How to get started?

[BoomBoom]

I live in Orlando, Fl and would love for my dog to be a therapy dog but I have no idea where to even begin. My puppy is only 9 weeks old, but I would like to start gathering information early. Can anyone give me information on how you got your dog to become a therapy dog? Thanks :)

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

Your dog has to be 1 year old before he or she can take the certification test to become a therapy dog. Many dog obedience schools teach a preparation class that basically walks you through the test. I took the class with Abby when she was about 4-5 months old. The pet therapy certification test is very similar to the AKC Good Canine Citizen test. There are just a few additional elements. The school that I train at with Abby uses Pet Partners (formerly Delta Society) for pet therapy certification. I suggest checking out their website. They usually list trainers and testing dates/times for your area. If there isn't a trainer listed, I suggest contacting Pet Partners directly. They should be able to put you in touch with someone in your area. And if they can't, let me know. I live in Tampa. So I could ask the people at my training center. I am sure they would know someone in Orlando. The website should also have resources and information about what will be tested and what is expected of you and your dog. I hope that helps.

[BoomBoom]

I will look at the website. Thank you so much:)

[Nancy & Bisbee]

Hi, we live in Altamonte Springs.  Bisbee is a therapy dog for a little over a year now and we love it.  Start by getting some basic training (we went on and got our Canine Good Citizen too).  Look on the website -- Therapy Dogs, Inc. (TDI) which you must join as the "mother" group (or the Delta Society which wasn't in our area at the time).  Then we joined the local group "Be An Angel Therapy Dogs Ministry" because they have events set up and calendar of places that need us, libraries, assisted living facilities, etc.....  plus you can do your testing/observations through them in conjunction with TDI.  They also have a website.  When the time comes  you can always email us and we will be glad to help steer you in the right direction.  Thanks for caring .... it really is rewarding ... to both Bisbee and myself.  Good Luck!

p.s., We have got to start checking in to Doodle Kisses more often...

[BoomBoom]

Thank you so much... I can't wait

[BG and Gavin]

Hi Linette!  I just posted a discussion about our "journey" in the training group if you would like to read it:  http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/trainingmindsets/forum/topics/a-p...

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Both of the major organizations have been listed here, Pet Partners and TDI, Inc.  The main difference that I know of between the two organizations is that with Pet Partners you have to retest every two years in order to stay current.  With TDI (Unless I'm mistaken) you only ever test the one time and then you just have to pay your dues every two years or some amount of time.  I did my first two years with Delta Society (they became Pet Partners near the end of my two year term).  When I came up for testing there wasn't anyone in my area giving the tests any longer.  I ended up going with a local group here in Cincinnati that used to be a sub group of Delta Society, but just recently broke off and are now their own group.  No connection to Delta.  They felt that Delta's prices were getting a little too high.  I think that most of that had to do with husband and wife teams with several dogs, the costs were getting outrageous.  For one person and one dog there wouldn't be too much difference.  Anyway, for a new person the good thing about becoming a part of a sub group that is local is that you have people to help you through the process.  They can mentor you and show you the ropes.  Being with Delta I had to figure it all out on my own.  I had to contact the facilities myself and get it all set up because Delta didn't have any facilities in my area.  So, talking to Nancy will be very valuable to you once you get started.  The most important thing you can do right now is lots and lots of socializing, followed by obedience training as soon as the puppy is old enough.  Of course, be careful of the socializing locations until the puppy is fully vaccinated.  Some puppies are ready to get started at one year, and others aren't.  I intended to start with Sophie at a year old and opted to wait until she was two just because I thought she needed to mature a little bit first.   You are at the prime age right now to get in some really good socializing.  The temperament of the dog is one of the most important things.  You can train obedience, but if the dog doesn't have the right temperament it just won't work.  Your dog needs to love love love people.  All kinds of people.  They need to be ok with noises (including someone dropping a hospital tray on the floor right behind them), meal carts coming down a hallway, people yelling.  They need to accept wheel chairs, walkers, crutches, etc.  Be careful about tennis balls if you plan to do this because if the dog becomes tennis ball obsessed, you are going to have problems with walkers because many times they have tennis balls on the bottom of them.  Other things you can be doing right now are playing with with the puppies feet.  Get in-between the toes and play with the pads.  Play with the tail, the ears.  Roll them over for belly rubs.  Take advantage of any opportunities to learn stairs and get used to elevators.  I'll leave you with two last things.  There is a lot of work that goes into getting certified and it also isn't necessarily cheap to do.  Depending on what type of visiting you want to do, it can also be time consuming in the beginning because if you want to do hospitals or hospice there could be volunteer training involved before you can start visiting the facilities.  Good luck.  Don't hesitate to ask if I can help in any other way.

[BoomBoom]

Great advice. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it :)

[Cathy Gertner]

Hi Linette,

I have been doing pet therapy for 3 years with my goldendoodle, Rackley. We are registered with Pet Therapy Inc. ( www.therapydogs.com is their website. I would suggest you look at it and view the test. As a puppy I would recommend that you take your pup to Puppy Obedience school followed by Obedience 1.You should have the opportunity in those classes to get a puppy AKC good citizen and adult dog AKC Good Citizen award. You can go on the AKC website and see what is required for those achievements. Most dogs who earn their Good Citizen award can be good therapy dogs. I am a tester/observer for TDInc in Gainesville, Florida. Please feel free to email me ( [e-mail])  with any questions. You can look for testers in your area on the TDInc website. Good luck. Pet Therapy is the most rewarding
thing I have ever been involvedl with....PAID or otherwise. I do LOVE it !!

[BoomBoom]

Hi Cathy. I am going to school for Occupational Therapy and will be working with kids and/or elderly people in nursing homes. It would be so nice to take my Boomer with me on my days off for visits. I checked out the AKC website and contacted local testers/observers. One lady emailed me back and said she is starting classes in a few weeks so I signed him up. I'm so excited. I have a long way to go because he's so young but it's not too early to start a good basic obedience training. Thank you so much for your help. I've added your email address to my address book in case I have questions in the future. Thanks :)