# Therapy Dog characteristics



## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

I never chose my dogs myself. My breeder always selects the puppy, based on the interview she had with you, the weeks she has had the time to observe all the puppies and the temperament test she always has done in the seventh week. The point is, that you can go up there ten times, and ten times have a different impression about the puppies, who is alert, who is playful, who seems confident...I saw Tess' litter five times, and thought I had seen and played with all the girls. In the end I got yellow girl, who always had been asleep when I was there. That was Tess. And once we got home, and she had had time to get used to everything, she turned out to be very people orientated, confident, relaxed, eager to learn things, bombproof...every time I had gone to the breeder there had been people before us. She was active with them, and asleep when I arrived. Had I selected myself, I would never have chosen her.
So if you have selected a good breeder, they will help you with the choosing. Tell them what your dreams are for your pup. And go from there.


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## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

Bentley is a complete Tasmanian devil most of the time but he's been going to the nursing home to visit my MIL from the time he was 9 weeks old. He took to it naturally. He behaves like a gentleman there with everyone and knows to be gentle but when we walk out the door he turns back into TD


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## ServiceDogs (Apr 2, 2013)

Here is a list of the top four things we look for in dogs/puppies (and their parents) that would potentially make a good service or therapy dog. Keep in mind though that there are many dogs that wouldn't necessarily make good service dogs, but would be ok as a family pet that can be a therapy dog also. i.e. maybe a dog that doesn't like noises, but is fine to do a reading program with kids at a local library. 
1)Confidence (the most important aspect)
2)aware of surroundings
3)people oriented
4)food motivation (makes training much easier)
Really you need to talk to the breeder, they know the puppies much better than anyone else and have seen them in many different situations. Plus they have tons of experience. Hope this helps


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

ServiceDogs said:


> Here is a list of the top four things we look for in dogs/puppies (and their parents) that would potentially make a good service or therapy dog. Keep in mind though that there are many dogs that wouldn't necessarily make good service dogs, but would be ok as a family pet that can be a therapy dog also. i.e. maybe a dog that doesn't like noises, but is fine to do a reading program with kids at a local library.
> 1)Confidence (the most important aspect)
> 2)aware of surroundings
> 3)people oriented
> ...


Bella has those covered. Especially #4! LOL


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## ServiceDogs (Apr 2, 2013)

Here is a more indepth article on it. Choosing a Dog - Handi-Dogs
If you are looking for a puppy I would recommend looking into Malagold (Malagold Home Page) in Michigan. Connie is very experienced with breeding puppies that go on to be service dogs and her line is great for it.


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

Was just in Walmart, and saw a service Golden in training. I could tell it was one of his first experiences in that type of environment, but he handled it well. Beautiful dog too. 


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## KeaColorado (Jan 2, 2013)

inge said:


> I never chose my dogs myself. My breeder always selects the puppy, based on the interview she had with you, the weeks she has had the time to observe all the puppies and the temperament test she always has done in the seventh week. The point is, that you can go up there ten times, and ten times have a different impression about the puppies, who is alert, who is playful, who seems confident...I saw Tess' litter five times, and thought I had seen and played with all the girls. In the end I got yellow girl, who always had been asleep when I was there. That was Tess. And once we got home, and she had had time to get used to everything, she turned out to be very people orientated, confident, relaxed, eager to learn things, bombproof...every time I had gone to the breeder there had been people before us. She was active with them, and asleep when I arrived. Had I selected myself, I would never have chosen her.
> So if you have selected a good breeder, they will help you with the choosing. Tell them what your dreams are for your pup. And go from there.


This was very much our experience too. I would also add that finding a breeder who has produced prior litters with successful therapy dogs will ensure you get the kind of temperament best suited for this very important work.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Three of my dogs, Finn, Tally, and Copley are certified therapy dogs. All have the eyes of love for humans- just adoration for the human species. All are very gentle and soulful when petted and handled, even though they can be crazy maniacs playing with each other or on hikes. They have good intuition, and a ton of training about manners, especially greetings and leave its.


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## Mom of Maizie (Nov 11, 2011)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I'm especially going to keep "confidence" and "eyes of love for humans" in mind, then talk to the breeder for advice.


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## Lucylulu (Aug 4, 2013)

mom of maizie, did you end up training milo as a therapy dog?


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

Lucylulu said:


> mom of maizie, did you end up training milo as a therapy dog?


She is probably still working on it...Milo is only 5 months old. Most organizations won't test dogs before the age of one, and even then, it takes some dogs a few years before they settle down enough. But the training starts straight away: obedience classes and lots of socialization.


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## kath00 (Dec 3, 2013)

Great posts here. I was just about to ask the same question as we get ready to adopt a pup of our own.


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## Mom of Maizie (Nov 11, 2011)

Sorry I hadn't realized there were more posts on this thread. We are still in the process of training Milo. We've got him lots of socialization. Enrolling him in a class in a couple weeks at a place that will eventually help with the therapy dog training I hope. Right now he's going through a bit of a teenager stage so I'm hoping class will help settle him a bit. He is really a natural for a therapy dog I think as he loves nothing better than attention and petting!!!


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## kath00 (Dec 3, 2013)

Great thread! We just visited our future litter this weekend. Our breeder recommended a male over a female and said that in general these characteristics are easier to find in male dogs. I am open to either gender so I didn't feel like she was trying to "sell" a specific dog to us. She's been breeding for 25 years and I trust her judgment but I was a little surprised she felt strongly about the gender too. She did mention the above criteria for therapy dogs (people friendly, motivated by food, mellow and obedient, etc).

Anyone else heard about a gender preference?


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