My wife and I got this pup (Pippin) a couple months ago, he’s almost 5 months now. We got him with the intent that she train him as a therapy dog for work since she’s an LCSW mental health therapist. Where he’s still young we want to start teaching him but don’t quite know where to start aside from the general commands. Any advice on stuff we can work on with him?

Hi Everyone! New to the therapy dog world and recently certified! I got our first barkletter and am a bit sad to see all the opportunities are during weekdays during working hours :( Any tips or suggestions on weekend opportunities?

I didn't realize it until we passed the therapy dog exam and I read the report the evaluator wrote? Since then I'm seeing things differently. Here are some examples:

He lies under my chair during dinner.

We have a gate in the kitchen to keep the little dogs apart from Sky. He can see me but it's not close enough for him so he cries.

The leash slipped from my hand. He stopped and turned around to see what happened to me.

We're walking up steps together and he turned the corner before me. I was out of site. He stopped, turned around and waited until he could see me.

When I'm sleeping he licks me to wake up. If I don't respond he uses that big paw and swats me.

He stairs into my eyes the way a baby looks at his mama.

He brings me his toys.

He follows me everywhere. Include going in the car anywhere I can take him.

Our group has been asked to be at an event for MLK day. We have therapy dogs, but also would like to have a craft for kids who are waiting their turn. TIA!

We met a woman today at synagogue who is terrified of dogs. She said she's in therapy for her fear.

She was thrilled when I told her Sky is a registered therapy dog, and when she's ready for him he'll be ready for her.

I have 2 yr old great pyr. She ihas the best temperment EVER. She has passed her CGC, but my school wants her to be an organization and be certified. What would you recommend? I live in Missouri. Not sure if that makes a difference! Thanks!!

There are no therapy CAT threads or general therapy animal ones, so I'm sorry if this isn't allowed. I know there are therapy cats though. I have a small,social with strangers, relaxed and extremely affectionate girl with a heart spot. She walks on a harness and travels because of my disability she assists me with. Does she need to pass a course, or can she start visiting seniors now?

My dogs therapy insurance just went up by almost 50% currently we use Pet Care Affiliates. Just seeing what other options are out there.

I have a 3.5 year old, male, mixed breed. He is absolutely wonderful with people, loves strangers, and is excellent in large groups of people. We go to pet friendly places and he behaves extremely well. I’d say his obedience and training is at a great place, besides one thing I’m concerned about (see below). I attended a dog training seminar with him this summer and the trainer running the seminar, as well as a couple of other trainers, approached me and suggested we get into therapy work. I’d been mostly focused on obedience training (which came along very well), but was starting to realize my goofy and friendly, but not-so-focused dog, was making a lot of people very happy.

We did his CGC almost a year and a half ago, and I have no doubt he’d be fine with the CGCA.

Here is the issue. One of my dog’s biggest issues is jumping. We have worked so hard on this behavior. I am strict about whether and now he greets people, and for a while he was not allowed to greet anyone. We built up to allowing greetings. Despite this, he still does it occasionally.

He does it for attention—it’s happened mostly when I wasn’t paying close enough attention and someone stops petting him. There are other times when he sees someone particularly exciting (people with beards lol), and he gets so excited, he tries to jump while on leash. In those situations, he’s not allowed to interact with the person. He rarely jumps when he’s off leash, which makes sense because the leash adds to his excitement and frustration. Interestingly, I’ve never seen him jump on a child, probably because they’re already low to the ground.

I know he’s a dog and dogs jump, but I’m wondering if this should be a reason to hold off on therapy work. I do plan to take some specific courses with him. My dog is about 45lbs and 21ish inches tall, which is not enough to knock over most people if he jumps, but still a potential safety risk.

Any suggestions or similar experiences?

Does anyone have examples of reference letters for Therapy dog teams? We are leaving Pet Partners and joining ATD and I need some idea to guide a facility manager on a letter for us.

Thanks for any thoughts and insight.

