Training Your Dog to Be A Therapy Dog: It's a Team Sport

Historically, dogs have had jobs that served their keepers: herding, ratting, protection, hunting, etc. As we’ve moved away from the agrarian lifestyle, many of those jobs have fallen away, but new jobs and activities have sprung up: service dogs, explosive detection dogs, agility, nosework, barn hunt, and more.

One of the activities available is Therapy work. Therapy dogs are pet dogs that visits places like hospitals, schools and nursing homes to help someone other than their owner/handler. They have no public access rights and are only allowed into public places on invitation. Dogs have so much to give us and for owners with a heart for easing other’s pain, therapy work can be a natural choice.

Today I want to speak on an important first step for those interested in pursuing therapy work with their dog.

Check Your Teammate

Therapy work is a team sport, and like any team event, all the members need to be enthusiastic and thoroughly equipped participants.

Have you asked your dog if he’s excited about being a therapy dog?

Successful therapy work takes more than just good manners. It also takes the right kind of temperament (or personality) for both dog and human. Given the nature of our relationship with dogs, it’s very easy for the human half of the team to get excited about a sport or activity and overlook the fact that the dog has preferences, too. And they aren’t always identical to his owner’s.

I deeply believe this is something organizations and trainers need to screen for before accepting a dog and handler for therapy dog training. Without this screening, we risk graduating dogs who actually have little interest in the therapy dog ‘profession.’ This mismatch of temperament to profession does not benefit the dog, the handler or the therapy recipients.

Just as not all humans are suited to work in healthcare, not all dogs are suited to work in therapy. And that’s okay! I’m sure there’s something else those dogs enjoy!

Preliminary Requirements

Earlier this year, a former client asked me about therapy work for her dog. I did some research, and replied back several weeks later with information. Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I received the following email back from her:

“The reality is that being an official therapy dog isn't in the cards for Zoe. She just doesn't consistently welcome interactions with all strangers. She's wonderful with kids and women, but when the stranger is an adult male, she's sometimes very friendly and welcoming, and other times very wary and guarded. She's an awesome dog tho.”

Zoe’s owner recognized a necessary quality for therapy dogs: friendliness towards LOTS of different kinds of people. Sometimes owners think their dog would be a good therapy dog because she enjoys their attention and petting. However, just because your dog likes it when you pet her doesn’t mean she would enjoy a bunch of strangers petting her.

I believe therapy dogs need to not only be friendly but also confident. If the dog enjoys attention from people, but is uncertain outside her home, that’s not a good therapy candidate. How can she help others if she’s worried for her own safety?

If your dog doesn’t naturally enjoy attention from strangers and feel confident in public, that’s not typically something training can change to the degree necessary for therapy work. Training can absolutely help your dog feel better about people coming to your house, but that’s very different than going out to visit strangers.

Don’t Skip the Pros

If you’ve asked your dog how she feels about therapy work, and you think it might be a good fit, the next step is getting an evaluation to start training with a professional. As therapy dogs are invited into public spaces and interact, closely, with the public, they do need to maintain a standard of behavior that’s a bit higher than a typical pet dog. Working with a qualified professional for the evaluation and training is the best way to go! Contact Emalie at XXXX for help locally!