My therapy dog MUST wear a COLLAR?!
 

We just passe our therapy dog test yesterday. Today I get an email from the evaluator saying she had just double checked and the organization (TDInc) requires a dog to wear and walk with a collar not a harness. So, I'm required to attach a leash to a collar to walk my 4-lb dog?! I'm so upset about this. I don't believe it's safe for any dog to walk with a collar, but especially not a tiny dog prone to colapsing trachea. What do I do? Would any of you compromise something like his for therapy dog visits? I feel like this is really a very dangerous thing and feeling really discouraged that this would be nessessary.

I wouldn't, and it's exactly why I opted out of a group when we were living in the Philadelphia area. It's ridiculous. For awhile now, the AKC has permitted dogs to pass the Canine Good Citizen test on a harness as long as it is not the corrective type, so there is really no excuse. :(

I'm so sorry you've found yourself in this situation, especially when you want to do something so wonderful for others with your pup. I hope you can find a group that will accommodate harness use.

No one has been able to give me a rationale for why it has to be that way. The group I mentioned above simply told me she had chihuahuas that walked on collars, and they were all fine. :confused: What does that have to do with me not wanting to put my dog in a potentially dangerous situation? Good luck!

I had to do stuff and Moki was require to wear a collar. Think thats just genetic saying??
But I got him a collar just for his Id and license but had his harness with his leash Was always accepted. Ppl just don't know whats right. I really think it up to the trainers judgement??

I have seen pictures of therapy dogs with harnesses on. I would just use the harness and if someone says something I would explain why it's dangerous.

It says here that they can wear a harness as long as they are wearing an approved collar. One of the approved collars is a quick release, this absolutely makes no sense to me, but it's in the rules. Quick release collars shouldn't cause any damage to their throats. Also, read rule 10, they do make exceptions, I think if you show them a picture of a harness like the Buddy Belt with it sturdy buckle, they will probably make an exception, they don't want a harness that has Velcro or those little plastic clips that easily become undone. Lol, I just don’t understand why they'll accept a quick release collar.

Congrats to you & your baby for becoming a therapy dog! I would wear both, have the lead on her harness & if someone says something, switch it quick to the collar & give them a big smile & walk away carrying her.:p Maybe you can get your vet to write a letter to only allow harness for her...

Re-test with Pet Partners, Pet Partners® ? Touching lives through human?animal interactions - Pet Partners (formerly Delta Society). They don't require collars. Eddie has been a therapy dog for almost 5 years, and never once has he worn a collar on visits.

I think it's probably tied to the Canine Good Citizen test, which is part of the TDI requirements. AKC, which administers the CGC test, requires buckle collars to take that. I was told they could get an exemption, but it must include a letter from a vet saying the dog has a "severe" neck injury. Which I found ridiculous. He doesn't have a severe neck injury -- I'm trying to avoid that!

They finally changed that a few years ago! Dogs can wear harnesses now for the CGC test. You can scroll down to view under the equipment section: AKC's Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Program :)

Thanks for the responses everyone.

From what the evaluator told me, she believes that they require the leash attached to the collar because it gives more control. Control my dog by a collar? No, thank you!! If he needs to be controlled by a collar, he probably shouldn't be there anyway.

And yes, Nancy, I read the rules the same way. The evaluator told me she was unsure about it, so she checked with them yesterday and they told her that the collar must be attached to the leash. It is ridiculous. And, you still have to wonder when reading that, even if the leash IS allowed to be attached to the harness, why on earth they need to be wearing a collar? It's not a very clear statement. I would never have imagined there would be a problem with a harness.

I am going to ask about the exception. We always use Buddy Belts and there is no reason that should not be acceptable. If no exception can be made, the dog will have to be carried 100% of the time. It is not acceptable to me to put my dog's health and life at risk. I would ignore it, but from what I have been told, the rules have to be followed as written because of a liability issues.

I am positive that I took the CGC with a harness.

BTW, I would love to do Pet Partners, but due to feeding a dehydrated Raw food, I can't. After the first two years with a very, very sick little dog, his current diet has cured nearly all his symptoms. So, I'm not really willing to compromise that either...

Yep, that's the drawback to Pet Partners. I would lobby TDI a little harder. If the CGC indeed dropped its requirement, there's no reason for TDI to keep it.

I actually exchanged emails with TDI a few years ago about this same thing, and they blamed the collar requirement on the CGC test.

BTW, I would love to do Pet Partners, but due to feeding a dehydrated Raw food, I can't. After the first two years with a very, very sick little dog, his current diet has cured nearly all his symptoms. So, I'm not really willing to compromise that either...