Hello! I’m working on a website about service dogs and I’m including a section about therapy dogs. Full transparency, I don’t know much about therapy dogs so I’d like y’all to look over what I’ve written and correct me on what I might have gotten wrong! Here’s what I’ve written! Service dogs, ESAs, and therapy dogs, while all important, are not the same. Service dogs must undergo extensive training in order to assist their disabled handler and be allowed in non pet friendly places. Emotional support animals, also called ESAs, can be any species of animal. ESAs aren't required to undergo any special training as they aren't required to be task trained and aret allowed in non pet friendly places. ESAs are protected under the Fair Housing Act. This means they are allowed to live with their owner in places that aren't typically pet friendly. This would include apartments, condos, dorms, and rental houses with a letter from a licensed mental health professional like a therapist or psychiatrist. This does NOT include hotels or short term rentals like Airbnb or VRBO. Similar to service dogs, therapy dogs are required to undergo a lot of training since they visit a lot of places that aren't typically pet friendly such as hospitals, schools, courthouses, funeral homes, and other high stress environments to provide comfort to the people in those facilities. Unlike service dogs, therapy dogs do have to be certified by an accredited organization. They are also not allowed in non pet friendly places outside of what the organization has approved. They are also not allowed in non pet friendly housing.

Hi All, I have a 20 mo old labrador retriever that we got a month ago, but she has been recommended for therapy training. I already have a friend who does therapy work so I'm doing a lot of the same classes she's done, but I'm also interested in getting my girl her CGC. I asked about specific training for that last night at my obedience class and the trainer seemed to dismiss the test, saying she prefers her therapy certification because she can work with the dogs herself and identify their strengths and weaknesses. I totally understand that perspective, but she just seemed a bit dismissive of the test because it utilizes an unknown evaluator. Has anyone ever experienced this perspective from their trainers, and is it generally advised to do both CGC and therapy training/certification or just the therapy work?

My specific question to my trainer was concerning test item #10 of the CGC, supervised separation. My dog struggles with a bit of codependence right now, so I asked for some training items to work on to help break that codependence so she could succeed at that test item, but it felt like she kind of ignored my question because she didn't like the test/certification. Is this a common viewpoint?

Hello, is there any law about courthouse facility dogs in criminal proceedings in Belgium? I am doing some research but I can't find anything related to it...and I would like to be sure I am not missing anything. Please help

I saw an advertisement at my local veterinarian about volunteering for a pets as therapy organisation. The photos were only of dogs, but the "pets" lead me to believe they're open to other animals. Was thinking of contacting the organisation and doing a bit on the therapy side.

Obviously, this is a therapy dogs group! Dogs are mainly used here. I was just wondering if anyone volunteered for pet therapy, but with their cat(s)?

I have a kitten who I think might... might... be a good therapy cat. He loves love and attention. I'm training him to do little tricks (when HE feels like it). He loves his food, but I wouldn't say he's completely food motivated - I think he actually likes a good pat and scratch more. He is a diesel engine when he cuddles. He behaves well with older people, so a school might not be the best idea. However, I think with some more experience with younglings, he'd be fine.

If yes: What was your experience, volunteering for pet therapy with your cat? 🐈 What about their personality made you realise they were a good fit? What sort of people did you visit, and what are some memorable moments that stood out for you? Pros and cons? Would you do it again?

If no: Could you imagine a cat doing similar work as your therapy dog? Have you seen therapy cats before?

I am a neurodivergent solopreneur who is almost always at home. I have always somehow been around cats my entire life - and I am the dad to 2 2 year old goof balls right now.

However whenever I have hung around dogs in the past - retrievers especially, the experience has been amazing. I have found their energy incredibly thereputic - feels incredibly comforting.

I was thinking of exploring options to adopt a therapy dog. The challenge is that there is no local information available around this - even recommendations from professionals have been dodgy.

I had a few questions

1. There is no way I can give up on my cats. Is it even possible in my case that the home is friendly enough for both of my cats and the dog? Will they be friends? I don't want to even entertain the possibility that my cats are under stress because of the presence of a dog

2. What about the dog? Do they feel threatened around cats?

3. I am quite confident that I'll be able to provide for all three pets. Anything that I should keep in mind in particular?

