A Therapy Dog is commonly owned and handled by a single person who lives separate from the care facilities in which it visits. They are considered personal pets to the handler/owner and have been trained with specific commands to provide comfort and affection to people in long-term care, retirement homes, hospitals, health institutions, schools and other stressful environments such as disaster areas. Handlers of these dogs might be teachers or health care professionals who are members of the staff of a particular facility, or simply volunteers; they often work with their handler during volunteer/work sessions.

 

Therapy Dogs provide people with calming animal contact and sometimes entertainment with tricks and easy-going play. You and your Therapy Dog can join in animal-assisted therapy groups for additional animal-assisted activities. Training classes for you and your dog would be a great start to become a Therapy Dog team. You can then qualify to take the Canine Good Citizen test to earn a CGC certificate. This will give you and your dog everything you need to begin providing an amazing service by visiting facilities to comfort and give companionship to those that love to share in all of the joy a dog can bring. You can also join a Therapy Dog program for further education and experience.    

 

Click the button below to view additional information and Steps on AKC:

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Therapy Dog Training:

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This program is specially catered to help handler/dog teams learn and practice the skills required to take a Therapy Dog Evaluation. You will learn how to read your dog's body language and demonstrate positive interactions with other people.

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Prerequisite: CGC/Advanced Training or a comparable skill level

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Every Therapy Dog Package is customizable depending on you and your dog's experience. To get a cost estimate and time frame, please describe your desires as best you can in a message: 

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Expectations:

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* Strengthen bond by enhancing communication and reliability between dog/handler team

* Core skills needed to take CGC evaluation and additional Pet Assisted Therapy evaluations

* Help handlers to understand their dog's body language & identify signs of stress

*Work on reactions to distractions

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Sample of Basic Starter Program for no experience (Descriptions below in the pet section):

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* Puppy or Beginner Training Program (6 weeks- Only for puppies and/or dogs with no training experience)

* Intermediate Training Program (6 weeks)

* Advanced Training Program (6 weeks)

*Therapy Dog Training Program (6 weeks)

* Practice and Preparation for Canine Good Citizen Evaluations

* CGC Tests: CGC, CGCA (Community- Advanced) and CGCU (Urban)

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