:confused: what does that diet have to do with his ability to go with Pet Partners?

Cali went through her CGC in a harness and no one, even the evaluator, said anything a out it. One way around the AKC collar issues is to use a good fitting martingale - course I had to make my own because no one made one small enough. Several of the a therapy Dog training groups allow harnesses.

Pet Partners sites a study that suggests dogs on a raw diet have a higher incidence of salmonella in their stool than dogs on cooked foods. Raw advocates don't buy it and say the study was flawed, but PP refused to reconsider.

Too bad. Hopefully more research will change things in future. PP lost some great teams because of it.

Seems like if a dog had ingested enough salmonella to infect someone else they would be pretty sick pups themselves! Interesting I will ask the epidemiology/ infectious disease folks at the university.

Thanks for the explanation.

I'd be interested in what they tell you. My mostly uneducated understanding is salmonella doesn't affect dogs the way it affects humans.

Interesting. Then why do they bother with all of those recalls on salmonella contaminated food I wonder.

Here is a vets article. Can be transmitted to humans, however, states dogs usually have diarrhea when infected. There could be degrees of infection of course.

Salmonellosis (Canine) | Petside

Humans doing the feeding can get sick.

I think TDI makes it up as they go along. We showed up for our appointment and they wouldn't test my dog because he's a service dog. I told them he was a service dog before I sent the fee. They left that "rule" out until after my check cleared. I drove an hour and 45 minutes each way and they wouldn't even test us. :(

Ugh, I would be upset. That's been my experience. The local testers and national rule-makers don't always speak the same language.

Pet Partners (formerly Delta Society) accepts service dogs.

Well, that stinks for sure! Did they give you a reason why they don't?

I agree with Alaska, Delta won't have a problem with it.

They said a dog can't possibly do both at the same time. Benji does medical alert. He can be on the other side of the dog park playing with his pals and still fly to my side to alert me. I know he can handle multitasking. She pulled out a handbook to prove this was the rule but couldn't manage to find it.

The only reason I signed him up was that he goes to the hospital with me for my appointments and several of the nurses suggested he be certified as a therapy dog so other patients can visit with him. Everyone loves him and he's perfectly behaved. I told this to TDI when I set up the appointment so don't cha think they could have told me then, before I sent the check?

Interesting. It is true that a well trained service dog will always put his duty to the handler first. That being said, my service dog does very well as a therapy dog. She will not leave my sight and sticks like Velcro but loves visiting the patients in the hospital and in the office. Have never had a problem. However, if something came up she would immediately cue me and stick with me. She would not jeopardize the patient we are visiting, but would disengage with them and focus on me. She has been trained to do both jobs, so I don't see the problem. The fact that they would not test you baffles me - that would demonstrate if she can do both tasks I would think. Clearly, I would work with another agency!
If it is a not for profit agency and will not refund your money I would for sure file it on my taxes as a donation.

Cali -
Benji is the same way. He'd disengage and stick to me until the issue is over.
I plan on calling it a donation. I'll try Pet Partners and I spoke to a local group in Boston that he can work with as well.

BTW, Cali does agility and does not wear a collar. For the other obedience classes they do have to wear a collar. Someone did tell me that for rally they can wear a martingale but I'd check in that.

For the collar rule (dumb that it is a rule, but a non pulling, healthy Yorkie would do fine with one), use a harness and a collar. Connect leashes to both. Put a shorter leash on the harness so any pulling will be on the chest. ;)

:thumbup:

Yeah, this. I wouldn't worry at all about using one on a Yorkie that is well trained enough to be a therapy dog. And it's only for short visits -- it's not like you have to use a collar 100% of the time in their life. They shouldn't be pulling on the leash anyway in that type of environment I would assume.

I use a slip lead or slip collar for Jackson often times for things like agility class, and future Barn Hunt events I will (it was a pain to take harness off/on while people are waiting for you to exit), and also for quick potty breaks outside in our yard on the flexi.

I agree 100%. What I don't understand is that a well trained dog has been trained to NOT pull on a leash - period. People who show dogs in AKC conformation use show leads which are essentially modified slip collars. I have seen exhibitors - both amateur and professional string up a yorkie with only it's toes touching the ground and WIN! I don't agree with this practice, in fact it makes me so angry I want to scream!

oops...
 

And a huge congratulations to you on your hard work and desire to help others by become a therapy team!

can I ask what you plan to do with your dogs once they have the therapy certification.

I take Lola to a nearby nursing home on a regular basis and no one every mentioned she needed to have any type of certification. Besides the command of sit and stay and come, what do they specifically teach that is related to providing therapy and besides comfort and cheer what type of therapy can a little dog give.