Moment to Paws Therapy Dog Course
Turn your dog’s gift into work that matters.
The complete online course for training your own dog as a therapy dog. Built by a working therapy dog professional, so you finish with real skills, real confidence, and a clear path to certification.
Lifetime access · Five modules · 13 ready-to-use templates
You already know your dog has something special. Maybe it’s the way they lean into a stranger who needs it, or how they settle instantly next to someone having a hard day. This course turns that instinct into a skill: properly trained, properly assessed, properly certified.
You’ll know exactly what to work on, how to tell when your dog is ready, and how to approach a school, care home or workplace with confidence. It’s a clear, structured path from “I think my dog could do this” to a working therapy dog team.
Who is this course for?
This course is for you if:
- You have a calm, friendly, sociable dog and a hunch they’d be brilliant at therapy work.
- You’re already visiting informally and want the structure, skills and paperwork to do it properly.
- You’re a working therapy dog handler looking for a refresher, or a certification to sit behind what you already do.
- You want the confidence, and the credentials, to approach schools, hospitals, care homes or workplaces and be taken seriously.
Got a puppy or young dog?
You can start the course at any age. It’s a great way to build the right foundations early. Your dog just needs to be at least 18 months old before taking the assessments.
An honest word before you start
No course can turn an anxious, reactive or under-socialised dog into a therapy dog. What this one will do is give you an honest, expert view of whether therapy work is right for your dog, and the training to get there if it is. That’s why your Temperament Assessment comes first: you’ll know your dog is suited to the work before you commit to full certification.
Meet your trainer
Hi, I’m Kate, founder of Moment to Paws.
I’m an IMDT-certified dog trainer with a Level 6 Diploma in Applied Animal Behaviour. Through Moment to Paws I run therapy dog sessions across Yorkshire and Manchester, and we’ve worked in care environments, schools, universities and workplaces. Everything in this course comes from that work: what happens on a real visit, with a real dog, in front of real people.
I built this course because almost every day, someone gets in touch to ask how they can start therapy work with their dog, and until now there hasn’t been a clear route to point them to. Now there is one.
Why Moment to Paws?
Written from real visits
Every module is grounded in the professional therapy dog service Moment to Paws runs today, from the risk assessment you complete before you arrive to the way you read your dog’s body language in a busy room.
A certification with real standards behind it
To be certified, your dog passes two separate assessments, a Temperament Assessment and a Training Assessment, carried out against the same detailed criteria every time. Every result is reviewed and confirmed by Moment to Paws, so the badge means the same thing wherever you are in the UK.
Know before you commit
Your dog’s Temperament Assessment comes first, so you get an expert, independent view of whether therapy work suits them before you sign up for full certification. If it does, you carry on with confidence. If they need more time, you’ll know exactly what to work on.
Everything you need to start visiting
The course comes with 13 ready-to-use templates, including a risk assessment, Memorandum of Understanding, consent form, visit log, incident report and safeguarding concern record. You’ll have the paperwork organisations expect before you knock on their door.
Yours for life
Lifetime access to the course, including every future update, so you can come back whenever you need a refresher.
The curriculum
What you’ll learn
Five modules, plus a short Getting Started guide that walks you through how the course and certification work before you begin.
Every module includes written guides and downloadable resources. Module Four adds video lessons, so you can see the training in action, plus behaviour tick sheets to track your dog’s progress skill by skill.
- Module One
The Foundations of Therapy Work
What therapy dog work really involves, the difference between animal-assisted therapy, activities and education, the settings you could work in, and an honest first look at whether it’s right for you and your dog.
- Module Two
Canine Welfare, Health & First Aid
Keeping your dog happy, healthy and safe across a whole working life: health checks, hygiene and infection control, body language and stress, burnout, and canine first aid.
- Module Three
Safety, Compliance & Legislation
The professional responsibilities that come with visiting schools, care homes and hospitals: insurance, risk assessments, safeguarding, confidentiality and data protection, and the relevant law.
- Module Four
Training Your Therapy Dog
Video lessonsThe reward-based training system behind every skill your dog needs, built up step by step and proofed for the busy, unpredictable places you’ll actually visit. This is also where your behaviour tick sheet takes shape and your Training Assessment comes together.
- Module Five
Building a Professional Service
Turning your training into a trusted way of working: choosing your route (volunteering, bringing your dog into a job you already have, or building an independent service), approaching organisations with confidence, and the admin and record-keeping that hold it all together.
How it’s delivered
Learn at your own pace, wherever you are.
Clear written guides throughout
With video lessons in the training module, where seeing each step makes the biggest difference.
Downloadable checklists, templates and tick sheets
Track your dog’s progress as well as your own learning, and keep the paperwork you’ll use on real visits.
A searchable knowledge hub
Every guide and resource in one place, so you can come back to exactly what you need.
Structured and flexible
Modules build on each other, and key content must be completed before you book an assessment. There’s no fixed schedule to keep up with.
Lifetime access
Including all future updates to the course.
Certification
The steps to becoming certified
A clear, two-part path. In-person assessments are carried out by independent, accredited trainers and behaviourists. Moment to Paws reviews every assessment and confirms your result.
- Step 1
Build the groundwork (Modules One to Three)
Work through the foundations, canine welfare and health, and safety and compliance.
