All Pet Partners are responsible for knowing what equipment is acceptable as well as for proper fitting and proper use of acceptable equipment.  (certainly NO choke, prong or E-Collars allowed)  Although Delta Society does offer a variety of acceptable equipment (listed below) for use during the Pet Partners Skills & Aptitude Test and while on visits professional opinions of various equipment vary widely and there are several important considerations to be mindful of when choosing your equipment for Animal Assisted Activities & Therapy purposes especially.  World renowned dog trainer/behaviorist/author  Turid Rugaas offers these words of wisdom about equipment;  “The most simple equipment is always the best.  The more equipment you try to use when training the easier it is for things to go wrong.”         

Please keep in mind that you will be required to use whatever equipment you test in until you (if you choose to) re-test and pass the test without it.   Your Pet Partners liability insurance is only valid as long as you are abiding by ALL Policies & Procedures including required equipment so there are no acceptions to this policy.   Please carefully consider this policy as it applies to on-going visits with a variety of people while deciding what equipment to use.  A Head Halter (shown below left) for instance will require frequent explanations that it is not a muzzle.  Many assume it is a muzzle without asking so Pet Partners using Head Halters should be prepared to explain the Head Halter to everyone even if they don't ask.  The extra straps on the Freedom Harness (shown below right) can sometimes be a lot to handle along with required visiting kits, antiseptic hand gel, visiting cards, furniture adjustments etc. so for Animal Assisted Activities & Therapy purposes the Freedom Harness may not be the best solution either. 

Equipment is a personal choice and all equipment on Delta's list below is acceptable but if you think you may only use specific equipment while on visits please also consider the possibility that if your dog is not accustomed to wearing a particular piece of equipment only worn on visits they may learn to associate the visit with discomfort & confusion.  This is something we definitely want to avoid!  We human volunteers need to be comfortable with the equipment we choose as well so that we're not feeling uncomfortable when we have to use it for visits either.  For these and other reasons related to our goal of inspiring confidence in the people we visit we encourage you to choose carefully when considering equipment and not fall into the trap of using equipment as a short cut or substitute for training.  For these and other reason it is also important to train in the same equipment you plan to use in your test and subsequent Pet Partners activities.