Orange County therapy dog

[Hailey and Charlie]

Hello, I have a mini golden doodle Charlie. He has completed two dog training courses at pet smart. He needs one more to be ready for the CGC. He is 10 months old and I am trying to look into guidelines for therapy dogs.
I noticed you have listed three organizations but I am unsure if he needs to be apart of one to be in a practice. I am a MFT Intern and want to use him as a therapy dog in my practice. I am having difficulty finding guidelines for that. Does anyone have information as far as what certifications are needed.
I am considering doing that as well so he can volunteer. If anyone has any information I would really appreciate it. I want to share Charlie's love with others.

I would love any suggestions to prepare Charlie in becoming a therapy dog since he is not 1 year old yet.

[Rita and Fazzy]

Hi there....

Fazz and I are a registered therapy team thru Pet Partners and currently visit one of the local hospitals, will be taking the volunteer orientation to also go to the local hospice house. 

I don't know what guidelines there are for having him in your office as a therapy dog, so of little help there.  As far as certifications, we didn't need any and in fact we have never taken the CGC either.  With Pet Partners you, as the handler, take either an online handler course, or, if available in your area, a handler class that is put on by a Pet Partners instructor.  After that you find an evaluator who will put you thru the evaluation - there are several different "tasks" that must be completed, with commands such as wait, leave it, down, sit.  Walking on a loose leash is also something you'd want to have down well.  Having helped out with evaluations both before and after our own, I can tell you that the hardest one for most dogs is passing by a neutral dog without trying to greet the dog.  If you go out to the Pet Partners website I believe that there is a video of an evaluation that you can watch.  It's all really basic stuff in the evaluation, much like the CGC test from what I've been told.

Good luck!!!  It's very rewarding!!

Rita & Fazz

[Hailey and Charlie]

Thank you so much! I will begin looking into that since he is almost of age and would like to begin preparing as soon as possible to make sure he can pass.

[Ron Carnes]

We are a registered team with PetPartners.There are numerous Animal Assisted Therapy Programs. We decided on PetPartners due to proximity and they furnish liability insurance. I would suggest an organization within driving distance that has facility agreements that are nearby. PetPartners has a handlers course either online or a 1 day on site course followed by a 20 step handler and animal test. PetPartners has the details on line. 

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Hi there!

We are registered through Alliance of Therapy Dogs (formerly Therapy Dogs Inc.) and I know that for us our liability insurance only covers the dog and handler if we are operating as a volunteer team. If I were to take Loki to work with me, even if we were visiting patients, but I was getting paid to "work", it's all voided. I'm not sure what other organization's policies are but that would be something to check into. I would look at different agencies and call different testers/observers in your area, usually they are searchable on the organizations website by your zip code. I would find which group is most active in your area, while you don't need a group right in your area it is very nice to join a mini-community when you are first starting out. I originally had called a tester with TDI but then found out that ATD was more active in my area and some hospitals, including the one I wanted to visit, required that you be a member with ATD. There are also a couple of places that specify one or two organizations they will except dogs from, I'm not sure why. I live in Michigan and I'm not sure if other places are like this. You might want to look into seeing if your state or county has any active local groups too. In Michigan we have Therapaws of Michigan which requires all teams to be certified through ATD, but some of the hospitals require you to be a member of Therapaws to visit. This local group is so great for a new member like me because they do little parties and get togethers and larger group visits to local universities.

Take a look at the discussion I had started, I think it's titled "Advice and tips for a Newbie". I started that when Loki was 8months old and got a ton of wonderful tips and feed back from the members here.

Similar to what others have said ATD does not require the CGC, but they do say as a guideline if your dog has trouble with the CGC, they need more training before they take the therapy dog test.

Good luck :)

[Helen & Kirby]

Hi

I just noticed your post, but would like to recommend Pet Prescription Team for your therapy training and certification.  The training and tests are done in an assisted living facility( usually in La Habra)  so you get real experience.  There are lots of opportunities for you to volunteer with your dog.  Talk to Krystal or Phil 562-694-8090.