Do you have a certified Pet Therapy Yorkie?

[addevo]

We adopted Finbar, a yorkie/shih tzu cross from our local shelter as a puppy. When he was 8 months old, I took him to a basic obedience class where we did very well. Once he was 2, I took him for an evaluation as a therapy dog, and he passed with flying colors. In fact, the trainers both said that he was "born to do therapy work." He LOVES going to the nursing homes, and so do I. Then, my husband wanted to get in on the fun. So he and Finbar got certified as a team, too.

The problem is that since we both enjoy taking Finbar to visits on the weekends, but there are two of us and only one dog. (We have another rescue Yorkie, who was a puppy mill mommy dog. Though she is a wonderful pet, she as a lot of little behavioral quirks and isn't really suited to be a therapy dog.)

I'd love to adopt another yorkie, but I'm wondering if the reason Finbar is such a good therapy dog is related to his Shih Tzu temperament more than his Yorkie heritage.

I know all dogs have their own personalities, but has anyone on this Forum had good luck with training a Yorkie for Pet Therapy? If so, could you tell me a little more about your dog so I would know what qualities to look for? Also, do you think that Yorkie rescues would be "turned off" by my desire to adopt a dog for that purpose?

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by addevo

We adopted Finbar, a yorkie/shih tzu cross from our local shelter as a puppy. When he was 8 months old, I took him to a basic obedience class where we did very well. Once he was 2, I took him for an evaluation as a therapy dog, and he passed with flying colors. In fact, the trainers both said that he was "born to do therapy work." He LOVES going to the nursing homes, and so do I. Then, my husband wanted to get in on the fun. So he and Finbar got certified as a team, too.

The problem is that since we both enjoy taking Finbar to visits on the weekends, but there are two of us and only one dog. (We have another rescue Yorkie, who was a puppy mill mommy dog. Though she is a wonderful pet, she as a lot of little behavioral quirks and isn't really suited to be a therapy dog.)

I'd love to adopt another yorkie, but I'm wondering if the reason Finbar is such a good therapy dog is related to his Shih Tzu temperament more than his Yorkie heritage.

I know all dogs have their own personalities, but has anyone on this Forum had good luck with training a Yorkie for Pet Therapy? If so, could you tell me a little more about your dog so I would know what qualities to look for? Also, do you think that Yorkie rescues would be "turned off" by my desire to adopt a dog for that purpose?

I found your post really interesting because my grown son has a Shih Tzu, and his personality is so different than Joey. I love my little Joey to pieces, but I think he needs therapy, and couldn't pass as a therapy dog. Even though I tried to socialize him lots as a pup, he just doesn't do well going places and meeting new people, he great when people come here, and accepts them very well. I have read of some people here at Yorkietalk with therapy dogs, I imagine if you train from the beginning many can be socialized to love this, so much of it depends upon the dog, but in general it seems like Shih Tzu's are more outgoing. To answer your question about rescues, no I don't think they'd be turned off at all, I think they'd would just love the idea of one of their rescues helping someone. In fact, I think you should tell the rescue of your plans, and they probably could help you select a more outgoing dog. Best of luck, I think what you are doing is wonderful!

[Britster]

I've seen a few Yorkies on here that are therapy dogs but I do think shihtzu's are more laid back in general. Eddie, alaskayorkie's Yorkie is a therapy dog and seems to do amazing at it!

I always wished Jackson could be a therapy dog but I don't really know if it's something you can necessarily "train" a dog to be, ya know? Jackson is such a wonderful dog, and to the people that he knows (even if he's met you only a few times) he will love you forever. But brand new strangers he is just very shy. He won't just allow most strangers to come up and pet him w/o knowing them. He has gotten better so I often wonder if I worked hard enough at it, if it'd be possible, but I just dunno. I've looked at parts of the tests, like walking through crowd, etc... he would be absolutely fine with other dogs, crowds etc but when it comes to strangers petting him... he's just too shy.

