# What Therapy Dog Program Did You Go Through?



## barbm5 (Jul 30, 2013)

I'm curious to know what your experiences have been with the different programs that are out there, primarily Pet Partners vs. TDI. Penny & I have just started a TDI class, and I have to say, I'm less than impressed after the first class. I'm not sure if it's the instructor or what, but her approach is pretty much "teaching to the test" and that the test is primarily about good manners and being able to remain calm and controlled in distracting environments.

While I get that, I feel like there is a whole lot of issues that should also be addressed: interaction with residents (patients), "what-ifs", reading your dog's body language and knowing when s(he) is stressed/had enough, etc. 

I guess I just feel there are some people out there who think this is a great activity to do with their dog (and it is), but aren't really thinking it through and preparing as thoroughly as they could. They just want to "pass the test". 

Anyway, enough ranting. I want to hear your experiences!


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## Neeko13 (Jul 10, 2010)

I have Neeko in Comfort Caring Canines.... Great group of people....we had to watch videos, and then the test... the website gives alot of information too!!! Neeko did so well, they asked him to come back and do the test again, so they could video tape him, and use it on the website...Im waiting for the video to appear on the site.... He has a bio under Meet the Dogs....good luck!!!! We've been at nursing homes since January, and Neeko and I love it!!!


They have a website, comfortcaringcanines.com


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

I am certified through Pet Partners. I went to the course with both dogs. We practiced things that were test related, but we also talked with experienced teams, we talked about dog body language, about how to approach patients/clients etc etc. New teams also have to pass a test via the website, after studying a lot of material. However, you can never fully prepare for everything. And a lot of things you have to do outside the class: let the dog experience an elevator, walking on different floor types, swinging doors, noises...and even then: you cannot prepare a dog for a patient attached to a breathing machine, you cannot prepare a dog for a class of screaming little toddlers who all want to hug the doggie...
Did they give you handouts about what the class covers? Just ask them what you want to know...


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

Max and I are certified through a local group (Keystone Pet Enhanced Therapy Services, aka KPets). We met with the evaluators twice in group sessions - to see how he did with other dogs and distractions, then once alone, and then we had two supervised visits to a local nursing home. We had an initial meeting without dogs, where we watched a video and got some material about the group and what we had to do to be certified. (It was 4 years ago, I've forgotten some of the details.) 
The tests were similar to the CGC but not as stringent, and the CGC was not required.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

barbm5 said:


> I'm curious to know what your experiences have been with the different programs that are out there, primarily Pet Partners vs. TDI. . . . her approach is pretty much "teaching to the test" and that the test is primarily about good manners and being able to remain calm and controlled in distracting environments.
> 
> *While I get that, I feel like there is a whole lot of issues that should also be addressed: interaction with residents (patients), "what-ifs", reading your dog's body language and knowing when s(he) is stressed/had enough, etc. *
> 
> I guess I just feel there are some people out there who think this is a great activity to do with their dog (and it is), but aren't really thinking it through and preparing as thoroughly as they could. They just want to "pass the test".


I did Pet Partners training and certification with Zoe (when it was called Delta Society) and felt that the areas you mentioned were covered in the class and in the required training materials. Even so, it's getting out and exposing the dog to lots of unfamiliar people and situations that really help develop a rock solid, unflappable dog and the more you do that, the better you get at reading your dog and anticipating how they'll react to various things . . . what could make them anxious . . . what's going to be no problem.

I agree with you that this seems to be a popular activity right now and people should be thinking through what sort of setting is appropriate and enjoyable for both them and their dog. They should also be mindful of the potential liability associated with taking a dog into a setting where the population is often very fragile, old or young or vulnerable in some other way. Passing the test is important of course but there's a lot more to being good at therapy work.


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

We did a workshop that was sponsored by TDI Chapter people in my area. Three hours long and 1/2 was discussion on various aspects including watching for signs of stress and knowing what they are and the other 1/2 was taking you through a mock test. I'm taking no other classes. We are being tested October 11th. As I work days my main goal is to take her to some remaining Honor Flight events and reading to kids. We will probably just do a couple hours a month.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Max and I are certified by the "Love on a Leash" therapy dog organization. We have been certified for over a year and have done around 80 to 100 visits, mostly to assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. We also go to our local Ronald McDonald House once a month. Love on a Leash has a 10 point test, similar to the CGC test, and also requires 10 visits supervised and signed off by your group leader. They do not require the CGC test. They require that the dog be on a 4 foot leash for visits.

