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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.