Guide dogs and assistance dogs at campsites

Közzététel dátuma:

(Matt Seymour/Unsplash)

We love our four-legged friends here at Pitchup but we know that assistance dogs are not pets and thousands of people rely on them for independence and confidence.

In the UK, under the Equality Act 2010, it is illegal to discriminate against an assistance dog user by refusing access, even where your site may have a no-pets or no-dogs policy.

Businesses could find themselves discriminating against guide dog users by:

  1. Having a no-dogs or no-pets policy that does not make an exception for assistance dogs users, and refusing a person with an assistance access to their premises

  2. Charging assistance dog users more to use their service than other customers – for example, additional cleaning fees

  3. Requesting that a guide dog user sits in or occupies a different area to other visitors or customers

Assistance dogs can only be denied access in exceptional circumstances* – for example on medical grounds or in a medical setting. 

The Equality and Human Rights Council guidance surrounding assistance dogs, states that ultimately only a court can determine whether a refusal of service is unlawful and such a determination would be highly dependent on the specific facts and circumstances of the particular case.

We encourage all Pitchup sites to welcome all assistance dogs even where their site rules may be 'no dogs', and assistance dogs should not incur additional charges.

Where possible we encourage sites to welcome assistance dogs a with water station and, if there is a suitable area available, to let their owners know where they can exercise their dogs on site.

Everybody should be aware of assistance dog user rights, so be sure to familiarise your team with the requirements of the Equality Act and ensure staff are available and able to support assistance dog owners to have a great time holidaying on your site. 

What are assistance dogs and guide dogs?

In the UK, assistance dogs, often also called guide dogs, must fit the legal definition included in the Equality Act 2010.

In the Equality Act, assistance dogs are those which have been highly trained to:

  • Guide a blind or visually impaired person

  • Assist a person who is deaf

  • Assist a person who has a disability that affects their mobility, such as epilepsy 

  • Assist someone with another disability such as autism, or a mental health condition such as bipolar disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder 

Assistance dogs are usually trained by a charity – usually one accredited by Assistance Dogs UK – although sometimes they can be trained by individuals. 

Assistance dog behaviours

Guide dogs undergo thorough training to support their owners, and are calm and well-behaved in public, with safe and reliable temperaments. 

Assistance dogs have regular health checks and vaccinations so they do not present a hygiene risk, and are fully toilet trained. They can support their owners with numerous tasks including navigating and crossing roads, and in some cases are trained to detect or predict the onset of seizures for their owners. 

How to identify a guide dog

Guide dogs can be different breeds, but are usually recognisable by their harness, a coat from their organisation or the colour of their jacket. Sometimes the colour of their harness may indicate which task the dog completes to support its owner. For example, hearing dogs wear red jackets, while guide dogs can be recognised for their white harness with reflective tags. There is no legal requirement for an assistance dog to wear any kind of visual ID and some owners may choose not to use this. 

Behaviours not expected from trained assistance dogs

No matter how well they are trained, assistance dogs may not be perfect 100% of the time and could occasionally become distracted. 

However, Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) lists behaviours you should not expect to see from an assistance dog:

  • Dogs that have clearly not been trained to behave well in public and are barking, jumping or pulling on their lead (although note sometimes these are the behaviours a dog uses to alert its owner)

  • Dogs that are showing fearful or aggressive behaviours such as cowering or growling

  • Dogs that are not toilet trained

  • Dogs that are not well cared for or present a hygiene risk

Asking for ‘proof’

There is no official registration or certification process for assistance dogs in the UK, nor is there a legal requirement for users to carry IDs for their dog. This means there is no legal proof you can ask for from someone accompanied by an assistance dog.

This can cause some difficulties for businesses distinguishing between assistance dogs and pet dogs. ADUK recommends:

  • Treating each customer as an individual; if they state that they have a disability and their dog is an assistance dog, and if their dog behaves as expected, it could be unlawful to deny access

  • If it becomes clear that the dog is not behaving in line with the behaviours outlined by the European and Human Rights Commission, refusing or revoking access could be justifiable

Emotional support animals

Whereas guide dogs undergo rigorous training to support their user with their disability or life-threatening health condition, emotional support animals offer their owners comfort and companionship but do not require any specific training. 

Emotional support animals are not included in the definition of assistance dogs by the Equality Act and therefore do not have the same legal rights as assistance dogs. Businesses are not required to make reasonable adjustments for emotional support animals, or allow them access to their premises. 

However, be aware that emotional support dogs and trained psychiatric assistance dogs are not the same. A customer who is accompanied by an assistance dog to support their mental health condition should be allowed access to a business or services. 

What is the personal impact of denying access to a person accompanied by an assistance dog?

At Pitchup we believe that the outdoors is for everyone. For an assistance dog user, being denied access can sadly have a huge emotional impact. In the short term, an individual may feel shaken, humiliated, upset or stressed and multiple denials could lead to eroding confidence, making people feel less confident to try visiting new places or take new experiences.

Please note the European Human Rights Council guidance on refusing access to assistance dogs: "It would be unlawful to refuse a service to a disabled person accompanied by an assistance dog except in the most exceptional circumstances. Ultimately only a court can determine whether a refusal of service is unlawful and such a determination would be highly dependent on the specific facts and circumstances of the particular case."

Examples of exceptional circumstances could include medical exemptions, such as a business owner having a severe allergy to animal fur. In those circumstances businesses must still try to make reasonable adjustments, such as allowing access to limited areas of a business.

We encourage you to read Sean’s story about the personal impact of being refused service with his guide dog to a restaurant, and consider how you can make your site as inclusive and supportive as possible for assistance dog users. 

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