Therapy Dogs
We get lots of questions and requests to train therapy dogs, but what qualities make a good therapy dog? Here are some things to think about if you want your dog to become a therapy dog.
First, if you are looking to train your dog will your dog physically, mentally, and socially be able to fit the job.
Second, is your dog enjoying this type of work? True therapy dogs love what they do and at no point in time would we want to make a dog do something they didn’t want to do for hours on end. Dogs that do not like the jobs they are given can start bad behaviors after being forced to do something they dislike, which can include biting.
Third, do you have the time to train and certify the dog for one of the therapy dog organizations or are you going to do this on your own? If you do not go with an organization but on your own do you know the legal ramifications if something happens while you are working with your dog? Will be briefly touched on below.
So, what are therapy dogs anyway?
Therapy dogs are trained to provide comfort and affection to people in hospitals, retirement homes, hospices, nursing homes, schools, and disaster areas, and to people with PTSD or autism. These dogs generally are not performing and specific task but sharing their love for people but need to be well behaved as they are in a public setting.
Therapy dogs come in all breeds, sizes, and shapes and even including mixed breeds.
What Makes a Good Therapy Dog?
The best therapy dogs are smart and have temperaments that make them easy to train as well as calm under pressure, reliable, and not easily distractible. Therapy dogs must remain focused, unruffled by crowds of people, traffic, loud noises, kids, or other animals, and attentive to their owners.
Certain personality traits are essential for therapy dogs to help people they visit. To be a good therapy dog, your dog needs to be:
- Calm:There is a lot of commotion in most environments (schools, hospitals, nursing homes…) that need therapy dogs, so your dog needs to be calm in these situations. Many dogs are born this way and those dogs are naturals and no training for this behavior is needed. Even if your dog is not naturally calm in all environments it is something that can be trained into your dog.
- Gentle:Being gentle is another crucial trait needed for therapy dogs. Some dogs are born with a naturally gentle temperament in all situations. Being gentle in therapy dog work means while getting petted and loved on, even when the people petting, and loving aren’t being as gentle as the dog would like, they make no reaction to those advances. There are also certain breeds that tend to be gentler and if this is one of your major goals with your dog picking one of those breeds will potentially help this goal.
- Confident:Good therapy dogs should be confident enough to go up to people that they don’t know to get pet. Therapy dogs spend time around unfamiliar people, smells, equipment, and loud noises. Sometimes, the people therapy dogs visit sometimes have unfamiliar movements and a lack of coordination and the dogs should not be frightened of these things. Good therapy dogs will have the confidence to be calm and loving no matter the environment.
- Well-mannered:Having good manners is a little bit of temperament and a lot of training. Good therapy dogs will have a naturally obedient disposition and will want to use their manners even without an incentive. However even if your dog doesn’t come naturally obedient and well-mannered does not mean they cannot be a therapy dog, it just means they need training.
- Quiet:Therapy dogs are naturally quiet and don’t get overly excited bark, whine or vocalize while working. Of course, all dogs communicate through barks and whines, but a good therapy dog will have enough self-control to be quiet while working.
- Responsive but non-reactive:When a dog is responsive, that means that they seek out and responds positively to attention and love. Sometimes when that attention is rougher than they prefer, they need to be non-reactive and either move themselves away from the attention or endure it patiently.
- People-loving:Probably the most important therapy dog characteristic is that they must love ALL people. They need to love being touched ALL over and meeting new people ALL the time. They also need to be able to tolerate uncomfortable touch as sometimes kids, older people, and those with mental disabilities will accidentally pull or tug too hard.
Temperament and training are key factors to a dog’s success as a therapy animal. More important is that the dog needs to want to serve as a therapy animal, too. If your dog shows no interest in helping those outside of your family, they probably won’t do very well as a therapy dog.
What’s Next if Your Dog is a Candidate for Therapy Dog Work?
The next step if your dog fits all the temperamental requirements of being a therapy dog would be finding a training program for the specific behaviors you need your dog to perform. For therapy dog work this maybe heeling on leash, long down stays, working on their manners while in public and more. There are many ways for the training itself and many different trainers out there. Here is a link of a few therapy dog trainers or places to get certification here in MN.
Pets Assisting with Healing (PAWH)
Canine Inspired Change (Greater Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN)
There are many other training schools that offer “Therapy Dog Classes” but might not actually help certify the dogs. Just check out each class near you to see if they not only teach you the skills you and your dog need but also help you get the certification you need.
The following are National Therapy Dog registration/certification organizations.
Alliance of Therapy Dogs (formerly Therapy Dogs, Inc.)
Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs
Pet Partners (previously Delta Society)
Therapy Dogs Incorporated (TD Inc.) – new name is Alliance of Therapy Dogs
What if I don’t want to get Certified and my local school or nursing home still allows me in?
Many people decide to go into schools, nursing homes, group homes, and other places without getting certification. This is fine if you know the potential ramifications if your dog damages any property while on location and or bites someone on location.
Most of the certification organizations are covering you under their insurance in case someone wants to sue you. They also generally have lawyers to fight your case if needed. If you do not get certified I would have a very real conversation with wherever you are looking to do therapy dog work with your dog. The major questions I would ask are as follows.
If my dog damages part of the property who is liable? Am I the one that would be sued? Is there a limit to what I could be sued?
If my dog bites or scratches someone who is liable? Am I the one that would be sued? Is there a limit to what I could be sued for? What might happen to my dog? Would this go on record anywhere?
If someone gets sick after my visit from my dog who is liable?
Always have a signed contract before trying to do Therapy Dog work on your own.
If you are liable for any of these, you need to consider buying your own insurance to cover yourself if something happens. If there is no insurance, then you may be legally responsible this means you could be sued, and your dog might be able to be taken away from you, and if a bite occurred even put to sleep. Checking on and knowing legal responsibilities and consequences and having a signed contract from all parties is always my suggestion before bringing your dog into any location as a
