Although breed provides useful information about likely physical and behavioural characteristics, it should never be the sole basis for selecting an assistance animal. Successful assistance animals are selected because of who they are as individuals, not simply because of the breed to which they belong.

Within every breed there is considerable variation in temperament, confidence, sociability, resilience, motivation, health and learning ability. Two littermates raised in the same environment may demonstrate very different behavioural characteristics and ultimately follow very different life paths.

For this reason, experienced assistance animal organisations often describe breed as determining probability, while individual assessment determines suitability.

Selection should therefore focus on identifying the individual animal whose characteristics best align with the intended role, the person’s occupational needs and the long-term welfare of both members of the partnership.

Temperament

Temperament refers to an animal’s relatively stable behavioural tendencies that remain reasonably consistent across different situations and throughout life. While learning and experience influence behaviour, temperament provides the foundation upon which training is built.

An assistance animal should demonstrate a temperament that supports calm, reliable and predictable behaviour across a wide range of environments.

Desirable characteristics commonly include:

• confidence without recklessness
• curiosity without impulsivity
• sociability without excessive excitement
• emotional stability
• resilience following unexpected events
• willingness to engage with people
• ability to recover quickly after being startled
• behavioural flexibility
• low levels of fear and anxiety
• appropriate motivation for training

No assistance animal is expected to be perfect. Instead, the goal is to identify individuals whose natural behavioural tendencies make success more likely while maintaining excellent welfare.

Health and Physical Soundness

Even an exceptional temperament cannot compensate for significant health concerns.

Prospective assistance animals should undergo comprehensive veterinary assessment before entering advanced training. Early identification of congenital disease, inherited conditions or structural abnormalities prevents unnecessary investment in dogs unlikely to enjoy long, healthy working lives.

Assessment may include:

• comprehensive physical examination
• orthopaedic assessment
• ophthalmic examination
• cardiac examination where appropriate
• breed-specific genetic testing
• assessment of gait and movement
• body condition
• hearing assessment where indicated

Animals experiencing chronic pain, significant mobility limitations or progressive disease are unlikely to enjoy the demands of assistance work and should not be expected to perform roles that compromise their welfare.

Behavioural Suitability

Assistance animals require more than obedience. They must demonstrate behavioural characteristics that enable them to work safely in complex, unpredictable public environments.

Selection should consider whether the individual consistently demonstrates:

• calm behaviour around unfamiliar people
• appropriate responses to other animals
• confidence in novel environments
• recovery following sudden noises
• willingness to learn
• ability to settle quietly
• appropriate social behaviour
• low levels of aggression
• low environmental reactivity
• emotional resilience

Behaviour should be evaluated across multiple settings and over time rather than during a single assessment.

Red Flags

Some behavioural characteristics significantly reduce the likelihood that an animal will successfully complete assistance training.

Examples include:

• persistent fearfulness
• unpredictable aggression
• severe separation distress
• inability to recover following startling events
• chronic anxiety
• extreme environmental sensitivity
• compulsive behaviours
• excessive prey drive that cannot be safely managed
• inability to relax in public settings
• significant resource guarding

The presence of one or more behavioural concerns does not mean an animal has failed. Many such animals can live rewarding lives as companion animals or participate successfully in other activities. Ethical practice recognises that not every animal is suited to assistance work.

Motivation and Trainability

Successful assistance animals generally enjoy learning and interacting with people.

Animals demonstrating appropriate motivation often:

• seek interaction with their handler
• engage willingly in training
• recover quickly after mistakes
• show curiosity rather than avoidance
• display persistence when solving simple problems
• enjoy positive reinforcement

Extremely high motivation is not necessarily advantageous. Animals with excessively intense working drive may struggle to relax during prolonged public access work or become frustrated during periods of inactivity.

The objective is not to identify the most driven animal but rather one whose motivation matches the intended assistance role.

Matching the Animal to the Person

Selecting the right assistance animal involves matching two individuals rather than identifying the “best” animal.

Factors influencing compatibility include:

• the person’s disability and functional goals
• occupational roles
• home environment
• family composition
• activity levels
• transport requirements
• existing animals
• financial capacity
• grooming ability
• cultural considerations
• sensory preferences
• future lifestyle changes

For example, a confident, energetic young adult may benefit from an assistance dog with moderate working drive, whereas an older person with limited mobility may be better matched with a calmer, lower-energy individual.

The best assistance animal is therefore the one whose characteristics complement the person’s everyday occupations while supporting both welfare and long-term partnership success.

Rescue Animals and Purpose-Bred Animals

Excellent assistance animals may originate from purpose-bred breeding programs, ethical breeders, shelters or rescue organisations.

Purpose-bred assistance programs generally achieve higher success rates because breeding, early socialisation and health screening specifically target traits associated with assistance work.

However, many rescue animals also possess the temperament, resilience and behavioural stability required for assistance work.

When considering rescue animals, additional information regarding previous experiences, behavioural history, health status and temperament may be incomplete. This does not preclude success but often requires more comprehensive behavioural assessment before commencing advanced training.

Selection should therefore be based on the individual animal rather than assumptions about its origin.

When an Animal is Not Suitable

Not every animal is capable of becoming an assistance animal.

Recognising when an animal is unsuitable represents ethical practice rather than failure.

Continuing to train an animal experiencing fear, chronic stress, pain or behavioural difficulties simply because substantial time or financial resources have already been invested risks compromising both animal welfare and client outcomes.

Where an animal is unlikely to succeed, early career change is often the most humane decision. Many animals transition successfully into companion homes, sporting disciplines, therapy work or other roles better aligned with their individual characteristics.

Ethical assistance animal programs prioritise the welfare of the animal above the desire to complete training.

Occupational Therapy Considerations

Occupational therapists should recognise that selecting an assistance animal is fundamentally a process of matching the right individual animal with the right individual person. While breed, age, sex and appearance provide useful background information, successful partnerships depend upon temperament, health, behavioural suitability, motivation, resilience and compatibility with the person’s occupational needs.

The occupational therapist’s role is not to select the animal independently but to clearly define the functional outcomes the assistance animal is expected to support and collaborate with appropriately qualified assistance animal professionals, veterinarians and breeders throughout the selection process.

Ultimately, successful assistance animal partnerships are built by respecting both human needs and animal welfare, recognising that sometimes the most ethical decision is to acknowledge that an individual animal is simply better suited to another role.