Service Dog or Therapy Dog
Hi everyone!
I'm new to the site and wasn't sure if this topic has already been discussed, but I was wondering if anyone could tell me what is the best age to start training your dog to be a service dog? I was thinking along the lines of a therapy dog. Also, if there are any reputable service training schools in the San Francisco Bay Area? I have seen how my little dog makes even the grumpiest person get on all fours and become 5 years old again, playing with him happily :) Any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated! Cheers!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Linda on
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I started with Max as an adult because I knew he had the temperament for it.
You don't say how old your pup is. If he is still a puppy start with puppy obedience classes, that will give him a good basis. After he has gone thru that and is old enough for adult dog classes then do that. Just remember they train YOU not your dog, you train your dog. You will have to work with him on a daily basis but it can and should be fun for both of you.
Many dog clubs sponsor the obedience trainings so look for a local dog club not just a corgi club. After he is graduated from the adult obedience training you will have a better idea of his personality and if he is suited to do therapy work. If he is talk to the instructor about therapy training. Again you will find that local dog clubs will also sponsor that training. He will first need to get his AKC K9 Good Citizen Award in order to take the test for a certified therapy dog.
I was lucky that the instructor we had for the regular obedience class was also the one for the therapy training. She knew Max and felt he was a good candidate. Max got his AKC K9 GCA first time out along with several others in our group. He was the only one who passed the therapy certification on the first try.
I wish you the best of luck and please let us know how he does.
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Permalink Reply by Victoria & Bjørn on
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Thanks for the great info! My puppy is currently 5 1/2 months old but an old soul ;) He has a very calm demeanor and barely barks. I already took him to beginners training class and boy you're not kidding, "I" sure was trained ;). He did very well and took to all his commands fairly quickly. He still needs some help on "lay down". Somehow I got the hearding and nipping of ankles out of him, for now, but he still runs around in circles like a madman, which I love to watch. I will definitely look for a dog club. Sounds like the best starting place. Thanks again and I will keep you posted :)
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Now is a great time to start. I have always done basic obedience with all my corgis and gone on from there. If you have any AKC clubs nearby I would see if they have training, what I have found around here(MN) at least is that they are just as cheap and we were able to get Sage her CGC test right there after 3 sets of classes then tested for Therapy Dog Inc. It's so rewarding and brings smiles to so many peoples lives:) She was about 15 months when we got her certified.
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Thanks for the info! It is definitely rewarding! I tell you, my mother has, for as long as I can remember, HATED dogs. When I told her I was getting a puppy and asked her to help doggie-sitt, she was none too happy, but as soon as she met him, it was instant love! And can you believe she lets him give her "kisses". It just blows my mind and I really feel that my parents, now that they are in their 70's, have this renewed spirit because of my lil pup. I would love to share my puppy with others that need some uplifting. :)
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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on
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Hi Victoria! Sidney is a therapy dog. WE started by getting his CGC when he was 9 months old. He did therapy dog class when he was age 1. He's five years old now, Our organization is Love on a Leash. Here is a link to our chapters, I don't know if there are any in your area:
http://www.loveonaleash.org/pages/chapters.html
My best piece of advice is do to all the training you can..basic, intermediate, therapy dog training, trick training...everything you can. It will help cement a bond between you two. Good luck!
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Thank you for the link! I will definitely check it out. I have to sign him up for intermediate class soon then :) Sidney is such a handsome dog. I love his pictures!
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One thing you can be doing right now is to "object and sound proof your dog...in other words bomb proof your dog(sorry but that's the word we use" This means not only socialize him to people who limp and may make strange noises,are in a wheelchair, use walkers, and awkward motions. They need to focus on you and not shy away. You can have friends help you with this but also just out in public. Drop a pile of books and any other abnormal circumstances. Sage can walk through anything and any noise but will try to get as far away as she can from a helium balloon which I never thought of as being sooooooo scary. In our training for CGC we also had to be able to leave our dog with a stranger (I think on a "sit/stay") and go out of the room for 3 minutes without them panicking or moving this has come in handy as Sage many times is at work with me and she just hangs out when I leave to go someplace. The more he is comfortable with the better.
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I will get on that. This is stuff I would never have thought of, thanks! So far I haven't really noticed him being too jumpy but the noises that he does hear that are unusual, he always like to investigate.
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Kristen...don't rule it out:) Sage's mom goes to visit a nursing home also. They know she's not certified but the people LOVE her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As mellow(almost too mellow) as Sage is her mom is intense...LOVES people and loves to play ball so when she does go with Sage and I Livvy plays ball and the people love throwing it for her. Sage wants pets and attention. Although we don't do any child visits with Livvy she is a kid person more than Sage so I would pursue this and see where it takes you:) Sometimes I actually think Sage is too mellow. He might make a great children's therapy dog.
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Kristen, Livvy's parents are Sassafras and Zorro. I know the line that Zorro is from as my 1st female also came from his line but different parentage.. I believe that she is still using Zorro. Who is Beez's dad? That's where Livvy gets her intenseness from.
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So she still is using Wyatt????? That's good to know....I will have to email her about him!
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Kristen, there are so many things a therapy dog can do. Our supervised sessions had to be in senior facilities, and although Sidney passed no problem, visits could be awkward. SId is too short to be reached from a wheelchair and he cannot do "paws up" because of his achey hip. He's a big boy and too heavy to join someone in bed. The best he could do was do tricks for the residents and join someone if they were on a sofa and he could sit next to them.
But once we were able to go to schools, SId found his niche. We go to college campuses during wellness events and finals weeks. They put out blankets or carpet remnants out on the quad and we sit on the ground with the students. College kids are crazy for corgis! They just come rub him down, chat and ask to take their picture with him. He does his tricks for them. At first he was shy (I knew he'd had enough when he'd try to go under my chair or behind me), but with each session he's more comfortable, and he hasn't tried to "check out early" in the last year or so. He knows when it's time to "go to work" and he's excited. This is what we discovered he enjoys. And we know to avoid elementary schools, the kids there are too loud and grabby and Sid is not comfortable with that. It's all trial and error to see what you both enjoy.
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