Therapy dogs must be good with children.
Therapy dogs are specially trained to be obedient, patient and gentle, and to offer companionship and comfort. Dog owners who would like to visit local hospitals, nursing homes and mental facilities with their dogs to provide a bit of canine interaction to those who may need cheering up must first have their dogs certified as therapy dogs. Various organizations throughout the country offer this type of training, as well as volunteer opportunities once dogs have completed the training.
Delta Society
The Delta Society, a nonprofit organization located in the state of Washington, screens and trains people and their pets for therapy work. Its Pet Partners program was established in 1990. In addition to obedience training, its program covers identifying and decreasing stress in your animal special needs of various client groups, interacting well with different types of people and adhering to facility health and safety codes. People and dogs can attend a 12-hour course conducted throughout the country during various times of the year, or they can complete a home study course. At the end of the course, both the pet's and the human's skills will be evaluated.
Delta Society
875 124th Ave. NE, Suite 101
Bellevue, WA 98005
425-679-5500
deltasociety.org
Highland Canine Training
This organization offers training for both potential therapy dogs and their handlers. It has locations in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. You can attend group classes or arrange to have private classes in your own home. Training covers basic, on-leash obedience to advanced, off-leash obedience. Dogs that successfully complete the course take the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen Evaluation test. After that, dogs are required to complete the therapy dog training, which involves supervised visits to nursing homes, hospitals and similar environments.
Highland Canine Training
145 Foxfield Dr.
Harmony, NC 28634-9403
866-200-2207
highlandcanine.com
Animal Humane Society
Dogs must pass the AKC's Good Citizen Evaluation to be eligible to enroll in the AHS's therapy dog class. Animals and their owners will participate in a series of mock scenarios designed to prepare them for the hospital or school settings. The class aims at making sure that pet behavior is predictable and controllable in such settings. Once animals and their owners complete the class they can take the Delta Pet Partners evaluation. The classes are held in various locations throughout the state of Minnesota.
Animal Humane Society
4375 Hwy. 55 SE
Buffalo, MN 55313-5236
(763) 390-3647
animalhumanesociety.org
Tags: Delta Society, Animal Humane, Animal Humane Society, Canine Training, Citizen Evaluation, Good Citizen