# Is this true?



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

The biggest advantage to TDI is that they will insure you in the unlikely event that your dog hurts someone while on a therapy visit. For example, gets a little exuberant and scratches an elderly person or something.
That's the extent of my knowledge. I had TDI's on my 2 older goldens, and they never told us where we could or could not go, but that was 10 years ago.


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## kaysy (Jan 9, 2010)

Don't know what laws are in your state. We were told that once our dog gets CGC (hoping) they only have to pass 2 more tests. Being able to jump on a step and sitting nicely for petting. Most facilities prefer going through an organization where there is a set time/day to visit. We're hoping to do this in the future. Good luck. What is TDI?


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

hotel4dogs said:


> The biggest advantage to TDI is that they will insure you in the unlikely event that your dog hurts someone while on a therapy visit. For example, gets a little exuberant and scratches an elderly person or something.
> That's the extent of my knowledge. I had TDI's on my 2 older goldens, and they never told us where we could or could not go, but that was 10 years ago.


 
I've never been told where I can or cannot go with any of my TDI dogs. It is up to an individual organization whether they allow pet therapy visits or not. Some require that your dog be TDI. I don't know anyone that simply accepts CGC. It may be different elsewhere, but this is my experience.


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

My two seniors, now at the Bridge, were certified through TDI; my youngster Mac is currently certified. TDI, just as all these therapy dog organizations, have contracts with the different facilities--whether it's a school, nursing home, assisted living center, hospital, etc--that allow you to visit. Some places have contracts with TDI, some with TDInc., or with other groups. With TDI, and it pretty much works the same with other organizations, the insurance covers you while you are on the visit with your golden, as long as you are following TDI's rules (not using food, not having the patient handle the dog, etc.).

TDI uses the CGC as the basis for its evaluation, plus additional steps to make sure that the dog doesn't spook around people in wheelchairs, using canes--kids with crutches, that type of thing. Also, your dog must know "leave it" with food--food gets spilled sometimes, or pills dropped--you and your dog must demonstrate you can walk past a plate of food on the floor during the test.

To just have the CGC, and again, I'm not about to give you legal advice, but my question to you is--what happens if you are out on a visit, and someone becomes afraid of your dog, backs up into a chair, trips, and falls and hurts themselves? What type of insurance do you have? AKC's CGC program has none. Hope this info is of help.


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## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

Thanks everyone for your input. The point about the insurance is a very good one. I think I found the answer to my question after doing some digging on the TDI website. I found this under FAQ's:

*When I become a member, where can I visit?*
TDI's Membership Support is available to help members get started. Along with your new membership materials, you will receive a list of facilities in your area that have requested Therapy Dog visits in the past, and are already familiar with our program. You may contact any facility (whether they appear on the list we provide or not) to inquire if they would like Therapy Dog visits. If you have trouble setting up visitations, you may contact TDI's Membership Support for additional help.

Thanks again!! So we will continue to pursue TDI after CGC.


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## MurphyTeller (Sep 28, 2008)

See what organizations are in your area and what their requirements are - insurance and certification under a group umbrella is critical...don't underestimate the importance of insurance.

I didn't go w/ TDI because of their restrictions on raw food and I didn't go with Delta because of their vaccination requirements - We have a local group that is bonded and certifies teams. 

Some organizations have "ins" with certain facilities and programs - there are several nursing homes that are exclusively TDV for example - so some dogs are dual-certified with two or more organizations and represent different ones to work in specific facilities...

Erica


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Thanks for the great questions! It's good to hear so much about this. We're working towards adding a class for therapy work at our facility and want to be sure we're set up to have tests administered on a regular basis.

CGC is not the same and esp for the liability issues it's better to go with another org.

We're leaning towards using TDInc or Delta as they do supervised visits prior to you going out on your own and I really don't want to have any incidents from students who did well enough to pass the test but aren't adequately prepared. 

Like Erica said, if you know you want to be visiting a specific facility, find out if/what org. they use.

I'd love to hear more on this from those with experience!


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

TDI publishes a newsletter that is available on line once you are certified and it lists the organizations that are seeking therapy dogs to visit by state and city. When you become certified and send in your materials, you will also receive a list of facilities seeking visits from therapy dogs. Mac got certified in the latter part of the year, and I intend to start visits with her in another month or so.

With my seniors, now deceased, we visited an assisted living center once a month, and we were warmly welcomed by both residents and staff. The residents would tell me stories of dogs that they once owned--one man had a photo of a border collie, long dead, that he still carried in his wallet. I'll never forget as he was becoming emotional, telling me about his dog, my Jake drew closer to him and stretched out his paw for him to hold. The man told me that's exactly what his dog used to do--he rubbed Jake's paw for quite some time, I'm sure with so many memories in his mind.

When I originally contacted the facility to visit, I mentioned I had goldens--plural--and the Director set up the visits for me, and my Jake and Alli. A few days after I spoke to him, I checked the TDI guidelines, which stated that if you were tested individually, with one dog, you were not approved to go with two dogs--you had to be tested with the two dogs together. I called TDI and someone in charge had to approve my visits with both dogs--apparently, since the Director wanted both, at the same time, TDI made a note of it, and permitted it for the insurance. I also read that since I was tested with the dogs, my husband, although he could come with me and volunteer during the visit, would not be allowed to handle the dogs for insurance purposes. 

My husband was disappointed because he wanted to go to the facility with me, but said if he couldn't put his hands on the leash of his own dog, then he would not go. But I showed him the rules--to me, you want to make sure you abide by them, because that insurance policy is very valuable.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

TDI also has restrictions like the dog must work on a flat collar -no martingales, prongs or chokes. Martingales are allowed for greyhounds and other breeds where a martingale is the only safe collar.
TDI also insists on yearly fecal checks and a note from your vet that your dog is in good health....

I dont think that either is too restrictive.

Ive never been turned away from any facility for being associated with TDI (Therapy Dogs International)


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## dmsl (Jun 7, 2009)

Has anyone had any experience with The Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs, Inc? Headquarters in NJ, chapters in many other locations. Their web page is golden-dogs.com 

thanks!


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## dmsl (Jun 7, 2009)

sorry...the web page is golden-dogs.org not .com


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