Anyways, I'm rambling, lol. I think it'd be wonderful if you adopted a second dog, whether yorkie or not, to become a therapy dog!

[alaskayorkie]

Yeah, there are a few of us here who have purebred Yorkie therapy dogs. My Eddie is certified through the Delta Society. He passed the test when he was 3 and has been visiting an assisted living home for more than a year with great results.

Eddie had a lot of obedience and agility training before he took the test, and, as with you, he passed for both me and my wife first time with flying colors. One tester even called him the best she had in his testing class of 15 or so.

Eddie normally does tricks at his visits, but he's solid around distractions, such as wheelchairs, clunky walkers and even resident cats.

That said, his one flaw as a therapy dog, in my opinion, is he tends not to engage the patients or residents. He'll sit on their lap comfortably, but his focus is always on me. I think the perfect therapy dog should engage the patient.

I have an 8-month old who I think is going to make a great therapy dog as well. Her obedience skills are coming along great, and she's a social butterfly.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Britster

I've seen a few Yorkies on here that are therapy dogs but I do think shihtzu's are more laid back in general. Eddie, alaskayorkie's Yorkie is a therapy dog and seems to do amazing at it!

I always wished Jackson could be a therapy dog but I don't really know if it's something you can necessarily "train" a dog to be, ya know? Jackson is such a wonderful dog, and to the people that he knows (even if he's met you only a few times) he will love you forever. But brand new strangers he is just very shy. He won't just allow most strangers to come up and pet him w/o knowing them. He has gotten better so I often wonder if I worked hard enough at it, if it'd be possible, but I just dunno. I've looked at parts of the tests, like walking through crowd, etc... he would be absolutely fine with other dogs, crowds etc but when it comes to strangers petting him... he's just too shy.

Anyways, I'm rambling, lol. I think it'd be wonderful if you adopted a second dog, whether yorkie or not, to become a therapy dog!

That's exactly the way I feel about Joey, you explained it very well, not rambling at all.

[citygirl123]

I love the idea of a therapy dog. How do you find training for that? Good luck with your finding a 2nd dog to train. It is great also that your and your husband like to do this!

[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by citygirl123

I love the idea of a therapy dog. How do you find training for that? Good luck with your finding a 2nd dog to train. It is great also that your and your husband like to do this!

citygirl, some obedience schools offer courses to prepare dogs for AKC's Canine Good Citizen test, which is similar to the one you take to get therapy dog certification. But even if they don't, basic obedience is all you need. In a nutshell, you need a good "sit-stay," "come", and be able to walk on a loose leash. They have to be able to deal with unexpected noises (anything from loud voices to banging walkers) and they have to be comfortable around people and other animals. Eddie doesn't love loud noises, but he recovers quickly and doesn't try to bolt, and that's all the testers were looking for.

Check out Delta Society - Improving lives through Service & Therapy animals. There are several organizations that certify therapy dogs, but that's the one I went through.

Britster, depending on how shy Jackson is, he might still be good at therapy with all the tricks he does. At our visits, I carry Eddie and introduce him to people one at a time. I never let a crowd develop. Occasionally, I'll try setting him on someone's lap, but generally he gets too fidgety.

The bulk of our visits is him doing tricks. He likes that because he gets lots of treats.

But you're right to be skeptical. One thing that impressed me in the testing is that they insist that you keep all your attention on the dog. It's all about them. If they're not enjoying what you're doing, you leave. Eddie isn't afraid of people, but after a quick hello he wants his space. That works out well for us. He enjoys the visits because it's 1-on-1 time with me and him, and he feels special leaving the other dogs in our house at home. Plus he gets treats.

Someone in our group has an older therapy dog, and she's been struggling with when to retire him from the work. She decided that it will be when her dog no longer gets excited about the visit. Makes sense to me. If you keep it all about the dog, you can't go wrong.

Sheesh, talk about rambling! Sorry.

