Therapy Dogs

[Mikol & Omni]

Hi there!

Those of you that have certified therapy dogs, what did you look for in a puppy/dog that would be good qualities for a therapy dog?

How did you go about getting them certified?

I understand the dog needs to be gentle, obedient, friendly, mellow.

I actually looked for a discussion before posting this and didn't see one - please point me in the right direction if there is one.

I saw mention of Paws for People and the READ program.  Any others I should check out?

I always wanted to volunteer with my late Lab Loki but never did it.  I definitely want to give doggie love with this dog and help people who could use some doggie love to visit their lives.  Now that I work from home (and have more time for discipline) I think I could volunteer a few hours a week doing this once the pup gets older.

I go to choose the pup on 2/13 so any responses re characteristics to look for, would be appreciated!

Thanks!
Mikol

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't know if any of these will answer your specific questions, but there have been a lot of discussions on therapy dogs here. Here's a link to the search results i got in the forum discussions for "therapy dogs":
http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topic/search?categoryId=2065244%3...

[Mikol & Omni]

Oops! Thanks Karen. I guess I didn't search in the correct location. Thank you!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

To search the forum, just click "Forum" at the top of any page, and a search box will appear at the top of the new page where you can type in whatever term you're looking for. If it's something very common, you'll get too many answers (this might be a case of that). Also, discussions that have been posted in groups won't come up either. So if you have a food question, you can click on Groups, go to the Food group, view the discussions and search there.
Or of course, you can just start a new discussion, and get some new info! LOL

[Adina P]

Check out our Therapy Dogs group: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/therapy --- and specifically this discussion: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/therapy/forum/topics/2065244:Topi...

[Mustard Seed Ranch]

Also call your local hospital. They should be able to steer you towards a group in your area, the ones that come to their hospital!!. The hospital near where I live actually has their own program (a national program with a chapter here) that my Mom went through. It was an 2 year extensive program but well worth it!!

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

We do a lot of work with Delta and TDI, you can Google them.

I look for a puppy that is out going and not shy. Take a few pups to an isolated area with you, sit on the floor and see how they react if you toss your keys on the floor, blow a noise maker, clap your hands, stomp your feet, roll a ball. Do you have pups that sit off to the side or go off on their own with no interest. Do you have pups that are just scared to death. These are the ones you don't want. Look for one that is interested in what you are doing but equally interested in you still.

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

When I took Webber through training for Therapy Dog International, they told me the thing that would make him a good therapy dog was the fact that he approached and leaned into people rather than turning away. He also seemed to feel a need to touch base with every person in the room, going from one to the other until he had greeted everyone. It is so important that the dog will stay focused on you.