# Goose's Therapy Training Thread



## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Great pictures, looks like training went well.


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## Neeko13 (Jul 10, 2010)

Awwwww, Goose looks awesome!!!!!! Good Luck, Im certain he will pass....he sounds like he's a great listener. My Neeko has been a therapy dog for 4 1/2 yrs. Now (YIkes).... I get asked that all the time... but I just politely explain. Neeko gets new cards made up every year, and I have Therapy dog on it, as well as Therapy Dog on his vest. I cant wait to hear stories that Goose will experience when he gets certified!!!!!


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

I'm fairly confident he will pass as well, but I would rather over prepare than not be prepared enough! I spoke with his local trainer who will be doing the evaluation for us today and we decided to go for his CGCA on the same day since so many items on the two tests are the same. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.

I just couldn't believe how many people didn't know the difference between service and therapy dogs! One lady in particular asked me "how could you stand to give him away after he's certified" even after I explained that he was a therapy dog! I made up some little card stock slips today that tells the difference between a service dog, therapy dog and emotional support animal and I plan to give people one of those from now on. If nothing else maybe it will educate the public more on the different types of dogs they see!

Tomorrow we will get more practice sitting politely for petting and heeling in crowds at a local St Patrick's day festival and this Sunday we are visiting a family member in a nursing home! We plan to go to the nursing home 3-4 times before the test so that he is familiar with all the medical equipment, smells and sounds.

Also if anyone is curious, we are training for the Love on a Leash test.


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

Goose went on his first practice visit to see a family member in a nursing home. I figured it would brighten her day as well as be the perfect opportunity to get Goose used to the sights and sounds of medical facilities. I expected him to be scared of a few things since it was his first time, but he acted like he had done it thousands of times before. He greeted people calmly and couldn’t have cared less about the walkers, wheelchairs and strange beeps. He even did a THREE MINUTE down-stay in the hallway! He was a total rockstar and I'm convinced he's a reincarnated therapy dog from the past- he's such a natural! I hate that I have to wait until he turns 12 months for the test because after today I have no doubt he could pass it now. Hurry up May 1st!


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## Rusty9294 (Mar 2, 2018)

I hope to do therapy training as well. However, I must patiently wait for a puppy first -- I'm hoping the breeders I have sent applications to eventually will contact me (please!). I'm watching Goose's progress with interest. Thank you for continuing your postings in this thread.


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## Neeko13 (Jul 10, 2010)

Sounds like he's a natural...Go Goose!!!!:wink2:


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

*Update 4/4/18*

After a brief scare over a stiff hind leg, Goose has taken the past couple of weeks off. The vet was able to diagnose him with pano from the x-rays so everything is luckily okay! We even found out that he has perfect hips, elbows and knees so I guess the scare was worth it in the long run.

Next week Goose will start an intermediate trick dog class. While this may not seem directly related to therapy work, I'm taking the class to keep him "working" around other dogs and people until his behavior evaluation on May 1. Plus a new title isn't a bad deal either! I've talked to the trainer that will be evaluating him for his therapy test and since the requirements are so similar, we are actually going to test Goose for his CGCA, CGCU, and therapy dog evaluation all on the same day! If he manages to pass all three tests I'll have to find something really good to celebrate. Maybe a doggie birthday cake since he will be turning 1 that same day?

He's also doing his first ever Rally trial on April 14th and 15th. While I'm super nervous about how he will do, seeing how well he can focus and pay attention in a busy environment like that will be a good indicator for his behavior in a hectic hospital situation! I even got some super cute crate signs for both dogs off of Etsy (I'm going to try and do Dock Diving with Maverick this Summer so he has one too). I keep telling myself that I don't care if he NQ's, I'm just there for fun and practice.

In the meantime I've worked out logistics with a local nursing home so that he can do his 10 practice visits in May/early June. It was surprisingly difficult to find a place to let us do the practice visits since a lot of local facilities had policies in place stating that they had to be already certified. I kept describing it to people as being similar to the situation when you need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience (any new college graduate will probably understand what I mean by this). But the nursing home finally said yes! This location is a little busier than the nursing home he was in previously so I'm anxious to see how he reacts to different areas- particularly the dining hall! Looks like practicing stricter "leave-its" may be in order for the next couple of weeks.