I think a therapy dog, particularly a Golden, should be at least 2 years old and have completed an obedience course and know the basic commands. Being a successful therapy dog is all about the dog remaining calm and having good manners in a distracting environment. But the dog must have the proper temperarment to begin with. If you have to worry about the dog reaching its stress level, or having had enough, that dog should probably not be a therapy dog. 

Good practice for becoming a therapy dog is to take your dog out into the world on a regular basis. We have taken Max out shopping and camping since we first brought him home at 11 weeks. He has met countless people on informal visits. Socialization is key for a successful therapy dog.

Doing therapy work should be fun, for both the handler and the dog. The clients welcome and enjoy interacting with you and your dog. It is a win-win kind of situation. It was clear from the beginning that Max was a natural for therapy work. Doing the visits requires a lot of concentration and mental attention by both the handler and the dog. Max is more tired out after 2 to 3 hours at two nursing homes than he is after retrieving his ball for a couple of hours at the beach.


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## 4goldengirls (Jun 10, 2014)

It's the instructor/evaluator that should be covering all the areas you discussed. If she's not, she's not properly preparing the students for what they may be up against at some point or prepare them on what to look for in their dogs during visitation. You may want to bring this up at some point before testing. 

Our training school tests and certifies thru TDI - and TDI takes pet therapy very seriously. When we have classes for folks who want to certify, we make sure there are no stones unturned. 

Again, I think it comes down to the individual instructor/evaluator.


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## Lilylu's mom (Sep 4, 2014)

Hi. I am new to the forum. I have a few questions from seasoned owners of therapy dogs, if I can. First, is there any age of the dog that is too old for therapy dog training? Lily is 4 this year. 2. What is the prerequisite for therapy training? 3. I live in NW Arkansas. Does anyone know a therapy organization in tis area? 4. Lily s a sweet and friendly dog who loves to be petted. She sits and lays on command. She will shake with one paw and then the other. She will sit on her hind legs with a little help and loves having her Thu my or breast area scratched or petted. What kind of personality is best. Lily is my shadow and if she got the thought or something that someone would harm me, she , I think, would attack. She's not aggressive, but is protective. She's good around kids. My granddaughter has Lily sit and then she reads to Lily. Would the protective issue be an issue for a therapy dog? 5. Lastcouple of questions now.... how much does training usually cost and how long is the training program usually?

Thank you all so much. I am a retired teacher and would love to get Lily into a therapy program, if y'all think she might have the best personality for this.

Lilylu and I thank you!

Nancy


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

My goldens are certified through TDI, and I agree it is a more like a very advanced version of the CGC (with then an enormous amount of paperwork for both owner and vet) than like an actual therapy visit. The test does feature people on crutches, in wheel chairs, using oxygen tanks, a patient in a bed to visit who also offers tempting treats for the dog to "leave it" and a long supervised separation with the atient as well as the requisite obedience commands, dog to dog greeting, treats on the floor etc. For my dogs to do the library reading program, it is perfect, but I am not sure about something like a dementia floor etc in terms of teaching me skills.


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## Eowyn (Aug 29, 2013)

Max's Dad said:


> . If you have to worry about the dog reaching its stress level, or having had enough, that dog should probably not be a therapy dog.


I have to disagree with this. Every dog has their limits. A lot of goldens are good at therapy because they are so in tune with people, and so being around the sick/injured/dying is stressful for them. I truly believe a lot of therapy dogs know when people are sick/injured/dying and as much as they love giving comfort, it is taxing on them sometimes. Therapy dogs give a lot more than most people will every realize, and they deserve an attentive owner who knows when they need a break.


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

Eowyn said:


> I have to disagree with this. Every dog has their limits. A lot of goldens are good at therapy because they are so in tune with people, and so being around the sick/injured/dying is stressful for them. I truly believe a lot of therapy dogs know when people are sick/injured/dying and as much as they love giving comfort, it is taxing on them sometimes. Therapy dogs give a lot more than most people will every realize, and they deserve an attentive owner who knows when they need a break.


