Labradoodles as Therapy Dogs...

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

I have been a dog owner all my life. I lost my sweet 15 year old JRT Rascal in early November to cancer. He loved life so much that up until he passed he was still able to wander in the garden, eat table treats, play with Mr. Whiskers the stuffed bunny and sleep with his little head on a pillow between us at night.  Waking up to a furry face, dog breath and a companion for whom nothing was better than spending a day together in any capacity made each moment such a joy.  My husband, sons and I feel that our dogs are part of our family. Losing Rascal is painful because of the way he took care of us all.  Finding Skye is a new beginning.

I feel dogs are inherently healing.  Each breed has their own form of joy that they bring to the world and to their families.  After16 years of Jack Russell Terriers I wasn't certain how to make a new connection.  JRT's are unpredictable, spontaneous, joyful, playful and energetic. They love their families fiercely and cannot tolerate other dogs and sometimes develop worries about people outside the clan.  All in all they kept my heart whole but I could not train them to come to the office to work with clients or to go with me to a nursing home or a hosptial.  I thought it might be better to start over with a new breed that had unique characteristics. That led me on a search for a dog that loved like a JRT but that was inherently mellow with a temperament that would allow contact with other dogs, people of all ages and in settings outside the family home.

I found Wine Country Doodles in Santa Rosa California and fell in love with Annette's dogs.  They each have their own personality and Skye's Mom and Dad are both the sweetest, gentlest dogs I have ever met. Aimee just leans into you as if to say, let me take the weight of the world off your shoulders.  It took us several weeks to decide if now was the time to bring a puppy home.  Winter in Northern CA is not the coldest but it can be pretty wet.  Somehow waiting for new puppy didn't make sense once I met Skye. He was already everything I ever wanted in a dog.  He looks at you as if he is saying how can I help...

If anyone out there knows of therapy dog trainers in Northern CA I am looking to teach Skye to become a certified therapy dog. He will come with me to my office where I work with adults, teens and children as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.  His main job would be to sit and lean into a person that needs a kind, loving, connection to help work through a painful issue.  Just being himself is the goal but to reach that goal he must be trained like a guide dog or a helper dog to keep his focus.  If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions about training labradoodles in this capacity it would be great to hear from you. 

[Adina P]

Hi Tina, there are two major national organizations that register (not certify) therapy dogs: Therapy Dogs International and Pet Partners (formerly "Delta Society") -- Google those organizations to see who has testing and groups nearest you.  Neither of those organizations require that you use a special trainer or even that you take classes (although the latter I can't verify for TDI because I didn't work with them ever).  Testing is essentially the same as the Canine Good Citizen test done by the AKC with a few extras and requires the test givers to see more 'teamwork' than the CGC.  It's not a hard test, really, if your dog is sociable, has an even temperament, and basic obedience (not even great basic obedience). I'm registered with Pet Partners and at the time they required you to read a book and pass a written test too to show you understand the ins and outs of working with a therapy dog.  I think if your Skye is fairly tuned into people, you won't have to train her to 'lean in' and she'll give what the client needs.  Most therapy dogs are NOT trained to give a certain kind of response to stressed/sick/grieving people, they just 'do their thing' and usually it's what is needed if they have a good temperament, love people, and have basic manners and obedience.

[BG and Gavin]

For TDI, your dog has to be over one year old to be tested.  There is a therapy dog group on DK:  http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/therapy? with lots of good information.  Good luck.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I don't know any specific trainers in your area, but with my Guinness who is TDI certified I started with the Canine Good Citizen Program first.  When he passed that certification I put him in a Therapy Training Class locally.  We did field work in local nursing homes since that is the area I was training him for.  I believe the course lasted 10 weeks and then he took his test and received his Therapy Dogs International certification.  If you check with your local trainers they should be able to point you in the right direction for a trainer who has this type of program.  It is nowhere near as extensive as the training a guide dog goes through.  As Bruce Girl says, check out the Therapy Group.  Lots of great info there.

[Richard Crowe]

     I think that Labradoodles and Goldendoodles can make excellent therapy dogs.  I have noticed the demeanor of people as they see my Goldendoodle, Holly.  They smile and seem to want this dog near them.

     I enrolled Holly in a Therapy Prep School in San Diego, CA. and we learned a lot about what makes a good therapy dog and whether our dogs will make good therapy dogs.  The course was presented by Paws'itive Teams and was one night a week for six weeks.  http://www.pawsteams.org/prep.php

     Both Holly and I learned a lot from this course.  We had dogs ranging in size from a tiny Yorkshire Terrier to a giant 125 pound (no typo - he was 125 pounds) Goldendoodle.

     I would expect that if you contacted Paws'itive Teams (contact data on their website) they could refer you to a program in the NorCal area.

     Holly passed the course but, did not seem to enjoy being a therapy dog at that time in her life. The course included many simulated situations in which a therapy dog might find itself and Holly did not seem to enjoy the work. She is much more comfortable around strangers now and might enjoy it more.  However, the course was a success because we learned that Holly was not quite ready for the job of a Therapy Dog for humans. 

     However, Holly functions as a full-time therapy dog to the rescue Maltese we foster.  Many of them have been brutalized by larger dogs and have a fear of big dogs.  It takes Holly less than a week to win over these poor scared little dogs and they are soom cuddling with her when they sleep...

 

 

[Kathy (Ellie & Oliver)]

It almost sounds like your plan for your dog is more complex than just getting registered as a therapy dog. Therapy dogs must like people, have basic obedience skills, like to be touched, aren't afraid of loud noises, and are comfortable in a variety of situations. Personality is the major component. I am a tester/observer for the national organization Therapy Dogs, Inc. I have tested many handlers and their dogs. From my experience, compassion is a natural response that evolves from a dog's personality. You would probably be looking into specialized training to have the dog react in a particular way in certain circumstances. Many of the therapy dog teams on DK visit facilities as volunteers. If you want to look into getting registered with a national therapy dog organization go to www.therapydogs.com and click on How to Become a Member. There are quite a few TDInc. testers in California. Joining a national therapy dog organization is a great idea because it provides you with registration, support, and liability insurance. Just a note----the liability insurance covers members only when they visit in a volunteer capacity. I'm not familiar with how other national organizations handle the insurance when you want to use your therapy dog at your job. I hope that you are successful in your search for the answers to your questions. I'm sure that your dog would be such a comfort to those in need! Oh, and yes doodles make great therapy dogs!!!!!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Delta Society's insurance will not cover unless working as a volunteer as well. 

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

You will be lucky to find any "therapy dog" training course. I've searched up and down in Colorado before Monty became a registered therapy dog. Here's the bottom line: if you have a friendly, mellow, happy, loving and obedient dog, he has a chance of becoming a good therapy dog. There really is no special training for dogs. Make sure Skye meets all sorts of people, tall and short, skinny and fat, with beards, bold, with hats, old and young, in wheelchairs, on walkers, with crutches, you name it. In addition, teach him the basic obedience commands such as sit, down, stay, heal, come, and perhaps a few tricks such as shake hand or go say hi, etc.

You will go through the certification process with either of the organizations that people listed and recertify every two years (at least for Pet Partners).

Good luck to you and Skye!