Either tomorrow or on April 19 we will be going to a local "Bark in the Park" baseball game. Not only is this going to be a blast, but if I can hold his attention there I'm fully confident I can hold it anywhere. Plus baseball AND dogs (and let's face it maybe a couple of $1 adult beverages)? Sign me up.

All in all, things are progressing nicely and I keep trying to get him out in different environments as much as reasonably possible.


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

Here are a couple of pictures just for fun!


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

You and Goose sound very busy, hope the practice visits go well and you enjoy the Rally events. 

He's a good looking boy, lots of snow.....


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

We went to the bark in the park baseball game last night and had a blast! Goose loved all the attention he got from people and he was so well behaved it was unbelievable! All the other dogs were hyper and Goose just acted like the crowd and commotion was no big deal. There were even fireworks that went off during the walk back to the car and while he definitely tensed up, he kept heeling and didn't try to bolt.

It was quite funny because all the people there kept asking how I got him to behave so well. I got to tell a lot of people about the CGC test and how preparing for it helped him learn how to act in public! It was nice to be able to give some recommendations to other fellow dog owners.

He also got his first experience working with children. We don't have any young family members so I've always wondered how he would react to a child. Last night a little girl (who couldn't have been much older than 12 months) ran up to him and started to pet him. He wagged his tail really fast and started to lean into her and then it was almost as if he realized how small she was and he settled down. The girl even gave him a hug and he laid his head on her shoulder! I was so proud of my boy and it's also good to know that he does well around kids!

Now if he could just get over this diarrhea (vet suspects it's from his sedation on Tuesday and gave us 3 different meds to help him out) everything would be "golden"! (pun intended). And also- thank god it started last night AFTER the baseball game! That would have been a disaster.

We start our intermediate trick dog class next week so I'll post sometime after that!


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## ryanf (Oct 26, 2016)

Great job so far to both of you! Looks like everything is going really well!


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## Rusty9294 (Mar 2, 2018)

Great report! Goose looks attentive, but calm. He's a beauty!
Hope he feels better soon!


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

Thanks! I hope he feels better soon too. We woke up to quite a smelly surprise all over the house this morning! Good thing we are putting down new floor literally next weekend or else I may have been a little more upset about the stained carpet! haha.

I just really hate seeing my boy sick. He still plays, eats, and drinks but I can tell the colitis is slowing him down a bit. The meds stopped the violently upset tummy from this morning but he went to the bathroom again a bit ago and it's still runny. Hopefully I'll see some improvement tomorrow! I will say however that he is very appreciative of the baked chicken breast that I've been mixing into his kibble! He doesn't get "people food" very often so he gobbles it up.


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## sdain31y (Jul 5, 2010)

I like the idea of the cards. Did you make them up or order them?


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

I've toyed around with the idea for about a month now but still haven't ordered cards! I do think I'll make something to hand out on our visits, I'm just not sure what!


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

*Tomorrow is the big day*

I can't believe it... but tomorrow is THE day. Goose is going for his therapy dog test! In addition to the therapy test, we will also be testing for his CGCA and CGCU titles (since they're all so similar to the therapy test we are just doing all three)! I'm so nervous and excited at the same time. If he passes he will have to go through a 10 visit probation period then we can send off his paperwork to Love on a Leash and he will be the real deal! I've got the visits set up to start at a local nursing home on Wednesday pending his test goes well tomorrow. We are looking at being fully certified by the first of June (once again, assuming things go well).

The fact that my little squirmy puppy is now 1 year old blows my mind. To take some of the edge off and to celebrate we had a cake smash session. He LOVED the doggie cake I made and the pictures ended up being pretty cute too! I added some below.

I'll post tomorrow with the results of his tests! Cross your fingers that I can stay calm and not be a nervous wreck!


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## IndigoJen (Apr 22, 2018)

mbrod12 said:


> I can't believe it... but tomorrow is THE day. Goose is going for his therapy dog test! In addition to the therapy test, we will also be testing for his CGCA and CGCU titles (since they're all so similar to the therapy test we are just doing all three)! I'm so nervous and excited at the same time. If he passes he will have to go through a 10 visit probation period then we can send off his paperwork to Love on a Leash and he will be the real deal! I've got the visits set up to start at a local nursing home on Wednesday pending his test goes well tomorrow. We are looking at being fully certified by the first of June (once again, assuming things go well).
> 
> The fact that my little squirmy puppy is now 1 year old blows my mind. To take some of the edge off and to celebrate we had a cake smash session. He LOVED the doggie cake I made and the pictures ended up being pretty cute too! I added some below.
> 
> I'll post tomorrow with the results of his tests! Cross your fingers that I can stay calm and not be a nervous wreck!


