How To Make A Dog A Therapy Dog
Requirements for a therapy dog.
How to make a dog a therapy dog. While a dog is indisputably man s best friend a therapy dog is everyone s best friend. Learning to train a therapy dog takes temperament time patience. Older dogs usually make the best therapy animals they tend to be less excitable and know basic obedience but you can start training your puppy early to prepare it for a future as a therapy dog. Many dogs portray the qualities sought in a therapy dog but some breeds perform this.
According to the akc website there are 10 separate tests within its canine good citizen program and most cover basic behavior training. Unlike a service dog whose job is to perform tasks specifically for his handler a therapy dog provides comfort to a perfect stranger. Many therapy dog organisations conduct temperament tests to observe how your dog responds to unpredictable situations and this is often where potential teams tend to fall down. Cgc is a great starting point for all potential therapy dogs because your dog will learn basic good manners in cgc including come sit stay down and how to respond appropriately around other dogs.
Therapy dogs are privately owned but they must undergo a screening process to ensure that they are a good fit for patients. Therapy dogs come in all sizes and breeds. The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is its temperament. If you want to make your dog a therapy dog definitely take a look at how to train a therapy dog for.
A therapy dog is trained to provide affection and comfort to those in hospitals schools nursing homes retirement homes people with learning disabilities people with anxiety people with severe stress and disaster areas. Therapy dogs provide comfort and relief to those in hospitals schools and elsewhere. A registered therapy dog will need to meet the following criteria. At usa service dog registration we have helped thousands of families register their therapy animal.
Therapy dogs must be well tempered. Therapy dogs must enjoy human contact and be content to be petted cuddled and handled sometimes clumsily by unfamiliar people and to enjoy that contact.