[QuickSilver]

alaskayorkie, I'm interested that you've managed to get not one but two dogs with therapy-quality temperament.

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that Thor is just a spooky dog. I definitely have high hopes for him improving, and he has come a long way -- but it took us a year to get to the point where I can have him Sit/Stay while I say, use an ATM. I still have to keep an eye out for strange people/dogs/other things that might bother him, because he will still break a stay if he spooks, and he spooks pretty easy.

I would have said that Shih Tzu's generally are known for being very calm, easy going dogs. Still, speaking with total honesty - do you think you are lucky, or very skilled/dedicated? I would love for Thor to get a Good Citizen award, but I've started giving up on that stuff because honestly, he seems like a really slow learner. Then again, it could be me.


(misc brag to end on a positive note: Thor will now play dead in front of other people! We spent a long time all our tricks in theory, because he didn't like performing in front of people. He really hammed it up today though. )

[YorkieShadow]

We took in a little yorkie/shih tzu mix and let me tell you she is the sweetest smartest little thing. always wanting to please.

[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

alaskayorkie, I'm interested that you've managed to get not one but two dogs with therapy-quality temperament.

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that Thor is just a spooky dog. I definitely have high hopes for him improving, and he has come a long way -- but it took us a year to get to the point where I can have him Sit/Stay while I say, use an ATM. I still have to keep an eye out for strange people/dogs/other things that might bother him, because he will still break a stay if he spooks, and he spooks pretty easy.

I would have said that Shih Tzu's generally are known for being very calm, easy going dogs. Still, speaking with total honesty - do you think you are lucky, or very skilled/dedicated? I would love for Thor to get a Good Citizen award, but I've started giving up on that stuff because honestly, he seems like a really slow learner. Then again, it could be me.


(misc brag to end on a positive note: Thor will now play dead in front of other people! We spent a long time all our tricks in theory, because he didn't like performing in front of people. He really hammed it up today though. )

Sounds like you've done a GREAT job with Thor.

Thanks! My "secret" with Eddie was patience. I didn't start training him until he was 11 months, which made it a lot tougher. He was afraid and suspicious of everything. But I made up for his shortcomings by taking a lot of obedience classes. I lost count at 10 in his first 3 years. In the beginning, I had real doubts as to how trainable he was. He'd freeze up and refuse to do things that I knew he knew how to do. But I didn't get impatient. If he learned one or two things in an 8-week class, that was enough. I didn't push him when I could see he was tired of practicing. At one point, we quit classes altogether and just concentrated on playing and having fun. Eventually, over a long period of time, he found his confidence and learned to enjoy the obedience work we were doing.

With Jillie, IF she makes it as a therapy dog, I'd attribute that more to early socialization than to obedience training. I found a breeder who put a priority on socializing her in the 11 weeks before I got her. Then I made a point of introducing her to all kinds of people and animals and situations from the day I got her. She's a social butterfly and not nearly as fearful of everything as Eddie was.

All that said, I still don't trust either one of them off-leash if there's a chance they can get into trouble.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

citygirl, some obedience schools offer courses to prepare dogs for AKC's Canine Good Citizen test, which is similar to the one you take to get therapy dog certification. But even if they don't, basic obedience is all you need. In a nutshell, you need a good "sit-stay," "come", and be able to walk on a loose leash. They have to be able to deal with unexpected noises (anything from loud voices to banging walkers) and they have to be comfortable around people and other animals. Eddie doesn't love loud noises, but he recovers quickly and doesn't try to bolt, and that's all the testers were looking for.

Check out Delta Society - Improving lives through Service & Therapy animals. There are several organizations that certify therapy dogs, but that's the one I went through.

Britster, depending on how shy Jackson is, he might still be good at therapy with all the tricks he does. At our visits, I carry Eddie and introduce him to people one at a time. I never let a crowd develop. Occasionally, I'll try setting him on someone's lap, but generally he gets too fidgety.