What a beautiful, clever boy! I hope you have a great day tomorrow - take deep breaths & remember that you are both READY for this! Good luck!


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## Wicky (Aug 27, 2015)

Good luck for tomorrow! You can do this Goose!


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## Rusty9294 (Mar 2, 2018)

Good luck to you and Goose! Looking forward to Goose's next steps! 
That was quite the birthday celebration! Was that peanut butter I smelled? Goose certainly was licking his chops!


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## sdain31y (Jul 5, 2010)

Did I miss what therapy organization you are testing for?


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

Thanks everyone! We are testing with Love on a Leash. Only 4 hours until test time and the nerves are unreal! I know we are both ready but we've been training for so long and it blows my mind that the day is finally here! It's just crazy how fast this year went.

The cake did in fact have peanut butter in it! The cake was doggie friendly and had pumpkin, flour, peanut butter, applesauce, oil and baking soda. The icing was equal parts unsweetened greek yogurt and peanut butter. He loved it!


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## sdain31y (Jul 5, 2010)

Wondering how your test today went?


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## Neeko13 (Jul 10, 2010)

Just checking in to see how Goose did today??


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

*He did it*

I'm happy to announce that last night GOOSE PASSED ALL FOUR TESTS! Yes I said FOUR- we ended up doing his Trick Dog Intermediate test as well! I didn't post last night because it was 10:00 by the time I got home and we were both exhausted! We go back today to pick up the paperwork because the trainer had left the CGCA and CGCU forms at home so I'll take his "official" pictures tonight when we get those!

Goose was a total rockstar and actually did his CGCA during a puppy class. So in other words he had the ultimate distraction during the entire thing and it made the test way harder than it needed to be. I was okay with it though because I knew he could do it and that we had prepared. He heeled perfectly and even got used as a demo dog for how to start teaching the stay and recall commands and what it can turn into over time with practice! I put him in a sit stay across the room and walked through the middle of the class (about 40 feet) and then told him to come. My good boy ran through the middle of the class straight back to me and didn't stop to play with one puppy. This was the same class he took as a puppy so it was quite a happy experience since he was the pup who wouldn't listen and learned at snail speed when he was at that stage. He also got to show the puppy parents how to heel and how to learn "leave-it".

The CGCU wasn't too bad _except _for the three minute down stay. THAT WAS THE LONGEST THREE MINUTES OF MY LIFE. I'm convinced that time slowed down and whoever put that in the test must really like to torture dog owners. But he did it and got the extra letters after his name!

The neat thing about taking the CGCA and CGCU is that it made the therapy test a breeze. Those two tests were way harder than the therapy one so he knew what to do and was ready to knock it out of the park. He didn't care about the noise distractions or anything. He was beyond ready to take this test and it really showed last night! We celebrated on the way home with an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen.

I'll post pics later once I go get paperwork, but until then here's a picture of Goose practicing his "sit pretty" trick in intermediate class from a few weeks ago. I'm so proud of my boy and the first of his 10 practice visits starts tomorrow at a local nursing home!


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## IndigoJen (Apr 22, 2018)

Wonderful! Congratulations to you both!


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## Neeko13 (Jul 10, 2010)

:greenboun:greenboun:greenboun:greenboun CONGRATS TO GOOSE!!!!!! :greenboun:greenboun:You_Rock_


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## Rusty9294 (Mar 2, 2018)

Happy birthday today, Goose. Congratulations for these milestones! I look forward to hearing more about the upcoming nursing home visits.


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

Here are the official pictures! We are both so excited to go on our first visit tomorrow! He's been in a nursing home a couple of times before, but tomorrow is special because it's the first time it's "real".


