Instructions
Determine if your pooch would make a good therapy dog. There is a checklist of basic questions that your answer should be a resounding "yes" to. The main one being: Is your dog happy to be around people? Paws'itive Teams, a San Diego-based service dog organization provides a good checklist on their website (see Resources below).
Test your dog first to see if she has therapist potential. Take her on a leash to a place where there are a lot of people, such as a park, and see how she reacts to and interacts with people petting her. See if she responds to your commands while in a hectic environment.
Ascertain if your dog needs special training before doing therapy work. Some dogs automatically have what it takes and that includes being well behaved, well socialized and in good health.
Decide if you and your dog should start out on your own or join a professional organization such as Therapy Dogs Inc., which provides registration, support, insurance and other services to owners of therapy dogs. Facilities might prefer that your dog is registered with a professional organization.
Decide if you want to enroll your dog in therapy training to become certified. Many facilities (if not most) require certification and that your dog meets certain criteria, such as the ability to walk through a crowd that includes wheelchairs.
Contact hospitals, nursing homes, retirement residences, hospices, schools and any other special needs center in your area that could benefit from and welcome therapy dogs. Find out how to go about applying.
Pay visits to some prospective places on your own without your dog. Tour the facilities and get to know staff and residents, find out how receptive they would be to visits from a therapy dog and most importantly, whether or not they require your dog be certified.
Make sure your dog is current on all vaccinations before making therapy visits.
Bathe your dog close to the time of each visit, make sure his coat is free of parasites and trim his nails. Brush and comb your dog immediately prior to each visit.
Give your dog a verbal or physical cue before each therapy visit so that she'll know her destination and what to expect. She'll soon come to eagerly await the visits and the special "alone" time with her guardian and best buddy. Well, almost alone. It'll be sort of like a "Fido and Me" class.
How to Involve a Dog in Pet Therapy Work
There are a myriad of reasons to involve dogs in therapy work. Aside from curing loneliness and depression-regular visits from a lovable pooch can lower blood pressure, lower heart rates and ease the effects of Alzheimer's among seniors. Special needs children benefit by becoming more self-reliant and sociable from being around pets. And, not only does it benefit the two-legged, pooch therapists get the chance to spread some of that unconditional love to welcome recipients. So, if your canine is a "people dog," what are you waiting for? Here are some ways to get him started spreading that sunshine.