I agree. Max and I used to go to the nursing home every week - when our special lady died, Max went to the funeral with me. After that, he had no interest in the home. I took him a few times and he was obviously uncomfortable. We stopped going but we do other events.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Lilylu's mom said:


> Hi. I am new to the forum. I have a few questions from seasoned owners of therapy dogs, if I can. First, is there any age of the dog that is too old for therapy dog training? Lily is 4 this year. 2. What is the prerequisite for therapy training? 3. I live in NW Arkansas. Does anyone know a therapy organization in tis area? 4. Lily s a sweet and friendly dog who loves to be petted. She sits and lays on command. She will shake with one paw and then the other. She will sit on her hind legs with a little help and loves having her Thu my or breast area scratched or petted. What kind of personality is best. Lily is my shadow and if she got the thought or something that someone would harm me, she , I think, would attack. She's not aggressive, but is protective. She's good around kids. My granddaughter has Lily sit and then she reads to Lily. Would the protective issue be an issue for a therapy dog? 5. Lastcouple of questions now.... how much does training usually cost and how long is the training program usually?
> 
> Thank you all so much. I am a retired teacher and would love to get Lily into a therapy program, if y'all think she might have the best personality for this.
> 
> ...


A few thoughts on your questions. 1. As long as a dog doesn't have health or temperament problems that would interfere with therapy work it's not too old. I think dogs that are mature and a bit more mellow are actually more suitable for therapy work.

2. There are no specific prerequisites for therapy training but a dog should know basic good manners type obedience, be friendly and non-aggressive, and be well socialized. If you take a therapy dog training class, there may be specific prerequisites (like basic obedience training) for that class.

3. Don't know anything about your area. TDI and Pet Partners Pet Partners® — Touching lives through human–animal interactions - Pet Partners are 2 leading national organizations. You could check to see if they have groups in your area or inquire of the volunteer coordinator at your local hospital or nursing home about local organizations.

4. Desirable temperament is friendly & loving, mellow, not excitable or skittish, "bomb proof". The dog shouldn't be reactive to other dogs but some organizations may put more emphasis on this than others. Some dogs may be great in one setting but not really enjoy another. It sounds like Lilly might be a good candidate but it's hard to know what the being "protective" of you means. I could see it being a real problem or not. This is why training and an actual test evaluating the dog is important.

5. A training class might be about 6 weekly classes. Cost will vary with your location. In this area you might pay around $200 but other areas might be less expensive. With Pet Partners there are fees for training materials and registration fees. As noted in this thread the training and testing requirements for the various organizations vary quite a bit.

It might be advisable to think about what kind of therapy work you want to do then inquire of the volunteer coordinator at that facility to see what requirements they have for therapy dogs working there. Some require a CGC (AKC Canine Good Citizen) plus certification by a specific organization such as TDI or Pet Partners, others may have no requirements other than that the dog appear to be under control and not aggressive. One of the benefits of certification through a major therapy dog organization is that they provide liability insurance for members operating within the guidelines of their organization.


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

TheZ's said:


> A few thoughts on your questions. 1. As long as a dog doesn't have health or temperament problems that would interfere with therapy work it's not too old. I think dogs that are mature and a bit more mellow are actually more suitable for therapy work.
> 
> 2. There are no specific prerequisites for therapy training but a dog should know basic good manners type obedience, be friendly and non-aggressive, and be well socialized. If you take a therapy dog training class, there may be specific prerequisites (like basic obedience training) for that class.
> 
> ...



We're with a fairly small group and they provide insurance for members. We pay an annual fee for the coverage. Don't limit yourself to the big groups, there may be a local organization that will fit your needs.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Lilylu's mom said:


> Hi. I am new to the forum. I have a few questions from seasoned owners of therapy dogs, if I can. First, is there any age of the dog that is too old for therapy dog training? Lily is 4 this year.


Lily is definitely not too old. A dog would only be too old when her age-related issues made therapy settings impractical or unfun.



Lilylu's mom said:


> 2. What is the prerequisite for therapy training?


It depends on the organization you want to register with, but I think CGC is a good starter for anybody interested in therapy works. There may be organizations that will sign off on you with fewer skills than a CGC, but all those CGC test items are things that will come up in real world therapy situations, so a therapy dog should generally be able to handle a CGC test or equivalent.



