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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!
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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.