# boy or girl for therapy dog?



## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

skeller said:


> So, I decided that I will train my next golden as a therapy dog. I have spoken to a few breeders, and when the pups are temperament tested, they will look for a pup who will have the temperament to be trained as a therapy dog. My question is, would the gender of the dog make a difference? One breeder did mention that all of the therapy dogs that they know are males. I was wondering if the gender would make a difference.


My Sailor's mother is a therapy dog. She has a very serious personality, but she is so in tune with the elderly. I hear she is great with them and know which one needs her the most.


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## 4goldengirls (Jun 10, 2014)

All three of my goldens are female and all three are fabulous pet therapy dogs. We visit a psychiatric hospital twice a week, seeing four groups in total. I alternate the visits between them. They are so in-tuned to the patients that is is remarkable.

It all comes down to the temperament of the dog - either they'll be comfortable with strangers approaching/patting them or they won't. I know many dogs of both sexes that love it and excel at it as well.

Gender shouldn't make a difference.


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## BrianO (Apr 7, 2016)

A comfort dog visits my classroom once a week. She is a girl. Both male and female GRs are trained for this program. Here is a link to the comfort dog program: Meet the Dogs!


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## Atis (Jul 8, 2014)

Both of my boys are TDI dogs. As mentioned earlier I'm sure temperament has more to do with it than sex. I would add that each dogs personality has his or her ideal setting, not that they can't perform well in others. One of my boys is more comfortable around active noisy children. The other prefers a quiet setting where he can nuzzle up to someone while they pat him on the head. They do well in many places but you'll learn to see where they are at their finest.


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## 4rdogs (Dec 22, 2007)

Our Males & Females are the same while doing Therapy Work...
They love doing visits...


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## Rikki (Apr 7, 2014)

My therapy dog is a female. I don't think it matters as long as the dog meets the requirements. I attended the temperament testing when Bella was tested and picked her out that same day. She did well on the test but what really prompted me to pick her was HER. Before the test her litter was in a pen. I was petting all of the pups and was getting my fingers chewed on by all of them except for her. Bella came up to me and sat down and licked my hand! Maybe she chose me but it was a perfect match! 
I have been helping friends train their dogs for the test and also attended classes with them as well as helping out with therapy dog tests. From what I have seen while more of the dogs have been females there were some awesome males in the bunch. The only male who had a really tough time was an intact male whose owner never seemed to work with him without a pinch collar. He disrupted the class quite a bit.


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