Therapy dogs are animals that visit residents of nursing homes, patients in hospitals, kids in schools and others, interacting with them on a one-on-one basis. Therapy dogs have been found to help patients with chronic illnesses that are confined to hospitals or care facilities, suffering from health issues and diseases, such as AIDS, severe heart problems and cancer, as well as elderly individuals and children. To become certified therapy dogs, pets must take a test designed by the American Kennel Club that ensures that they have skills needed to visit with people.
Instructions
Training
Determine whether dogs have the right temperament to be therapy dogs. To do visits, pets need to be calm, friendly and gentle because they interact directly with people, often sitting with them on hospital beds, and they will likely be petted, hugged and tugged on. Although their owners are often with them, they still have to be adaptable and able to deal with strangers well. All types of dogs can be therapy dogs, ranging in size from Chihuahuas to Golden Retrievers, but they have to have less hyperactive personalities to do therapy visits.
Train pets in basic manners, such as sitting and listening to commands. Before dogs can master advanced skills, it is important that they are able to listen to their owners. There are many positive reinforcement methods that can help dogs learn to listen to their owners. Andrea Meinhart, the owner of the Columbia Canine Sports Center, says that masters can find success if they give their pets treats and praise them to reward them for certain behaviors, but they need to be consistent so their dogs will repeat these actions. Using these methods, it is possible to teach animals basic skills, such as sitting, coming when called and getting down when asked.
Prepare dogs for the Canine Good Citizen test so that they can become certified. The test requires that dogs demonstrate certain more advanced skills, such as sitting down to be petted, responding to the handler on a leash, walking through a crowd, sitting and staying, dealing with distractions, being separated from their owners and acting calmly around other animals. Alison Barulich, the president of the Pet-Assisted Love and Support group at the University of Missouri, says that one of the hardest skills to teach dogs is to be separated from their owners because they often experience separation anxiety. To be able to pass the test, dogs must be able to go into an unfamiliar environment and interact with strangers without a loss of composure.
Join a facility or a group to prepare dogs for the Canine Good Citizen test. There are often local groups and training facilities that help people get dogs ready. Although this is not always necessary, Meinhart says that even those who deal with dogs on a regular basis find it valuable to take them to professional trainers because they have greater experience and prowess in teaching dogs more advanced skills. Since it is necessary for dogs to learn to be separated from their owners and deal with other dogs, a training facility is often a good place for them to be exposed to some of the distractions that they may be faced with and to get used to interacting with strangers.
Find out where Canine Good Citizen tests are offered and take dogs to get certified. Some places, such as hospitals, want dogs to be certified so that they know that dogs possess the skills needed to interact with different individuals. Before dogs take this test, owners first sign responsible dog owner's pledges, where they promise to do everything they can to keep their dogs happy and healthy. The pets then are put through 10 tests with their owners and given a certificate if they pass, which designates that they are well mannered dogs both in their homes and communities.