Training for Pet Therapy

Pet therapy is an activity that is gaining in popularity as the public becomes more educated about this enjoyable and rewarding experience.

An important clarification for people to understand is that therapy dogs are not service dogs, which are highly trained to perform specific tasks for disabled persons, allowing them to function independently in everyday life.  Service dogs such as seeing eye, hearing and companion dogs are considered medical equipment and have legal access to any public building or establishment. 

Therapy dogs have no such rights.  They are personal pets that have passed temperament, health and good manners evaluations before they are accepted into a registry for therapy dogs which provides insurance when the teams are visiting as volunteers.  There are 3 major pet registries in the U.S.: Delta Society (www.deltasociety.org), Therapy Dogs International (www.tdi-dog.org), and Therapy Dogs Incorporated (www.therapydogs.com).  Members of each are fiercely loyal -as they should be- but all have the same ultimate goal – to put as many safe and effective therapy teams into communities where the demand far exceeds the supply.

I am often asked how to train a puppy to become a therapy dog.  There is no guarantee that training will make a dog suitable for therapy.  However, the good news is that the training that prepares a puppy or dog for therapy work is the same training that helps a dog develop into a good family pet and companion.  The key elements to both are socialization and good manners. 

There are three areas that are very important to therapy work: the relationship between handler and dog; control over the dog; and temperament of the dog.  When I test a team, I look to see what kind of bond there is between the handler and dog.  I have found that the stronger the bond, the better the therapy team.  This bond develops over time as a person works, plays and spends time with his dog.  A dog that is strongly attached to his person listens better, focuses better on the task at hand and is generally happier – which will come across to those he visits.
Control over the dog is a must in therapy work.  This is the only dog activity where a person could be injured if a dog or handler makes an error.  Teach the basic commands sit, down, stay and come.  They might or might not be on the therapy test (depending on the organization), but they give the handler  control.  There are times that the person being visited has finished petting the dog and wants to chat with the handler.  Having a dog on a sit or down stay in front of the handler keeps him out of harm’s way.  When young children want to pet a dog they’re more comfortable and less intimidated by one that’s lying down.

Another good command to have is a “leave it!”  There are often food scraps, medication or bits of trash on the floors in rooms or hallways.  A reliable “leave it!” can keep a dog safe. A helpful position for a therapy dog is a stand stay.  Medium and large dogs are often brought alongside of wheelchairs or beds to be petted and I have found the stand position is the most effective.  Some people who want to pet dogs don’t want the mouth, i.e. teeth, coming at them.  I always have handlers practice positioning the dog by the side and keeping the head turned toward the owner or straight ahead.

The exercise that fails teams the most, in my experience, is the walking on a loose leash. This means the dog must be able to walk by the handler’s side without constant pulling or lagging.  The dog must stay on one side or the other and not crisscross in front or behind.  This is for safety as well as for control. A dog that pulls out in front or lags behind might trip someone, get in the way of a wheelchair or be run into by a staff member pushing meal or medicine carts.  A dog that loves people might pull his handler over to visit someone who is frightened of or allergic to dogs.  If a dog lunges playfully at another dog he might knock someone down who’s standing or walking nearby. Having taught and continually practiced the basic obedience commands is what ultimately gives the handler control.
The temperament of the dog is paramount to this type of work.  A therapy dog must not mind strangers touching, petting and handling it anywhere on its body.  Dogs should not mind loud noises and unusual sights and smells, as well as not be frightened of medical equipment such as walkers, wheelchairs and canes.  Some dogs are born with this type of temperament, but many dogs that are not can work through minor issues and be able to do therapy. 

Taking dogs to public places where they’ll be exposed to various things and different people will help to develop sound dogs.  Some wonderful places to socialize dogs are: farmers’ markets, pet stores, shopping plazas, public garage elevators, parks, downtown Charleston market area, playgrounds and busy neighborhoods.  On these outings they’ll have the potential to see people of different ages and races, horses, other dogs, construction equipment, road work, machinery, baby strollers, screaming kids, and skateboards.  These are good places to ask strangers to pet the dogs.  Remember that taking dogs to dog parks is not the same as having a leashed dog work around other dogs on leashes.

In summary, any breed or mixed breed dog of any size and at least a year old can be a therapy dog if he is well socialized and well behaved.  The hardest part of the training for therapy work falls upon the human member of the team!  The handler must be the team leader and know his dog’s strengths and weaknesses.  There is no such thing as a perfect therapy dog, but a good team leader knows how to best present his dog in the safest and most effective manner to ensure therapy visits that are enjoyable for all involved.

Jane Hirsch is the Vice President of Therapy Dogs Incorporated and the founder of the K-9 Care Unit. To learn more about these amazing organizations visit, www.therapydogs.com and www.k9careunit.org