Lilylu's mom said:


> 3. I live in NW Arkansas. Does anyone know a therapy organization in tis area?


Sorry! Can't help here.



Lilylu's mom said:


> 4. Lily s a sweet and friendly dog who loves to be petted. She sits and lays on command. She will shake with one paw and then the other. She will sit on her hind legs with a little help and loves having her Thu my or breast area scratched or petted. What kind of personality is best. Lily is my shadow and if she got the thought or something that someone would harm me, she , I think, would attack. She's not aggressive, but is protective. She's good around kids. My granddaughter has Lily sit and then she reads to Lily. Would the protective issue be an issue for a therapy dog?


Generally, you would want a dog who is either mellow by nature or trained to have a mellow "switch." My dogs are in the second category. They are pretty wild when they playing or "at ease," but they have a real sense of how to calm down and move more gently when we're in a setting that requires it. It also helps if the dog naturally likes to be petted by strangers, since a lot of therapy work involves being petted, sometimes clumsily, by strangers. A dog who's slow to warm to new people might not enjoy therapy work.

A protective dog can certainly be a therapy dog, but if you had any sense that Lily would panic or bite in an uncontrolled situation, you would want to be upfront about that with your therapy dog teachers. There are plenty of predictable environments where a protective dog could be great, but you would want to think very carefully before entering a complex therapy situation, like a group home that had individuals who may make unfamiliar, sudden movements or loud noises. Or a nursing home patient on a walker could fall toward you. If there's even a small chance that Lily would perceive a threat and aggress toward or bite somebody like that, then you'd want to avoid those therapy environments.



Lilylu's mom said:


> 5. Lastcouple of questions now.... how much does training usually cost and how long is the training program usually?


It depends on the course you take. We did a Pet Partners course that had several sessions for just humans and then 6 sessions with dogs. I would highly recommend something like that for most people, since there are a lot of things one might not think of that are covered (patient privacy, too many demands on you and your dog from different personnel in the therapy environment, contagious disease protocols, getting your dog safely exposed to medical equipment, etc.).


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Eowyn said:


> I have to disagree with this. Every dog has their limits. A lot of goldens are good at therapy because they are so in tune with people, and so being around the sick/injured/dying is stressful for them. I truly believe a lot of therapy dogs know when people are sick/injured/dying and as much as they love giving comfort, it is taxing on them sometimes. Therapy dogs give a lot more than most people will every realize, and they deserve an attentive owner who knows when they need a break.


I agree with you, though I see Max's Dad's point. If you _have_ to worry about your dog constantly because your dog gets stressed very easily, then that's probably not a good therapy environment for your dog.

By the same token, you should absolutely be aware of your dog's stress level and manage your visits accordingly. Pet Partners sets a 2-hour limit on all therapy visits for this reason.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Ljilly28 said:


> My goldens are certified through TDI, and I agree it is a more like a very advanced version of the CGC (with then an enormous amount of paperwork for both owner and vet) than like an actual therapy visit. The test does feature people on crutches, in wheel chairs, using oxygen tanks, a patient in a bed to visit who also offers tempting treats for the dog to "leave it" and a long supervised separation with the atient as well as the requisite obedience commands, dog to dog greeting, treats on the floor etc. For my dogs to do the library reading program, it is perfect, but I am not sure about something like a dementia floor etc in terms of teaching me skills.


Pet Partners allows you to take a test online _or_ take a course with certified instructors, and I really enjoyed the second route. We actually role-played common situations you might run into and discussed ways to advocate for your dog, recognize and deal with canine stress, etc. The opportunity to talk all those issues through was super helpful in preparing me for real therapy situations.

The dog evaluation portion was easier than TDI, I think, at least in terms of trained skills. The dog had to leave a thrown toy and do the CGC pass/handshake exercise, but they did not have to greet another dog or walk close to food. And since assessing how much the leash is used to control the dog is so subjective, I think some dogs can pass while still being pulled away from the toy, as long as they show decent resilience with the medical equipment.

And part of the evaluation with PP is of how you advocate for your dog and handle him. I think that's a really good idea. A dog can be a natural therapy animal in terms of his temperament, and he can be well trained on top, but if the handler is clueless and doesn't have good awareness of what the dog is doing and how to help mediate well-intentioned but clumsy behavior from strangers, the team is going to run into trouble.


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