4. I am from a region where there is so much lack of information and transparency in the process. Any way I can ensure I am making the best decision for both the dog and myself? I am particularly worried about training and trainers.

Hey all!

So my dog has been certified with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and we are ready to start volunteering! A big passion of mine is mental health, and I have been inpatient at psychiatric hospitals before. I would absolutely love to volunteer with my pup at these types of places and was wondering if anyone knows how to go about doing that?

My employer has said that if I were to get my dog trained as a therapy dog they would allow me to bring my dog in to work!

I’ve seen some conflicting information online about the process of getting a dog trained as a therapy dog in the UK and wondered if anyone has gone through this process and could shed some light into it :)

I have been considering the therapy dog journey for several years now and I would like to take some steps toward getting a dog, but I’m not sure which direction to go and would love any thoughts/advice.

For context: I am a psychologist and I work in long term care. I would like to have a therapy dog I can bring in to enhance the wellbeing of the residents and staff. But I would also like to have the dog for my own mental health support.

Should I go with an organization like paws4people and try for a facility dog? Are there other agencies that offer similar things? Should I go the personal route? Either way, I plan to partner with the dog in my professional work, so I want to go about this in a serious manner.

I know I have a lot to learn and I really appreciate this community’s help! 😊

Hi Reddit,

I'm at a crossroads in my career and could use some advice. Here's my situation:

**Current:**

• Working as a respite caregiver for an Alzheimer's organization

• 6 months into a RAC program to become a special care counsellor

• Unhappy with current job due to issues with management

• Living in province of Quebec, Canada.

**Goals:**

• Transition into zootherapy

• Eventually own a barn with therapy animals

**Challenges:**

• Limited experience with client groups other than seniors

• Precarious financial situation

• Unsure how to break into zootherapy

• Current job isn't helping me integrate my studies

**Questions:**

1. How can I gain relevant experience in zootherapy while maintaining financial stability?

2. Are there specific certifications or courses I should look into for zootherapy?

3. Any tips for networking in this field?

I'm currently on vacation and want to use this time to plan my next steps. Any advice, personal experiences, or resources you can share would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

Hi all. I have a 10 month old Labrador that just completed 5 months of obedience training. The last class culminated in the CGC test which she failed with 3 of the tests not completed - the ones with walking in a crowd, walking by another dog, and then the sit-stay while I walked away. The last one I think was just a result of her being extra excited today because she’s done it perfectly during practice a ton. But her public outings and being around other people and dogs definitely need work. Since she’s a lab, it is mostly just because she wants to love everyone and gets jumpy and happy. Same with other dogs. She’s been in doggie daycare for a while and is totally good around other dogs so it’s curiosity and not aggression.

Anyway. She is signed up to start a 10 week therapy dog course in late September after she turns a year old, with the test through TDI. I am wondering if the best thing to do is just continue going to public places like Home Depot and Lowe’s, and maybe take her on walks in busy parks? I’m sort of not sure how to best get her to ignore other people or dogs due to the fact that she’s a lab and it seems in their nature, but I also know that labs are often therapy dogs….is it just continued exposure that will help?

Thanks!

I’ve trained a few puppies over the course of my life, but never for CGC or therapy, always just some obedience and fetch.

I’m picking up my Brittany puppy in a few days, and got the pick of the liter - curious, drive, playful and submissive with play, and loves to cuddle.

I work in a small VA clinic and would love to train her as a therapy dog. Everyone at the office is thrilled at the idea of her growing into our office dog, and I’d love it if she could be around for some visits with appropriate adult patients.

But having her as my ride or die adventure dog is first and foremost. She’s going to be my hiking and paddleboarding buddy. My focus will be building toy drive with tug and fetch and hopefully frisbee.

I chose a Brittany specifically for their drive and off switch. So I’m wondering if it’s possible that she could fill both roles. I’ve got a big network of people for lots of exposure to everything - dogs, kids, toddlers. And I’m an empty nester with lots of time on my hands, all of which I can’t wait to fill with this next pup of mine. I don’t have any other pets right now, so it would just be her.

Thanks everyone.