Therapy dog certification ensures that both dogs and handlers are well trained and it reduces the liability to facilities says burch.
Therapy dog certified.
Therapy dogs are to be petted and vests cut down on the petting area.
A therapy dog is trained to provide affection and comfort to those in hospitals schools nursing homes retirement homes people with learning disabilities people with anxiety people with severe stress and disaster areas.
There are three basic steps involved in certifying a therapy dog.
A tdi therapy.
In some cases you can apply online.
Others require hands on testing to put your dog through their paces.
After achieving a cgc certification your next step will be to contact an organization to acquire your pet s pet therapy certification.
A therapy dog tolerates other animals a therapy dog wants to visit with people a therapy dog loves children a therapy dog gets along with other dogs why don t therapy dogs wear vests.
Currently we have one certified therapy dog named lily.
A certified therapy dog must be friendly patient confident gentle and at ease in all situations.
Additionally the use of vests can confuse a therapy dog with a service dog.
A typical pet therapy test for your dog s certification will observe the following.
The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is its temperament.
You may request more than one therapy dog designation.
Therapy dog vest once the dog and handler have been approved by the hospital or school they may require your therapy dog be clearly identified.
Therapy dogs must enjoy human contact and be content to be petted cuddled and handled sometimes clumsily by unfamiliar people and to enjoy that contact.
Adopt a dog that has the appropriate demeanor and intelligence to serve as a therapy dog.
This helps people recognize the dog as a therapy animal reducing the necessity to explain oneself when entering into an approved establishment.
The first part of the companion paws therapy dog certification process is a first temperament assessmentto confirm suitability as a therapy dogfor your requested designation of personal assisted or visiting therapy.
Therapy dogs can frequently be found working in environments such as schools retirement homes hospitals workplaces disaster sites nursing homes and hospices.
Therapy dogs do need certification from and registration in a reputable national organization.
She is a 5 year old american pit bull terrier who holds her r e a d cgc cgca cgcu tkn and thdx titles and is miss september for the 2018 pinups for pitbulls.
Akc does not certify therapy dogs.
The certification and training is done by qualified therapy dog organizations.
But you can t just take your dog to visit a relative in a hospital for instance.