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Hi Nikki, contact the hospital and find out which group they work with. For example, this hospital have already posted all the info you need.
In most cases, you begin with a puppy, medium, advance class, follow by a CGC test, once you got CGC, you can pick which pet therapy organization to receive further training and certified. For example: Delta Society and Therapy Dogs International.
The ideal therapy dog can handle sudden loud or strange noises; can walk on assorted unfamiliar surfaces comfortably; are not frightened by people with canes, wheelchairs, or unusual styles of walking or moving; get along well with children and with the elderly...etc.
Don't be discourage if your dog don't get certified at a young age, some dogs are born with the right temperament, other dogs can also perform well as a therapy dog later in life.
Remember therapy dogs are not service dog, guide dog, hearing / signal dog, they require very different training. Good luck and have fun doing it :)
Hi Nikki,
Sidney is a therapy dog with Love on a Leash. When he was the age of your pup, he was nervous about a few things (bikes, skateboards, balls, trash cans) but he grew out of it and almost nothing phases him!
Come check out this group: it's for those looking into therapy or just getting started
http://www.mycorgi.com/group/therapycorgisintraining
Good luck!
Thank you so much! I just joined the group. I am going to socialize her a lot more especially with children.
Three words: Socialize, socialize, socialize. :-)
Seriously, mine are both therapy dogs with TDI, though we are not as active as I would like. Maddie was an adult when we got her so she just needed to learn the basic obedience commands (her former owner/breeder had already done a fabulous job of socializeing her). Jack was not ready to take the test til he was almost two because he was a very high-energy puppy.
Just worry about your basic training now, but put her in the car and take her to a few little league games. Find out where the local cross-country team practices (this is usually in the fall) and hang out there. Take her to big-box stores (on a slip collar or harness so there is no chance of escape). When people smile in her direction, ask "Would you like to pet the puppy? I'm socializing her!"
She should get used to people of all ages, genders, and races. She should get comfortable with lots of noise and lots of moving feet around her (that's why visiting crowded areas like little league games is good). Stores help her get used to the rattle of wheels from the carts, which will help later with wheelchairs and walkers.
She should be comfortable being around strange dogs and either 1) Interact with them pleasantly or 2) Be able to ignore them on command.
Make sure she's seen and is not afraid of umbrellas and raincoats and sudden loud noises; she can startle briefly but not panic and/or bolt from noises. She should be curious about, rather than afraid of, strange objects put on the ground.
Socialization is, IMO, 90% of successful therapy dog training. The obedience stuff is pretty basic and most dogs and handlers who have gone up through training classes can handle it. It's the other stuff. We had the best-behaved, best-mannered Sheltie in our group fail his test because he spooked when the evaluator dropped a metal object on the floor while he was looking the other way.
Good luck!
Hi Nikki,
Sage is working on her Therapy dog title also and we started with basic obedience and are now on our second advanced obedience class. Sage is less than 15 months and our CGC and Therapy Dog test will be May 12th. We go to our AKC Club and that's where we test also. Don't get discouraged if she's afraid just let her get used to people/dogs/things and let her go at her pace. It took Sage a bit to get used to some of the other dogs and her mom literally sat under my chair the 1st night of classes.
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