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

*First Visit*

Goose did the first of his 10 practice visits last night at a nursing home. Surprisingly to me he was a little tense and nervous. He has never cared about visiting our family member in another nursing home before so this caught me a bit off guard! I think it may of been because I was pretty nervous going in (new place I've never been and I didn't know anyone there) and the location was way more chaotic. The hallways at this location are narrow and have equipment everywhere in them so its hard for him to see who/what is on down the hall until he is right up on someone. There was also a stretcher that went rushing by, a gentlemen who intentionally tried to hit him with his electric wheelchair, and a woman with dementia who went from petting him to smacking his nose (Goose sniffed the foot of her doll that she thought was a real baby and she wanted him to get back). He reacted well and appropriately to all of these situations but I could definitely tell he wasn't completely relaxed based on his body language (but truthfully I wasn't either). We go back for visit 2/10 tomorrow so I'm hoping things are a bit more enjoyable! Now we both have a better idea of what to expect and will be more prepared.

Needless to say that therapy visits definitely aren't as easy as just walking your friendly dog through a building! It takes a lot of effort on both the handler and dogs end. I feel like this is important for anyone keeping up with the thread who might be training a dog for therapy work to understand. It caught me off guard! You have to be extremely vigilant and attentive to your dog and everything going on around them, all while trying to keep up a conversation and a smile. 

Negatives aside, the people that Goose did get to visit LOVED him. People were talking all over the nursing home saying things like "yeah there's a therapy dog here! how cool is that" and we got asked by so many people to go to certain rooms. This location, and the location we plan to visit after we are fully certified have never had therapy dogs before (I'm actually planning to start a chapter in my area after I've been a LOAL member for a year). Many individuals told stories about dogs they used to have, and there was one woman who got teary eyed because Goose was the first dog she had pet since her dog died years ago. She couldn't bring herself to pet one until Goose visited! Remember that woman with dementia I talked about earlier? Before she smacked him she wouldn't show interest in anything but that baby doll she was swaddling but when Goose came she stopped, made eye contact, and pet him with a huge smile. Despite his nerves Goose has already made an impact on some people.

Long story short, therapy work is A LOT of work but rewarding!


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

Congratulations to you and Goose! All that hard work paid off and what a great gift to take him to the nursing home. If I ever end up in one, a Golden visit would definitely brighten my day.


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## Rusty9294 (Mar 2, 2018)

Thank you for sharing this information with us. You are being generous with your time for our benefit. It will be interesting to learn if Goose is more comfortable with the upcoming visits. 
If you have time, I hope you might answer some questions.
Are you maintaining a separate journal and log in addition to this thread? 
How often each week will you and Goose be visiting the homes? 
How did you choose which nursing homes you are visiting?
Thank you!


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## sdain31y (Jul 5, 2010)

Thanks for the update.


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

*Are you maintaining a separate journal and log in addition to this thread?*
I'm not writing what happens on each visit but I am keeping a separate record of my visits in addition to the application for Love on a Leash. I'm using the form on the American Kennel Club website. Once he gets his 10 practice visits in I will be able to send in this form and get a therapy dog novice title added to his name. There are also higher levels he can earn in the future after 50 visits, 100 visits, etc. I really love achieving milestones through titles so I want to make sure I keep a good record of them! Here's the link to the information and form.
Title Information: Therapy Dog Program ? American Kennel Club
Visit Log: http://images.akc.org/pdf/therapy_dog/visits.pdf

* How often each week will you and Goose be visiting the homes? *
We plan to get all 10 practice visits completed during the month of may so that I can send his paperwork in before I leave for a family vacation! Maybe that's not a good reason but it's the truth . So we are averaging about twice a week this entire month. In the future I plan to do at least one visit a week, maybe two if there's a need or request, for about 2 hours. I'll also probably start the visits out on the shorter side and increase them in length as he gets more experience.

* How did you choose which nursing homes you are visiting? *
This probably isn't the best reason to pick a site, but this nursing home was the only facility our city that would allow an uncertified dog to visit. You have to remember that until he gets his paperwork sent off and his official vest/ID card that he isn't fully certified. This kept us from being able to visit our local hospital and foster care facility for the 10 visits. I also had to line up a place where the activities director was willing to act as our supervisor for the 10 visits since there are no LOAL members in my area.


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## Rusty9294 (Mar 2, 2018)

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions! I'm learning a lot from your journey with Goose and am following this thread.