The bulk of our visits is him doing tricks. He likes that because he gets lots of treats.

But you're right to be skeptical. One thing that impressed me in the testing is that they insist that you keep all your attention on the dog. It's all about them. If they're not enjoying what you're doing, you leave. Eddie isn't afraid of people, but after a quick hello he wants his space. That works out well for us. He enjoys the visits because it's 1-on-1 time with me and him, and he feels special leaving the other dogs in our house at home. Plus he gets treats.

Someone in our group has an older therapy dog, and she's been struggling with when to retire him from the work. She decided that it will be when her dog no longer gets excited about the visit. Makes sense to me. If you keep it all about the dog, you can't go wrong.

Sheesh, talk about rambling! Sorry.

Yeah, that's why I've always thought he could be a good therapy dog if he could pass the test: he will do tricks in front of ANYONE, lol. I think that's the one time he feels comfortable and confident.

He's done his tricks in the middle of 5 young boys all under the age of 6 (loud, wild and rambunctious!) and he did his tricks with little fear. He will also allow children to command him to the tricks. On NYE, I babysat for some cousins who he barely knows (all under 10 years old) and he was nervous for the first 10 minutes (but these were wild kids! lol) but the 9 year old boy that was there took some my treats and was asking him to do all sorts of tricks and Jackson was just eating it all up.

I also don't think Jackson would really like sitting on somebody's lap. He doesn't sit still very long. If I'm carrying Jackson, he will allow people to pet him right off the bat but he's definitely still a bit nervous. He's not a totally skiddish dog or anything. I think shy is just the perfect word.

I don't know, maybe that could be a goal of ours... to get Jackson to be a therapy dog in the future. I really think with some more training and patience, he could do it. It's a nice goal to work towards!

I've been wanting to enroll him in obedience classes even though he already knows so much from just me, I think it would be good for him to take an actual class, we can always learn more!

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

alaskayorkie, I'm interested that you've managed to get not one but two dogs with therapy-quality temperament.

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that Thor is just a spooky dog. I definitely have high hopes for him improving, and he has come a long way -- but it took us a year to get to the point where I can have him Sit/Stay while I say, use an ATM. I still have to keep an eye out for strange people/dogs/other things that might bother him, because he will still break a stay if he spooks, and he spooks pretty easy.

I would have said that Shih Tzu's generally are known for being very calm, easy going dogs. Still, speaking with total honesty - do you think you are lucky, or very skilled/dedicated? I would love for Thor to get a Good Citizen award, but I've started giving up on that stuff because honestly, he seems like a really slow learner. Then again, it could be me.


(misc brag to end on a positive note: Thor will now play dead in front of other people! We spent a long time all our tricks in theory, because he didn't like performing in front of people. He really hammed it up today though. )

I've missed you around here!

I'm so proud of Thor! You should be SO proud. You have come sooo far with him.

[ltret0294]

Little DJ was the perfect Pet Therapy pup. He would sit on the residents laps, mellow and let them pet and talk to him. Zack's the same way since he is such a cuddler. Zoey can be turn her energy on/off and is just as good with the residents. Others will say the same thing, getting pet therapy certified and taking our pets to visit nursing homes and hospice patients is such a warm and rewarding experience. The pups can get the folks chatting and remembering about their pets and experiences.

[Macksmom]

I got Mack when he was 12 weeks old. I work as a social worker in a Nursing Home. I knew I couldnt leave him home all day so I brought him to work with me. He is now 16 weeks and the Residents at the Nursing home are in love with him. We let the Residents pick out his middle name and he even has an ID badge. He knows the routine and has his favorite residents already. It is so funny because all of the residents think he is cute and pet him, that when we go somewhere and he sees someone with a rolling walker he goes running to them. We want to get him certified as a therapy dog. It's amazing to see the look on a residents face when you put Mack on their lap....Priceless. What is even more rewarding is that the staff now stop by my office for their bit of "pet therapy" as well during the day. I am looking forward to having him certified as a therapy dog. We have only had him 4 weeks and he has touched so many people's lives. I cant imagine life without him

