| Service dog and therapy dog training
Okay I promised I would post and give you some specifics regarding service dog in therapy dog training. Sorry I didn't get to it yesterday, house and puppies and husband newly retired and staying at home, kind of changed my routines and right now I can't say I have any routines left.
Let's start with the basics: being a service dog and being a therapy dog are two different trainings. Some dogs can be both a service dog and a therapy dog while others can be simply a service dog or simply a therapy dog.
To become a service dog, the dog needs to be first assessed by a licensed trainer, preferably one who is affiliated with Delta Society. The dog needs to be obedience trained, well socialized, and very connected with its owner or the person he is going to be servicing. Service dogs can be seizure dogs, companions for the disabled, hearing dogs, sight dogs for the blind or sight impaired medication dogs, mobility dogs, etc. I have seen videos where Yorkies were trained to make beds, pickup keys, and be hearing dogs.
It generally takes about nine months to a year of intensive training for a dog to be qualified to be a service dog. When the trainer is satisfied the dog is responsible and responsive to the disabled person's needs, the trainer will complete paperwork for the dog to be registered in your city, county as a service dog, as well as with the Delta Society and any other service dog organizations they are affiliated with.
SARA is an organization where you can register your service dog and/or therapy dog after you have completed and received the registration papers from the trainers.
Therapy dogs are a whole different focus. Now you were looking at a dog that can benefit someone else. Therapy dogs like service dogs come in all sizes and breeds. Again, a licensed trainer needs to assess the dog. Most dogs cannot be registered as therapy dogs until they are one year of age and have completed an intense training program including 10 to 20 hours of internship as a therapy dog. Bailey goes to the public library as part of a reading program where the children read to the dogs. Bailey will also be going to a Children's Hospital where most of the kids are on respirators and cannot really play. Therapy dogs must not be afraid of strangers, noise, etc. Therapy dogs must be completely calm and totally reliable in their behaviors with children, seniors, disabled and strangers. Therapy dog owners must be attuned to their dog’s attitude, moods, and needs at all times.
There are several good web sites on animal assisted therapy and Google will provide many web sites.
If you are seriously thinking about your dog becoming a service drug or therapy dog, the first thing you should do is find a trainer who is already certified to be your mentor as well as the trainer. If I can answer any more questions, please feel free to send me an e-mail.
Bailey's and Dayzee's parental figure |