- Step 2 · Part one
Book your Temperament Assessment
Once you’ve completed Module Three and your dog is at least 18 months old, get in touch and we’ll pair you with an assessor. This is always done in person by an independent, accredited assessor. It’s a suitability check: is your dog genuinely comfortable with what therapy work will ask of them? This is where you find out whether therapy work is right for your dog, before you commit to full certification. Your assessor sends their findings to us, and we confirm your result with you. Bought the course on its own? You can add your Temperament Assessment at this point.
- Step 3
Train and build your service (Modules Four and Five)
Learn the specific skills therapy work requires, then build a well-run, professional service around them.
- Step 4 · Part two
Complete your Training Assessment
Once your dog’s Temperament Assessment result is confirmed, you can add your Training Assessment and certification. Choose the route that suits you. Online, you submit a video of each skill as your dog masters it during Module Four, so the assessment builds up gradually. In person, we pair you with an assessor for a single session whenever you’re ready. Both routes are judged against exactly the same criteria.
- Step 5
Get certified
Once your Training Assessment is complete, we review everything and confirm your result directly with you. Assessors don’t give results on the day, which keeps every decision consistent. If one or two skills need a little more work, you only resubmit those items. You won’t need to repeat the whole assessment.
- Step 6
Stay current
Your Temperament Assessment repeats every two years, or every year once your dog turns eight. It’s a welfare check, because “is my dog still enjoying this?” is a question worth asking again as your dog gets older. Your Training Assessment doesn’t need repeating: a skill your dog has learned reliably stays with them.
Pricing
Find out if your dog is suited, then get certified
Not every lovely dog will enjoy therapy work, and the kindest thing is to find out early. So you start with the course and your Temperament Assessment. Once it confirms your dog is suited to the work, you add your Training Assessment and get certified. Every assessment price includes the assessor’s fee and our review, wherever you are in the UK. These are our launch prices for January 2027.
Learn, and find out if your dog is suited
We recommend starting with the course and Temperament Assessment together, so the assessment is ready to book once you’ve finished Module Three and your dog is at least 18 months old. You can also take the course on its own and add the assessment later.
Course
Learn at your own pace
£199
Lifetime access to all five modules, the Getting Started guide, 13 downloadable templates and the knowledge hub, including all future updates. You can add a Temperament Assessment later for £135.
Register your interestCourse + Temperament Assessment
Find out if your dog is suited before you go further
£319
Everything in Course, plus your in-person Temperament Assessment with an independent, accredited assessor, so you know whether therapy work is right for your dog before you commit to certification. The assessor’s fee and our review of the result are included.
Register your interestGet certified
Once your Temperament Assessment confirms your dog is suited to the work, add your Training Assessment and complete your certification. You’ll only ever pay for certification once you know it’s the right path for your dog. The price covers the assessment, our review and your certificate.
Online Training Assessment
Submitted by video, skill by skill
£100
Film and upload each skill as your dog masters it during Module Four. Includes one resubmission round for any items that need more work, our review of every clip, and your certificate.
Available on successful completion of Temperament Assessment
In-person Training Assessment
One session with an assessor
£130
A single in-person session with an independent, accredited assessor when you’re ready. Includes the assessor’s fee, our review of the result, and your certificate.
Available on successful completion of Temperament Assessment
Keeping your certification current
Temperament reassessment every two years (yearly from age eight): £135.
Spread the cost
Pay for Course + Temperament Assessment in 3 interest-free instalments. Not sure which to choose? Get in touch
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Temperament Assessment come before certification?
Because it’s the part that tells you whether therapy work is right for your dog. Many lovely, well-trained dogs are happier as family pets than working with strangers in busy places, and it’s far better to know that early. Taking it first means you get an expert, independent view of your dog before you commit to full certification, and clear feedback either way.
When does the course launch?
January 2027. Register your interest and we’ll email you as soon as enrolment opens.
How long do I have access to the course?
For life, including all future updates.
Is there a minimum age for my dog?
You can start the course at any age, and it’s a great way to set a puppy or young dog up well. To take the assessments, your dog needs to be at least 18 months old and to have lived with you for at least a year. That gives them time to mature through adolescence and lets the assessor see the bond between you.
How do I book an assessment?
When you’re ready, get in touch and we’ll pair you with an independent, accredited assessor. We’ll always match you with someone as close to you as we can, but some travel will be needed. Assessments take place away from your home.
Who carries out the assessments?
In-person assessments are carried out by independent, currently accredited UK trainers and behaviourists, such as ABTC-registered trainers and full members of the IMDT, APDT or APBC. Moment to Paws reviews every assessment and makes the final decision.
What happens if my dog isn’t ready yet?
That’s useful to know, and it’s a decision made with your dog’s wellbeing at heart. You’ll get clear feedback on what to work on. For the Training Assessment, you only redo the specific skills that need more work. Because the Temperament Assessment comes before certification, you’ll find this out before you’ve committed to the Training Assessment.
What do I need for the online Training Assessment?
A phone camera, your dog’s usual equipment, and for one item, a friendly adult your dog doesn’t know well who’s happy to be filmed. Full filming guidance is included in the course.
Do I need insurance?
If you’re visiting as a therapy dog team, yes. Module Three explains the cover you’ll need and how to arrange it.
Still have questions? Get in touch
Your dog already has what it takes. Let’s make it official.
The Moment to Paws Therapy Dog Course opens in January 2027. Register your interest and we’ll email you as soon as enrolment opens.
Have questions? Get in touch