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

*Visit #2/10*

Visit 2/10 went way better than the first. 

At first it was actually worse because I accidentally let the door close on him when entering the building and it scared the daylights out of him. The poor boy was so convinced the door was going to get him that he shivered for a little bit! I've never seen him do that! The door shuts really fast to keep residents from walking out and I didn’t realize that and I felt so bad! I moved him to the corner of the room and let him watch some people walk through the door a couple of times. After about a minute he realized the door wasn't a terrifying monster and all was well again. 

After he settled down we moved on to the hallway he was in his element. The tense body language from Wednesday was gone and he looked more like the Goose I knew from our visits at the other nursing home! He was hamming it up for all the residents and was just a generally happy boy. Looks like things are getting better. 

I apparently just need to learn how to walk through a door...


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## Cait (May 3, 2018)

Thanks for this thread! I'm considering therapy dog training my future pup since I'm a nurse and know how much joy and morale-boosting a dog can bring to sick patients.


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

I have good news everyone! We have officially FINISHED the supervised visit portion of our certification! That means that we are now the real deal and just have to wait for his vest and badge to come in the mail. Words can't explain how proud I am of Goose. We have been working towards this goal for such a long time and being able to stick his application in the mailbox this morning made my heart jump leaps and bounds. Since Love on a Leash requires 10 supervised visits, this also means that Goose is now qualified for his Therapy Dog Novice title from the American Kennel Club.

As soon as his materials arrive Goose will be piloting the first ever therapy dog program at our local hospital. The hospital administration literally wrote the therapy dog policy with our help and recommendations! My goal for the future is to start a local Love on a Leash chapter and work with our local boarding/training facility to spread the word and gain more members! Our future for therapy work is very bright and I can't wait to see the impact Goose makes on the lives of others.

I'd also like to thank everyone for following our thread. The certification process wasn't what I would call short and it was helpful to keep a running record of everything I did in the 2 months leading up to this point. I'll try to post a few updates in the future about how his work at the hospital is going, but they probably won't be as frequent.

Also, to anyone who is reading this thread that has questions about therapy dog work and the certification process, please feel free to ask me. As I've mentioned before there were no active programs in my area so I had to learn this all on my own. I would be more than happy to help anyone else who is trying to do the same thing!


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

Hey everyone! Just wanted to pop in with a quick update.

Goose has all his equipment (attached some pictures below) and we have been volunteering at a children's home! He loves it way more than he ever liked the hospital and nursing home. Kids are 100% the group he likes working with the best and you can just see his eyes light up when we pull into the parking lot for a visit.

As far as his current training goes, I actually plan to start Goose in a nose-work class next month! This is something him and I can do together that isn't "working" plus it will help us work on refreshing some of his commands. I'll most likely also do an obedience class after the first of the year. I plan to do one annually to keep me and Goose in check with our handling manners.

On a side note- I recently received a message from someone asking about everything I did to train Goose. The reply ended up being super long but I feel like it contains a lot of good information that could be useful for others that are looking to train their dogs. I posted it below for your convenience!

_____________________________

From the moment I brought him home I made sure to take him anywhere and everywhere with me when I could. Even before he had all his puppy shots! I carried him most of the time when he was super young and after his shots he was leashed on the ground. If I went home to see my parents he went too. If I went to the farmers market so did he. Local fairs and festivals were great too. This got him used to a variety of different people in a bunch of environments and got him to where travelling in a car and going to different places was a normal routine thing. I also took him for walks at my local park specifically when I knew there were tee ball games going on. This got him much needed exposure around kids!

Another thing I made sure to do, and something I STILL do, is frequently touch his ears, tail, and feet at random. This helped desensitize him to people grabbing and touching him in odd ways. You wouldn't believe the times I've had ADULTS flip his ears over during a visit. And kids tend to grab and pull as well.

I would highly recommend doing at a minimum of a puppy kindergarten class and maybe 1-2 obedience classes. The puppy kindergarten was wonderful socialization around other puppies I knew were vaccinated. And with the obedience courses I was able to train for the canine good citizen test (many of the test items on there are similar to the therapy dog test). I actually even took this a step further and did the CGCA (community canine) and CGCU (urban canine) with Goose as well. These classes also got him to where he would be obedient around other dogs.

