Getting started as a Therapy Dog
“I was interested in getting my dog certified as a therapy dog but don’t know where to start.”
Great question! My first response is to gauge understanding of what kind of “job” you want your therapy dog to do. These two “jobs” are often mistaken as the same but the title in this case is super important because this will lend to public access, dog rights, and different training.
1.) A therapy dog is a dog that is trained to provide affection, comfort, and support to people, often in settings such as retirement homes, nursing homes, hospitals, schools, libraries, hospices, fire departments, and disaster areas.
2.) A service dog is a dog trained to perform many important tasks to assist people with disabilities, such as providing stability for a person who has difficulty walking, blindness, autism, and PTSD. (ADA)
The main difference for training is how many people your dog is helping with. If you chose “job” 1, please continue below. If you chose “job” 2, this is a different type of training
Step 1a: Mannerisms To Spot
I’m about to ruffle feathers, but therapy dogs are born, not made. Your dog’s natural personality and bubbliness (extroversion) are not something we want to forcibly change. Part of training for therapy dogs is to determine if the dog is a good fit or if the human needs a different dog. A good trainer will tell you. Not lead you on. If during early desensitization training, your dog displays reactivity, this dog is no longer a good fit and a safety concern. More on training below (1b.)
Here are some green flags:
If your dog holds eye contact well or comes over to anyone in the household when you’re upset. This is a great sign.
If your dog loves to cuddle with anyone or is overly excited and willingly approaches strangers on walks. This is a good sign, but also keep working on leash training.
If your dog gravitates to new people at the dog park over the dogs, that’s a good sign you may have a potential therapy dog candidate.
All Ears is honored to have helped establish an AAI (animal-assisted intervention) training program in Washington State with Washington Therapy Dogs. We are an independent contractor and collaborated with 3 other trainers around the state of Washington.
Step 1b: Pre-Requisite Basic Training and Canine Good Citizen
Your puppy needs to know the basics, leash manners, impulse control, and the desire to be social with people. If your dog gravitates to new people at the dog park over the dogs, that’s a good sign you may have a potential therapy dog candidate. Before we jump ahead of ourselves, we need to have a firm foundation of basic skills. The first major milestone is passing the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC). Learn more about CGC and the 10 items on the test.
After that, your dog must be older than 12 months old, and you have handled the dog for at least 6 months. You can expect to share vaccination records and Background Check(s) frequently during this. Visits required extra grooming (bath and/or brushing) up to 48 hours prior.
Honorable Disqualifiers:
History of aggression or causing serious injury to other people or pets, including bite or protection training. Your dog is not eligible.
If your dog is fed a raw meat diet, you will be disqualified from this process. We do not want to encourage snatching human food from visitors.
Experiencing an acute or chronic health condition or taking a medication that may make an animal ineligible to visit or register. Your dog is not eligible.
Step 2: Continue Your Research: What setting do you want your dog to go into?
Beyond the physical skills required and natural temperament of your dog, we as trainers want to ensure the vision you have for your pup is obtainable with this pup. You and your pup would become a registered “Therapy Dog Team.”
Example Vision:
I have clients who come to me with a heart to volunteer with schools and young kids, but their puppy is weary and reluctant around young kids and even more so with a gaggle of kids. In this certain situation, we would want to make sure you had access to a few chosen young kids to help desensitize, but your pup may still be reluctant after a desensitization period. That’s okay. We do not want to force our pups into giving love and therapy when they are uncomfortable. Fearful dogs have a higher likelihood of biting. Your responsibility is to the dog and the public safety. This is when the well-being of your pup trumps your want to volunteer with kids.
Option 1: It is then easier to get a different dog who shows an interest and gentleness with kids.
Option 2: If you’re still willing to serve a different group of people, we would suggest a different setting.
Common Therapy Settings:
Senior communities, hospice.
Hospitals
Physical therapy, a clinic dog, pr a psychologist therapy dog.
Courtrooms
Fire departments, First Responders, and crisis response teams.
This does not need to be set in stone before the test.
Once certified, any public access establishment that invites you and your dog to visit is acceptable. Here’s the catch, you will need to be fully certified first to gain access to most of these places. (Unless you go with an established dog trainer, then they will cover the liability insurance required. See step 3.)
