Picking puppy that will make good therapy dog

[Jen B]

Hi all,

I really need help with this, so thank you ahead of time! : )

I got my puppy from a good breeder who is really working with me to find the right pup for my home and my goal of therapy work. This little girl I have is a maniac! She's crazy...then literally drops and passes out. She's a mini double doodle, whom the breeder thinks will end up around 20-25lbs.

I also have a 4lb yorkie rescue who hates this puppy...she's always loved other dogs. The puppy dive bombs her, constantly tries to play. My yorkie is miserable, poor thing.

Have spoken at length with the breeder, who thinks perhaps one of her more "chill" dogs would be better for both my yorkie (and household) and therapy work. It would be a mini-medium labradoodle, ending up (depending on which dog) 30-45 lbs?

Also, currently I have a female/female interaction. Do you think a male might be better at getting along with yorkie? What about with therapy?

I'm just hoping for any info I can find now, to make the best long-term decision.

Thanks!

Jen

[Adina P]

How old is your current puppy?  How much obedience training has she had and how IS her current obedience?
Characteristics of a good therapy dog:

-- Enjoys the company of a variety of people

-- Not shy

-- Not aggressive or pushy

-- Not a big licker

Beyond that you just need to have a good basic control over your dog: obedience.  If your puppy's main fault is energy, then more exercise and solid obedience training could turn her into a fabulous therapy dog once she matures a bit.  She might just be too young for therapy work right now. 

[Jen B]

Yes, she's definitely too young now. She's only 9 weeks :)

She's just a total spaz. Definitely not shy, but quite pushy. I'd trade big licker for the "big biter" trait we have right now. : )

We're good about dog training in our house, just haven't ever had a doodle, so I wondered if there were any specific doodle traits of puppies that would carry over to adulthood. 

How about size, Adina? What is your experience about the various sizes in therapy?

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

How old is the Yorkie?  Obviously the puppy is already bigger than the yorkie and is going to get even bigger.  Did your Yorkie like other puppies/dogs in your home or outside the home?  Your puppy really just sounds like she is being a puppy.  Puppies bite, I'm not sure that is going to change with any puppy.  However, how you handle it and what you do about it when she does bite is going to determine how bad it is going to be until those puppy teeth are gone.  As for the male/female for therapy work, I personally don't think it really matters.  As for size ... here is one thing that I think does make a difference.  I think the therapy dog either needs to be small enough that you can pick it up (over and over) again to put it in the bed or on a lap, or it needs to be large enough that it can sit bedside or beside the wheel chair and be petted.  My Sophie was approx 60 lbs and for bedside this was just about right.  Any bigger would have been fine, but any smaller (height wise) she would have needed to jump up with her paws on the bed to be petted.  The thing with Therapy dogs is that they are most likely going to come out of the biting phase, but the licker is a tough one.  It seems you either have a licker or you don't   That is a big no no for therapy.  They can kiss if someone asks for a kiss, but they shouldn't just want to kiss and kiss and kiss everyone.  It honestly doesn't really seem to me that the current puppy has been in the home long enough to really even settle in yet.  As for training, if you want to do therapy work you are going to need to get into obedience training as soon as the shots are complete and you are going to need to be socializing her big time starting now in any safe places (friends, family, etc).  I would start working on sit to be petted immediately.  Get her used to having her ears and paws and tail handled.  Make pretty much everything you do that involves her a training opportunity. 

[BG and Gavin]

One of the biggest things I think is confidence.   I think it is much more difficult to overcome shyness or skittishness.  Gavin was a total land shark as a puppy and would not even dream of laying a tooth on anyone now.  It is a stage and they grow out of it, especially with consistent instruction.  I am not sure how you would know at nine weeks if a dog is therapy dog material or not.  They are just adjusting to their new household.  I think chilledness in part comes with security and consistency and a safe and loving bond within the household.

[Jen B]

Thanks so much to each of you!

Since my husband has not seen the puppies, we are going to go tomorrow and look at them to make a decision. We will let our hearts guide us.

What dolls all of these guys are! I can't wait to bring one into our family.

: )