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Macksmom

I got Mack when he was 12 weeks old. I work as a social worker in a Nursing Home. I knew I couldnt leave him home all day so I brought him to work with me. He is now 16 weeks and the Residents at the Nursing home are in love with him. We let the Residents pick out his middle name and he even has an ID badge. He knows the routine and has his favorite residents already. It is so funny because all of the residents think he is cute and pet him, that when we go somewhere and he sees someone with a rolling walker he goes running to them. We want to get him certified as a therapy dog. It's amazing to see the look on a residents face when you put Mack on their lap....Priceless. What is even more rewarding is that the staff now stop by my office for their bit of "pet therapy" as well during the day. I am looking forward to having him certified as a therapy dog. We have only had him 4 weeks and he has touched so many people's lives. I cant imagine life without him

Great story, and how perfect you can take your little guy with you to work, and give other people such pleasure at the same time. You are socializing him in such a positive way too, Joey's breeder said try to get as many new positive experiences as possible the first three months, and you found a perfect way to do it!

[YorkieTherapy]

Hi there! Guinness's papa here. Usually my wife does the posting, but I could not help myself with this thread.

Guinness has been a therapy dog for over a year now. He was registed by Delta Soceity Pet Partners Progam. Both my wife and I went through the evaluation to pass as handlers. A lot of people do not realize that not only does the dog have to pass, but the owner/handler has to as well. There have been many cases where the dog passed, but the handler didn't!

Aside from the dog, here is an insight as to what they want from the handlers: They want you to be able to hold a conversations with the patient/resident of the facilty, while also keeping an eye on your dog and making sure they are not getting stressed, consoling or comforting them whenever needed. You want to make sure the experience is always positive for your dog. This includeds knowing when your dog has had enought and ending the visit. An hour visit wipes them out! Guinness always sleeps happily the rest of the day afer a visit. Dog therapy is definitley multi-tasking!

How we knew Guinness could be a therapy dog is when we took him to his first AKC puppy obedience training. His trainer happened to be a Delta Evaluator and Service Dog Trainer. She told us that Guinness would be a good candidate for a therapy dog, but he had to undergo a lot more training.

We are lucky, in that we are shadowed/mentored by five Delta Evaluators when we go on group visits. It just worked out that way! We know them from our dog training school, where they are also instructors, so we are very fortunate.

If you are interested in seeing whether your dog has the termprment and dispostion to be a therapy dog, go to Deltasoceity.org for a pre-evaluation. In Northern California, where we are, they do this twice a year. Check your area to see if they are conveniently located for you.

If Delta is not conveniantly located for you, another good organization is TDI, or Therapy Dog International.

This year, we want to pass Delta's complex visit evaluation. You see, Delta has two levels. Predictable and Complex. Predictable, which is what we have now, allows visits to nursing homes, reading programs. Basically, situations without surprises.

With Complex visiting, we can join our group in going to see children at Shriner's Hospital, Stanford, and Lucile Packard. Many of these children are undergoing cancer treatment, dialysis, etc. Complex visiting will allow us to do one-on-one Hospice situations.

Our evaluators have already told us there is absolutely no reason why Guinness should not pass. I guess this is their nice way of saying that it is his owners that are holding him back! LOL!

We are starting to consider looking for a second therapy Yorkie. An experienced breeder will be a valuable resource, because they observe their puppies and get to know them way before they let them go to their forever home, so we are lookikng for one. Anyone out there?

If we were looking for a lab, we would be in luck, as many of the therapy dogs in our group come from service dog breeding programs, and didn't quite make it, but they made great therapy dogs.

Sorry this was sooo long. Hope it helped a bit. We just wanted to give you an insight. Bottom line, therapy work is very rewarding. We are very passionate about it. Some of the "moments" we have experienced, we will remember forever.