Reminder: Therapy Dogs vs. Service Dogs
Therapy dogs are dogs who volunteer with their owners/handlers to help other people in settings such as schools, nursing homes etc. Therapy dogs do not have the same special access as service dogs. This means they can’t go on planes, in restaurants, etc. just because they are therapy dogs.
Service dogs are dogs who help an individual person who has a disability. Service dogs are permitted in public places.
Step 3: Complete a Therapy Dog Prep Program
After finishing the Canine Good Citizen test, your dog should be ready to begin targeted training for therapy. Among other training requirements, to succeed in a therapy setting, your dog must be able to:
Stay relaxed and happy amid unfamiliar surroundings and people.
Calmly tolerate unexpected noise and movement, clumsy petting.
Ignore distractions, food or things on the ground.
Readily focus on you and obey commands.
You may wish to find a therapy dog training class run by an experienced, knowledgeable dog trainer. For Washington state, applications here.
WaTherapyDogs program allows you to test your dog in a Senior Community setting and get live feedback with us. This 8-week program allows you to learn and check where you’re at.
We advocate signing up with Pet Partners as well which offers home-study courses and workshops for both therapy dogs and their human handlers. WaTherapyDogs students do have a discount with Pet Partners.
Step 4: Determine Your Therapy Dog Registration & Test
Two internationally recognized groups are Pet Partners and Therapy Dog International.
Each animal-assisted therapy group is a little different. Learn about the groups and find out which seems to be the best fit for you and your dog. Each group has its own set of standards, required courses, and special testing before a dog and handler can become a registered therapy team.
Steps preview from Pet Partners:
Create a Volunteer Profile
Handler Education
The key to safe, effective visits is the training for the “human end of the leash”. You must complete and pass either the online or in-person Handler Training before attending your team evaluation. The online Handler Training fee is $80.
Animal Health Screening
Only the official Pet Partners Animal Health Screening form is acceptable documentation to meet this requirement.
In Person Team Evaluation
The team evaluation is a simulated therapy animal visit conducted by a Pet Partners volunteer team evaluator. The fee for a team evaluation typically ranges from $15-$30.
Background Check
Complete a background check via an email request from the Advocates at Sterling Volunteers on behalf of Pet Partners. The background check cost is included in your initial registration or registration renewal fee. There is no additional cost.
Registration Fee
Your registration fee covers two years of volunteerism with Pet Partners, including your insurance coverage, background check, free or discounted continuing education, access to resources, and support from our amazing staff. The registration fee for first-time registrations is $95.
* (All Ears is not an employee of Pet Partners, this is shared from Pet Partners website.)
Check out this Handling Skills & Testing Requirements Webinar with Katherine Laughlin, a Pet Partners Evaluator located in Bellingham, WA. She walks us through these steps again and digs into what the In Person Team Evaluation looks like. As a WaTherapyDogs student, you will get Pet Partner discounts and early access to testing dates.
WaTherapyDogs Continued Edu Zoom calls will happen every 3rd Thursday and free to attend.
Step 5: Document Your Dog’s Health
Dogs on Raw Food diets are not allowed to be certified as therapy dogs.
Therapy dogs must meet specific health requirements, for both their safety and that of the people they will visit. At the very least, keep up with current vaccinations, heartworm prevention, and have a clean bill of health from your veterinarian.
If you’re looking for a kibble alternative, Farmer’s Dog delivers personalized portions straight to your door and steams your dog’s food. Try a free 2-week trial box on us!
Step 6: Complete the Final Evaluation Process
Once you and your dog have completed all the requirements, you must go through a final evaluation, or series of evaluations, to become an official animal-assisted (AAI) therapy team. The process can be very involved and sometimes quite difficult. Overall typically about 1.5 to 2 years including basic training. However, many dedicated handlers and their dogs find that it is all well worth it in the end.
Step 7: Keep Up With Ongoing Care
Create your therapy go bag including your registration papers. You’ll find your rythmn of exercising your dog before the visit, plenty of playtime makes it easier. Grooming and bath 24-48 hours before.
Keeping Up with Socialization (our series)
Scheduling visits at a minimum of 1-2 a month to keep your registration active.
Attend continuing education for renewal of certification.
I think that covers it the overview.
Pawsitively,
Bri Maurer