On the Road to Becoming a Therapy Dog: Week One of CGC class

[Heather and Molly Doodle]

Molly's mom is lucky enough to teach in a very dog friendly hospital. My students are patients in an locked adolescent psychiatry program. The two fantastic therapy dogs (labs) in our program provide a sense of normalcy of having a pet, plus are calming to everyone who comes in contact with them. Molly can't wait to join them! However, the caveat is that Molly needs to become a certified therapy dog to come to school every day. (Shh... she's already visited "in training" and LOVED it!) So...

As a result, Molly and I are taking Advanced class at our local PetSmart in order to prepare for therapy dog training/testing. Since said PetSmart is Molly's favorite destination due to her celebrity status (she gets greeted by name, I'm merely holding the leash), she was excitedly dancing around in the back of my SUV as we pulled into the parking lot. After several years of VERY enthusiastic sliding into the store, Molly surprised me by walking in like a perfect lady. We were introduced to our classmates, two medium sized, friendly guys and their owners. It was a sniffing fiesta (for the dogs, that is)! After reviewing the requirements of the CGC test, our trainer had us try out items from the test. Molly tends to like to check out what's going on outside the training area, but instead just chilled out and sat on the floor next to me. (Whoa!) We did well on the socialization portions of the test, but got caught up on the stay and let the human walk away and come back portion. Molly kept wanting to stay right with me! This is major progress for the dog who, during puppy kindergarten class, refused to do ANYTHING in class but look at the other dogs and greet people at the gate yet could do all the commands at home after class. Thankfully, Molly has grown up SO much since then... Also, any suggestions on how to ace the stay and return item would be most welcome!

I really loved all the individualized attention of having a class of three! We were able to discuss and troubleshoot ways to get Molly to do the wait command reliably. We have strict instructions to practice both indoors and out so that she can work with distractions... After class, I finally broke down and purchased a treat bag (okay, I think they're goofy, but I guess it's better than having your pants/shorts smell like meat), very smelly (and according to Molly, delicious) bacon treats, and a 15 foot training line. We also picked up a Greenie at the register and we were on our way home!

We've been practicing inside (it is TOO TOO hot-- around 100 degrees F in New England!) in front of Molly's favorite distraction, her feline brother. She can reliably do wait from five-ish feet now and we'll continue to practice for next week. Thankfully we've got six weeks (or more, as necessary) to master this task!

Does anyone have any successful training tips for independent minded Doods? Or perhaps any recommendations from Doodles who are therapy dogs? Molly and I (really, me) would appreciate it...

[Michele, Biscuit & Mo]

Boy, Heather, besides the "practice" part I think you've got it all down! I admire you for training Molly and having her join you in your work. Keep us posted!

[Frannie & Callie]

No advice, just my admiration for working with sweet Molly and letting her be a therapy dog! How wonderful!!!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Jane said it ..... practice practice practice. Two points to be sure you are aware of though. One, although treats will help you get the sit/stay/waits mastered (if your dog is treat motivated), you will not be able to use treats in the test. So you need to be sure that she will do them without treats. And second, as your goal is therapy work and you mention you are going to use her at work, be sure to investigate the organization that you test with. I know Delta Society that we are registered with will not cover you under their insurance policy if you are using your therapy dog for work. Just something to check out upfront. Otherwise, it sounds like you are headed in the right direction. Just keep practicing and you will get there. Use everything you do in your daily routine as opportunities for practice. Going to mop the floor, put her in a down stay in the other room while you mop. Going to just run to the other side of the house to put something away, put her in a sit/stay while you do it. All sorts of opportunities throughout the day.

One last thing that I just thought of as you mentioned she is independent minded ..... always be sure to end every single practice session with a success! If she busts her sit don't get frustrated and quit. Make her do it before you stop ..... otherwise, guess who she thinks is boss! Good Luck. Keep us posted.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think it's really wonderful that you're training Molly to be a Therapy Dog. I went through this with Guinness (16 month old ALD), and it was a fantastic experience. I also did the CGC program and then he went into an actual Therapy training program. The biggest piece of advice I can offer is that you'll need to practice (lots and lots of practice) in settings with distractions. Guinness was perfect on all of his commands in class....the trick was to get him to do it places that were full of "exciting" distractions. We took him everywhere...for months. The biggest challenge for him was the kid's soccer games...he loved all the attention and would "forget" his manners. But, eventually he "got it", and did well in the evaluation. Good luck....I'm sure you'll find this incredibly rewarding.