Assistance dog team exam iCert360™

An independent, well-structured and objective assistance dog team test is important in order to secure the requirements for access rights and funding. It also helps to maintain a high level of quality in the assistance dog sector so that the concept can continue to develop well.
Thanks to a forward-looking grant from the Postcode Lottery (see below), we were able to develop an innovative test procedure. It is objective, comprehensive and yet economical – and at the same time as individual and relaxed as possible for dog and owner!

Find out more about how we accompany assistance dog teams (known in German law as “Mensch-Assistenzhund-Gemeinschaft” or MAG) with a fair and reliable video and testing format.

iCert360™ is the registered name for our newly developed and patent-pending process. “i” stands for “international”, “cert” for “certification” and “360” refers to the 360-degree video perspectives used here.

The Assistance Dog Foundation test is recognized by the authorities of the federal states, which will issue you with the ID card and registration number.
You can register for the test here without obligation.

The test is designed to be as individual as possible, while still guaranteeing a comprehensive assessment in accordance with the Assistance Dog Ordinance (AHundV), or other certification schemes in the future.

All employees who come (or could come) into contact with your personal data or videos are bound to data protection by very strict contracts. There are also contractual agreements with external service providers. Regarding the implementation of data protection, we are supervised by an independent data protection officer who advises and helps to manage the processes in a data protection-compliant manner.

In addition, the Assistance Dog Foundation subjects itself to comprehensive quality management with its testing concept.
You can be confident that the inspection will be carried out according to the same quality standards for everyone. Quality management defines quality as a process: transparent procedures, clearly defined, ensure “progress” when all steps are regularly scrutinized and improved.

After you have registered for the test without obligation, the first step is to check whether you and your assistance dog are qualified in accordance with the Assistance Dog Ordinance (AHundV). The major health check is not required for assistance dogs that started their training before July 1, 2023, but only a current veterinary certificate.

After this step, you will be invited to take part in the expert examination, which usually takes place via Zoom (modifications are possible if required).

You can prepare for this certificate of competence examination with our free certificate of competence manual. You will be registered for the examination once you have passed the certificate test and paid. As far as possible, the examination takes place in your usual environment on site. You can submit your usual daily routine and suggestions for a route, as well as emergency information and special requirements. The day of the exam is set and prepared.

Just give it a try! Start the sample video and then drag the image back and forth with your mouse. You can see what a 360-degree video captures: Everything! All around, above and below, everything is captured completely and reliably with just one camera. iCert360™ uses several of these cameras so that everything is documented clearly and continuously.

iCert360™ has been designed to do great things, but requires minimal on-site operation. The technology works without distracting or disturbing others. The video supervisor follows you at a distance of a few meters, but only makes herself noticed in order to communicate instructions from the examination supervisor. Videos and conversations are recorded securely and invisible stimuli (e.g. smells, unusual temperatures or weather phenomena) are communicated via them.

You will meet your video representative at the meeting point. She will give you a small camera (with carrying device and battery – 500 g), which you put on and which documents your perspective as the holder. This allows the examiners to understand situations from your perspective.

Everything from your dog’s facial expression and body language to the way you interact with your dog can be included in the assessment.
These authentic impressions of your partnership, the valuable personal perspective, are not perceptible to the same extent in traditional examinations where the examiners walk behind you.

Even a traditional camera cannot capture them so realistically.

An exam supervisor follows the events via livestream. She sees and hears everything via an encrypted video link. She is in constant communication with the video officer via headphones – just as if she were there in person. However, while she is guiding the inspection and comparing it with the route and list of assistance to be inspected, she is not distracted by her own activities and interactions on site, but can concentrate fully on smooth organization. In an emergency, she has your instructions and knows quickly what to do.
We always take the best possible account of your personal situation in planning and implementation. However, it is also important that the requirements of the Assistance Dog Ordinance (AHundV) and international standards for a good assistance dog team are met at the same time, as passing the test certifies a high-quality assistance dog team.

In order to avoid overloading, two time slots of around two hours are scheduled on the day of the exam, but these are not always needed. This forward-looking planning ensures that people and dogs get the rest they need so that no one overloads themselves. If required, it is possible to split the course over further dates, but this may involve additional costs.

Of course, third parties can follow the test, but we do not actively involve them unless they are part of the assistance dog team (team of three). Our experience has shown that being accompanied by a third party usually has a negative effect on the team’s performance, as it distracts both dog and human. If you are not yet confident traveling alone with your dog, we advise you to give yourself a little more time and work on your partnership. If there are still problem situations where opinions differ as to what happened, iCert360™ can always use the video to clarify the situation.

The video and audio material is uploaded immediately and in encrypted form to a multi-secured data storage system to which only the video editors have access. You create a single, seamless, powerful video from the recordings of all cameras. The examination video prepared in this way is reviewed independently by several examiners. Our examiners are highly qualified experts in the field of assistance dogs.

In addition to their practical skills, they often also have academic and other additional qualifications. In addition to the assistance dog trainers who meet the requirements of the AHundV, an experienced assistance dog owner will, where possible, also assess your test – true to the maxim “nothing about us without us”, the principle of the UN Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

To guarantee an objective and fair assessment, the examiners do not obtain information such as your name or place of residence, details regarding your training method, training institution or other information that you share with us but is not relevant for the assessment. If the logo of your training institution is visible on your equipment, we hide it from the cameras (and thus from the examiners) by using neutral covers. The examiners – who were not present live on the day of the examination – only know your ID, a 14-digit combination of letters and numbers. They thus assess a completely anonymous team. The goal is an assessment that is objective, unbiased and focused on the human-dog team without bias or distraction.

The examiners assess each situation and assistance with a score. To do this, they can rewind, slow down and replay each scenario in order to comprehensively analyze the interaction between owner, dog and environment.

This enables a very careful and fair evaluation. The reviewers do not find out how the other reviewers have assessed a situation. The final grade is calculated as soon as all examiners have completed their assessments.

The comments of the expert examiners are summarized for the assistant dog owner. If the assessments differ greatly in certain scenarios, this is analyzed and documented in the team.

If the assistance dog team does not pass, the examiners decide on the basis of the overall situation whether the exam can be repeated in part or in full. Here, too, the video format proves its worth: problems can be clearly illustrated and explained, creating a concrete learning experience. This also allows the trainers to clearly understand problem points without having to run through the whole exam.

Detaillierte Kosten finden Sie auf der letzten Seite der Zertifizierungsordnung. AssistenzhundhalterInnen, die die Prüfung selbst finanzieren müssen, erhalten einen Preisnachlass von 30%.