TS EN 17984-1

TS EN 17984-1 is a vocabulary standard for the field of assistance dogs. It brings together the terms and definitions used for different types of assistance dogs, beneficiary and client services, health and disability concepts, service providers, training staff and related professionals, socialization and training processes, conformity assessment, identification and registration, and accessibility. In practice, it provides a common technical language for people and organisations working with assistance dog services.

Why a shared vocabulary matters

Assistance dog work involves both the animal and the service system around it. In general technical context, vocabulary standards reduce ambiguity between trainers, providers, assessors, users and other stakeholders. This document focuses on defining the terminology itself; it should be understood as a terminology reference rather than a source of training methods, performance thresholds or operational requirements beyond the scope stated in the title and abstract.

Main concept areas covered

• types of assistance dogs and related roles
• beneficiary, client and service provider terminology
• health, disability, socialization and training concepts
• conformity assessment, identification and registration
• shared terminology for accessibility

As a result, TS EN 17984-1 functions as a foundational language reference for assistance dog services. It supports consistent understanding across organisations involved in training, service delivery, assessment and accessibility-related work.