Therapy Dogs

[walden]

We take pride and joy in our volunteer Therapy Dog Activities. Note: a Therapy Dog (TD) is a well trained, calm, and sweet-natured pet, who has achieved TD certification and insurance through obedience training and desensitization to hospital and other challenging environments.

A TD is not a Service Dog or Assistance Animal -- Just a loving volunteer.

I'd be happy to respond to posts with more info, should people be interested in this volunteer activity.

 

[Mermaid02]

Our dog (Weimaraner) was certified with Therapy Dogs International when she was younger... she got nervous in her old age though. We used to take her to visit nursing homes... many of the WWII veterans spoke of first seeing the breed when they were stationed in Germany....

 

[wdwfam]

My DD and I have Therapy dogs, too. I am a little confused - you said you were certified through Therapy Dogs. Our dogs are tested and certified through Therapy Dogs International (TDI). DD just moved to Orlando and hopes to volunteer with her dog a "Give Kids the World".

It is a very rewarding experience. In fact, I just got back from visiting residents in a nursing home and then a hospital with patients in rehab. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

 

[simba928]

I would love to have a therapy dog. When I first got my dog I wanted to get her certified. Not too long after I got her I realized that that was not going to happen. She is very fear aggressive, has bitten me several times (not hard enough to break skin, but hard enough to bruise). She has issues at the vet's and groomer's. She was a rescue and, I think, was extremely traumatized going into the shelter. Seriously, she is very lucky that I took her. If someone else had taken her she would not have lasted long...

Someday, though, I will get one. A friend of mine just got a puppy that they want to get certified. They have one dog that is just a house pet, has no job. They have another dog that does search and rescue work and then the puppy. All 3 dogs are spoiled rotten and the older 2 are exceptionally trained.

 

[minkydog]

My mother wants to get her untrained young Border Collie certified as a therapy dog. The thing is, she won't entertain anyone saying anything negative about the dog. This dog jumps up on people--mom actually "trained" her to do this~! The dog lays all over people who sit on the couch. She is not obedience trained although she is a sorta nice dog. No fighting or biting. Still, she's so rough around the edges I can't imagine taking the dog to a nursing home or to a special needs home for visitation. She could easily knock someone down. Of course, Mom thinks the dog is just so perfect. I don't even want the dog at my house!

 

[simba928]

My mother wants to get her untrained young Border Collie certified as a therapy dog. The thing is, she won't entertain anyone saying anything negative about the dog. This dog jumps up on people--mom actually "trained" her to do this~! The dog lays all over people who sit on the couch. She is not obedience trained although she is a sorta nice dog. No fighting or biting. Still, she's so rough around the edges I can't imagine taking the dog to a nursing home or to a special needs home for visitation. She could easily knock someone down. Of course, Mom thinks the dog is just so perfect. I don't even want the dog at my house!

From what I've read (and I'm not an expert or anything, never gone through it), they will not pass a dog for CGC (canine good citizen) or certify her with TDI. Why don't you do some research online and print out some information for her. Give her a list of things the dog needs to be able to do in order to pass CGC and tell her that's what she needs to work on with the dog. If the dog can't do those things, she will not pass any kind of test. It's things like greeting people calmly (not jumping or getting overly excited), passing other dogs calmly, being able to leave the dog with a stranger for a set amount of time and not having the dog be overly anxious, strangers being able to groom the dog, the owner being able to talk to a stranger while the dog waits patiently, and then the basic obedience commands (sit, walking nicely on a loose leash, etc.)

 

[kacaju]

I have a current therapy dog and a retired therapy dog. My older boy had to retire because he gets nervous if he hears thunder. The last time I had him to a school and those kids got a lesson on what a scared dog looks like.
He was fine on his visit until all of a sudden they were moving desks upstairs and he thought it was thunder and shut down right in the middle of the visit. That was the last visit for him!!

my younger dog goes to a nursing home twice a month. I have one lady who refuses to believe me that he is a Champion show dog. I told her next time I go (Feb 3rd) I am bringing his show pictures for her to see!!

I love it!!

 

[walden]

There are a lot of great Therapy Dog organisations. TDI (Therapy Dogs International) is one, Delta (Pet Partners) is another. Our Canadian friends can also check out St John's Ambulance. The training for the handler is just as important as the training for the dog.

Some hospitals have their own programs, and there are multiple other local organisations which offer training, certification and insurance.

I usually recommend a basic obedience class and a CGC qualification as a good basis to go on for TD certification. It really isn't that hard to pass the TD test if you have that basic knowledge and a willingness to volunteer.

For us, it is hours of rewarding pleasure. We have more requests than we can deal with, which is why we would like to encourage others to volunteer also.

ETA, I have 2 active TDs and 1 retired. Also, 2 late, and very much missed, TDs. We have been doing this for a while.I go with what they like, for the most part.

