# Therapy training



## Capehank (Aug 3, 2005)

I am interested in my golden to be a therapy dog. I think I am using the right term. I would like to be able to take her into nursing homes, hospitals and such to visit people. 

How do I get involved in this? I am located in Northern NY. North of Syracuse.

Thanks


----------



## LauraEyes2 (Sep 16, 2005)

I know there's a group called TDI (Therapy dogs international) who coordinate dog therapy work. I'm not sure of their website offhand but I know they have one, and also list local contact names I believe. Other ideas are to just do a little internet research and see what might be in your area. There are a lot of groups out there that center around therapy dog work.

Another thought is to look into different obedience schools in your area. Many dog training schools offer therapy dog training - essentially work with them in preparation for passing the CGC test (Canine Good Citizen - a test that will be required to be passed for most therapy certifications). I've already looked into what would be involved to get Vinny certified for it, but most require the dogs be at least 1 year old before they can be certified, and he's only 8mos now. Probably this summer I'm going to pursue it further...

Good Luck! I think pet-assisted therapy is a wonderful thing, and i'm looking forward to getting involved soon myself. Keep us posted with your progress!

Laura


----------



## mblondetoo (Jan 9, 2006)

This might help.

http://www.tdi-dog.org/tditesting.html


----------



## LauraEyes2 (Sep 16, 2005)

Thanks Mblondetoo, i'm at work and when i was posting earlier I didn't have the time to look up the website!! Thanks!


----------



## mblondetoo (Jan 9, 2006)

You're welcome. I checked this out once before and realized Tabitha has a long way to go before she's ready! Good luck.


----------



## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

A training center near me has a therapy dog training class, they have some medical equipment and do a lot of obedience in different environments. At the end of the session they do both the CGC and TDI tests, and then they usually form their own little group that visits the hospitals, nursing homes, etc.


----------