In addition to the classes I would often walk by the local dog park and ask him to do things such as sit, down and stay. Doing these commands with other dogs running and playing on the other side of the fence was SUPER distracting, but he got the hang of it. This made me super confident that he would listen to me no matter what.

Therapy dogs need to be "sound proof" as well. Sometimes when I feed him (and I still do this today) I suddenly drop his metal food bowl on the ground. This helped with the sound desensitization.

Towards the end of his training I even went as far as to schedule a "practice visit" with a family member I had in the nursing home. The nursing home allowed pet visits so even though we primarily stayed in her room, it was still wonderful to walk him through an actual nursing facility.

Aside from these things, taking your pup places like Lowes and Tractor Supply is also a wonderful training opportunity. There are a lot of scary sounds there that they will not have seen before so it's a good measure for what walking into a new facility for the first time might be like. Plus it is also important to get your pup used to walking on a lot of different surfaces. If you have all carpet in your home you don't want them to panic if they suddenly walk on tile or concrete!

Another important thing to keep in mind is that not all dogs are right for all settings. Even though I trained Goose specifically for a nursing home, he never really seemed at ease. Plus I could never get him to desensitize to the stretchers. No matter what he always seemed to spook around them! Since my last post Goose is now volunteering at a children's home and he ADORES it. Kids are definitely his specialty! So if you start training for one setting and your pup doesn't take to it, don't panic. There are SO MANY ways to volunteer with a therapy dog! There isn't a one size fits all location for all dogs.

Aside from all of that, I would recommend figuring out which organization you want to join and become familiar with the test requirements. I went with Love on a Leash and even though the CGC test was similar, the LOAL test required a much long down stay. So that was something extra I had to work for.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Great update, wonderful to hear how much Goose is enjoying the Children's Home visits.


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## Rusty9294 (Mar 2, 2018)

I appreciated reading more about your and Goose's progress. Sounds as though you both have found a great routine together.


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## Neeko13 (Jul 10, 2010)

Sounds like Goose is a natural..glad he found his niche, kids.. sounds awesome!!!


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## KarenW (Aug 11, 2019)

*Book suggestion for Therapy Dogs*

This will sound crazy, but I am just looking into the possibility of getting involved with doing therapy dog visits. Please explain here the differences with therapy, service, and special needs dogs. Do you have a suggestion on a good book to read up on to start learning about training a dog to become a therapy dog? Is it possible to train an older dog to become a therapy dog? I am on my 4th golden in 45 yrs. Getting ready to retire and have been thinking about this. Found a breeder who breeds dogs for this specific purpose. Also, why do you have to wait until the dog is one year old to do the testing? It sounded like he was ready early. I would think its like learning to drive a car, you practice, practice, practice and then wait for your road test..... I really enjoyed reading your updates and laughed at the barking at the statue. They are so unique, some of mine would bark if a leaf or something on the ground 
starting to move. PS Your should write a book about your experience. Karen Williams, Houston, TX & new member of this forum 
love it, love it, love it ...


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## Oldreid (Aug 16, 2019)

I admire your decision(train a therapy dog by yourself) very much.
A therapy dog used to work for many people, they just like a volunteer. But a service dog is only for the owner.
You can just let the people who always ask the difference between the service dog and therapy dog to search it online by themselves.
Besides, the therapy dog always appears at the hospital, Rehabilitation facilities, nursing home, etc, people in here will be very familiar with them, and they seldom to access to the public, so I think if your dog becomes a real therapy dog, the trouble will happen less since it will meet less public.


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## jimgl (Jul 25, 2015)

KarenW said:


> Do you have a suggestion on a good book to read up on to start learning about training a dog to become a therapy dog? Is it possible to train an older dog to become a therapy dog?


Here are two books that were helpful for training therapy dogs:

Teaming With Your Therapy Dog by Ann Howie
Therapy Dogs, Training Your Dog to Reach Others by Kathy Davis


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

Hey everyone! It's been a while and I thought people might like to see some pictures of Goose in action now that he is older and more seasoned in therapy work. Here are some photos from a family event we had at the end of 2019 that had 1000+ people attending at a conference building (please note that it was very very warm in the conference building and that is why his tongue is out- I promise this boy wasn't stressed and was hamming it up). Covid has certainly kept us home most of the last year but I can't wait to do visits again.































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