 

[minkydog]

From what I've read (and I'm not an expert or anything, never gone through it), they will not pass a dog for CGC (canine good citizen) or certify her with TDI. Why don't you do some research online and print out some information for her. Give her a list of things the dog needs to be able to do in order to pass CGC and tell her that's what she needs to work on with the dog. If the dog can't do those things, she will not pass any kind of test. It's things like greeting people calmly (not jumping or getting overly excited), passing other dogs calmly, being able to leave the dog with a stranger for a set amount of time and not having the dog be overly anxious, strangers being able to groom the dog, the owner being able to talk to a stranger while the dog waits patiently, and then the basic obedience commands (sit, walking nicely on a loose leash, etc.)

Oh, she's got all that. She looked at the list and said, "Well, Chloe can do that most of the time." Uh, no Mom, she can't. This dog has come into my house and threatened my old Minky (which is whay her dog is no longer welcome in my home). The dog runs out the door and won't come back. She has peed all over the carpets (she's2-3yo and still messing up.) She jumps up on Mother when she comes home so Mom can give her a treat (oy!) Mother taught her to do that. I don't say anything because Mother gets really nasty if you say anything bad about her dog. I'll just let the situation play out. Mother will take it better coming from someone else than she will from me. This dog is just untrained and badly behaved!

 

[Planogirl]

What exactly do therapy dogs do? Does it involve visits to the elderly for example? I understand that cats have also been involved in such visits.

 

[simba928]

What exactly do therapy dogs do? Does it involve visits to the elderly for example? I understand that cats have also been involved in such visits.

There's all kinds. Some go to schools and visit (teach kids everything from dog safety to helping them learn to read, there's less pressure reading to a dog than another person!). Some go to hospitals and hospices and visit with the patients. Some go to nursing homes. Some go to special needs schools or residences. I would be willing to bet that most, if not all, will go pretty much anywhere that there is a need. The dogs are there mostly to take people's minds off of what they are going through and to calm them down. There is all kinds of research showing the benefits of having an animal around. I find it really interesting.

My cat would actually be a better candidate than my dog. My kitty is very even-tempered and laid back. You can scruff her, hold her with one arm, do pretty much whatever you want to her and she doesn't care at all. My dog, on the other hand, is very picky about how she is touched and handled, and therefore would definitely not be a good candidate for a TD

Minky, don't you love when people have "snowflake" dogs? I took my 45 pound dog to Petsmart one day and she almost got into a fight with a little dog that was lucky if he weighed 20 pounds. I will admit my dog was not innocent in this (she has dominant tendencies with other dogs), but this woman was actually encouraging her dog to go after my dog as I was trying to walk away. She kept saying in that baby talk voice "Oh, you're so vicious, look at you! You vicious little guy!" Seriously, if I had let her, my dog could have torn this dog to pieces and the woman thought it was cute...

 

[walden]

Oh, she's got all that. She looked at the list and said, "Well, Chloe can do that most of the time." Uh, no Mom, she can't. This dog has come into my house and threatened my old Minky (which is whay her dog is no longer welcome in my home). The dog runs out the door and won't come back. She has peed all over the carpets (she's2-3yo and still messing up.) She jumps up on Mother when she comes home so Mom can give her a treat (oy!) Mother taught her to do that. I don't say anything because Mother gets really nasty if you say anything bad about her dog. I'll just let the situation play out. Mother will take it better coming from someone else than she will from me. This dog is just untrained and badly behaved!

I'm fairly sure that Chloe will not pass the TD test! Nor should she, with all due respect for your Mom!

For other questions and comments:

We (my hounds and I), have volunteered for a READ program with elementary students, vist an AL, an adult day care dementia unit, and a residential facility for the severely Developmentally Disabled weekly. We also do Hospice Visits on request and the Childrens Museum once or twice a year -- on Dog Days! I'm semi-retired and love to volunteer, but no-one else needs to think they have to volunteer that frequently!!

Other members of our organisation visit hospitals, prisons, domestic violence and homeless shelters, libraries, nursing facilities, rehab . . . and the list goes on.

The sky is the limit here, and the need is great.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

My 2 other collies were therapy dogs. We visited nursing homes, hospitals and did many demonstrations. My "girls" had a bandana for every occasion and costumes for Halloween.
We were the exclusive therapy dogs for 2 local nursing homes for a while. Even after DS was born, I still took them for visits. We all visited. The residents loved the baby as much as the dogs.
But my dogs got older and so did DS.

I have 2 other collies now who would be awesome therapy dogs. I just never got them certified due to all the time I spend running to kids activities and working part-time now.

It was alot of fun though and the patients and residents just loved when we visited. I 'd recommend it to anyone.