How to Become a Therapy Dog Team

Becoming a therapy dog team is a rewarding volunteer activity for everyone involved. Therapy dogs serve in a variety of roles. Some of them visit people in hospitals and long term care facilities, others participate in reading programs at schools, some go into advanced training and respond to emergency situations and help people to remain calm and feel safe while talking to authorities. There are many jobs for therapy dog teams to participate in. There are several different ways to become a team with your dog, and many different organizations. There are basic guidelines and procedures to follow regardless of what path you take to become a therapy dog team.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. First, evaluate whether or not your dog will enjoy therapy work. A worried dog who fears noises and new people will not be well suited to going to schools or hospitals to be petted by new people.

2. Once it is determined that therapy work will be fulfilling to you and your dog, you will need to get some solid obedience training. A good guideline for the level of obedience that will be required is the Canine Good Citizen Test offered by the AKC.

3. In addition to looking for solid obedience skills, many therapy animal organizations will test for reactivity to noise, comfort level with medical equipment, and socialization to other animals.

4. Find a therapy dog organization that suits you and your dog. There are many of them. There are national organizations such as Delta, Therapy Dogs International and Love on a Leash. Often local groups focus on particular institutions.

5. Find out what the testing requirements are with your selected group and when they are going to give the test. Usually a calm disposition and solid on leash obedience will help you and your dog to meet the handling requirements.

6. If you want to work at a particular facility, inquire with them about volunteer requirements and whether or not they have a therapy dog group that they have partnered with.

7. Spend some time educating yourself of appropriate etiquette for medical settings, interacting with people who have disabilities, and child safety during therapy visits. Many organizations offer classes on these subjects and some require them before you will be allowed to visit.

Resources

• Delta Society
• TDI
• Love on a Leash

[MacDonald]

on 2/6/2008 Love it! I have done this with one of my dogs (through TDI) and it's very, very rewarding. :)