Their teeth brushed, and their claws filed.  They are also wiped down before, during and after sessions. When the dogs do not interact, they lie on a special mat to avoid loose hair falling on the floor.

In rare cases, if the allergy is too significant, we may not be your best-fit service.

At home, you should let those who may be there know. 

If the session is held outside the family home, contacts should inform their staff when a Canine Comprehension mentor and therapy dog will visit. Our dogs are easily identifiable by their working harnesses, and staff members wear a distinct uniform. It's important to reiterate that our dogs are specially trained, up-to-date with vaccinations, undergo regular health checks, and have comprehensive medical records.

We require a parent or guardian to ‘be in calling distance’ during the session at the very least.  Sometimes, the adults like to observe and sometimes participate in the sessions. If the adult cannot be present for the whole session,  that session is stopped.

To create a comfortable and conducive learning environment, we require a quiet room with at least 5m squared space for participants to sit, often on the floor. 

Weather permitting, we may also utilise an outdoor space for certain activities.

Written materials for the sessions will be pre-printed and supplied to the young person during the sessions. Students are encouraged to bring their writing and colouring materials.

We usually start all of our programs in the first week of term.  However, if a mentor is available, we can start any time that suits the client. Our bookings are ongoing to build a trusting relationship with our clients and provide maximum benefit from our sessions. To cease services, email admin@caninecomprehension.com.au, giving 24 hrs notice.

You can book here if you like. Once a booking form is received, we will check for the Mentor's availability. If we have a Mentor available, we will contact you to move forward with finalising the booking.

We'll contact you with other options if we still need to get a Mentor available. These may include adjustment of the time or day or going onto our waiting list.

1. Our confirmation of times will be sent via email with the following information:

Welcome to Canine Comprehension. We are excited to be working with ***********

Your booking time: ***********

Thank you for completing our booking form to have a Mentor and their dog see *********** every week.

We have a Mentor available to see *********** commencing ***********

2. We will also be sure to send you the following forms to be completed by you as soon as possible.

• Learning goals

• Legal Guardian Consent form

3. We will also include the following helpful information:

• Invoicing - Invoices will be sent out weekly after the session.

• Costs - $244.00 per session (inc. GST)

• Cancellation - Canine Comprehension requires a minimum of 24 hours notice. Total fees will apply if the appointment is not cancelled within this time frame. To cancel the session, email admin@caninecomprehension.com.au

• Late arrival - If a student arrives more than 30 minutes late, the session will be forfeited and charged.

• Our bookings are ongoing to build a trusting relationship with our clients and provide maximum benefit from our sessions. To cease services, email admin@caninecomprehension.com.au, giving 24 hrs notice.

• A service agreement will be sent to you in a separate email

• Supervision - An adult or representative must be within calling distance in each session.

• Work area - We require a minimum of 4m x 4m clutter-free floor space

• Pets - If there are any other animals in the house, please have them secured away during the session

4. And finally, information on your mentor and therapy dog, 

• Including a recorded video and photos of the dog.

We welcome it! If you would like to chat about how the sessions will run and any particulars to your needs, please Click here to book an online chat with our CEO, Sarah.

Our mentors and therapy dogs will arrive 5 minutes before your session starts. If, for some reason, they are running late, our admin team will give you a courtesy call to let you know.

To ensure the best experience for our students, we advise punctuality. If a student arrives more than 30 minutes late, the session will be forfeited and charged accordingly. Please arrive on time to make the most of your valuable time with us.

Parking: We have a lot of equipment and will lead the therapy dog. I would greatly appreciate very close parking options.

Collaboration: We love to chat with you about your expectations when we arrive so that we can meet your student’s learning needs.

We've included our all-inclusive prices here.

No. 

For our regional clients, some travel charges may apply.

Cancellation - We understand that there are times when the young person may miss an appointment due to emergencies or other obligations.  Canine Comprehension requires a minimum of 24 hours' notice. Total fees will apply if the appointment is not cancelled within this time frame.

To cancel the session, email admin@caninecomprehension.com.au

Late arrival - If a student arrives more than 30 minutes late, the session will be forfeited and charged.

Firstly, evidence is essential and can be found here.

We believe in Transparent Operations: Accessible Documents for Clients & Stakeholders.

• WorkCover Insurance Certificate of Currency

• Combined Insurance Certificate

• Safe Work Methods Statements (SWMS) 

• Risk in classrooms assessment

• Venue Animal Management Plan

All staff hold a WWCC and can provide evidence when required.

We also suggest taking note of our safety and inclusion statements

• Commitment to Child Safety Statement

• Inappropriate Behaviour Prevention Statement

• Inclusion Statement

• Behaviour Management Statement

• Dog Safety Statement

• LGBTIQ Support Statement

Finally,  by putting in a booking form, we will ask you to list the learning goals you wish us to cover with a young person - this will give us an excellent insight into how we can support your child.