Logo courtesy of
Therapy Animals of San Antonio
Therapy Dogs
Logo courtesy of
Therapy Animals of San Antonio
Click on a topic or just scroll down the page:
► The Healing Effects of the Human-Animal Bond
► Where and How Therapy Dogs Serve
• Retirement Homes, Assisted Living Homes, Nursing Homes and Hospices
• Mental and Physical Therapy with a Health Professional
• Schools, Colleges and Universities
• Read to Dog Programs in Schools and Libraries
• Requirements and Rules of Therapy Dog Organizations
• Training
• Finding a Therapy Dog Organization
► How to Start Your Own U.S. Non-Profit Organization
Therapy dogs are best known for bringing affection, comfort and happiness to people in confined living situations, whether they are in a hospital for a short stay or living in a retirement home.
Logo courtesy of The Pit Crew
Sadly, sometimes family and friends are too uncomfortable to visit their ill or aging loved ones because of their condition. Connecting with a dog, petting its head or back, can bring a smile and warm memories to those who feel lonely and neglected.
But therapy dogs serve in many ways, including helping people with learning difficulties, helping people with mental and physical therapy, and bringing comfort to people in stressful situations such as those recovering from disaster.
Therapy dogs come in all shapes and sizes, and their most important characteristic is not their appearance or breed, but their temperament. They are friendly, patient, confident, gentle, and at ease with strangers. They provide unconditional acceptance and never fail to put smiles on the faces of children and adults alike.
A therapy dog must enjoy human contact and excessive petting. And they must be comfortable staying in place, whether it is a floor, chair, couch, bed or lap, or in their handler's arms. Therapy dogs do not need to perform, though a few simple tricks will surely delight their audience.
Therapy dogs must also be very tolerant of disturbances such as:
Picture courtesy of Therapaws of Michigan
► Clumsy handling by children and elderly people (though the dog's handler should never let their dog be abused)
► Equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and canes
► Sudden and loud noises
► The surprise of seeing another dog in the facility
Therapy dog evaluations generally include disturbances such as those listed above, but the goal is not to have a dog that doesn't react at all. After all, a sudden, loud noise would make you jump! But such disturbances should not cause a therapy dog to panic. And if the dog does react strongly, with its handler's assurance it should quickly regain composure.
The Healing Effects of the Human-Animal Bond
Spending time with animals produces marked improvements in humans, affecting both the mental and physical aspects of their well-being.
Therapy dog teams frequently witness improvements in their clients. Mentally, they may simply become happier, more alert, more interested. Physically, they may become more active or improve in activities in which they are limited. Occasionally, measurable improvements are witnessed as well.
Picture courtesy of TN Safety Spotters
A tangible example would be a chemotherapy patient who can't receive a treatment because their blood pressure is too high. After visiting with a therapy dog, their blood pressure is re-checked and they are found to be ready for treatment.
Here are just some of the healing effects that may benefit a person who spends time with a therapy dog:
► Mental Benefits
• Decrease in stress and anxiety
• Decrease in depression
• Decrease in other psychiatric symptoms
• Decrease in loneliness and feelings of isolation
• Decrease in aggressive behaviors
Picture courtesy of TN Safety Spotters
• Increase in social and emotional support
• Increase in opportunities for laughter and feeling of happiness
• Increase in feeling of well-being
• Increase in spirit, enabling a patient to further participate in mental and physical therapy
► Physical Benefits
• Decrease in blood pressure
• Decrease in heart rate
• Decrease in the stress hormone cortisol
• Increase in hormones associated with health and a feeling of well-being, including beta-endorphin, beta-phenylethylamine, dopamine, oxytocin, prolactin and serotonin
• Improve fitness by providing stimulus for exercise
In addition, the benefits listed above may result in a decrease in a person's need for medications.
Where and How Therapy Dogs Serve
Logo courtesy of BARK Therapy Dogs
Perhaps visiting hospitals and retirement homes is what comes to mind when most people think of therapy dogs. In fact therapy dogs serve in a tremendous variety of venues and circumstances, and the number of ways in which they help people is equally great and varied. The examples given below only serve as an introduction.
A wonderful way to learn about the different possibilities is to shadow teams as they work. Make arrangements with a local organization to follow teams in a variety of different settings so you can discover how you and your dog can best serve. If you don't have a local therapy dog organization, see if you can make arrangements through the facilities you might be interested in serving. Your contact will likely be the Volunteer Coordinator or Activities Directory.
Working with very ill children, Alzheimer's patients, or in a hospice sounds like a wonderful way to serve. But if dealing with such circumstances is difficult for you, know that there will be others that will do well with them. Find a venue for your therapy dog work that you and your dog will be comfortable with and enjoy, and you'll be able to give the best you have to offer.
Picture courtesy of
Happy Tails Therapy Dogs
Hospitals offer a special opportunity to help people through difficult times. Patients appreciate a warm and loving distraction from their pain and worries, and you will find that family members are every bit as appreciative. Not only because you're comforting their loved ones, but because they are also going through difficult times and appreciate a break from it themselves.
Waiting rooms provide another opportunity to serve. Relatives and friends of patients may be waiting for very long periods of time during surgeries, all the while worrying about the outcome.
Hospitals have established policies for visiting dogs, and may require that teams be registered with a national organization. Some allow teams to visit door-to-door in many of their wards, while others only allow doctor-approved visits to patients.
Doctors and nurses will enjoy saying hello to your dog, too, taking a quick break from their stressful work. They'll say, "Oh, how cute!" And you'll respond, "Thank you, and don't you think my dog is cute, too?"
All hospitals require strict adherence to sanitary guidelines for you and your dog, including hand sanitizing before and after each visit with a patient. When dogs are placed on a patient's bed, they are placed on a clean sheet or towel used just for your visit with that one patient. You must also be very careful not to disturb a patient's injury, or medical equipment such as IV tubing.
Retirement Homes, Assisted Living Homes, Nursing Homes and Hospices
Picture courtesy of Lyon Ranch
The distinction between retirement homes, assisted living homes, nursing homes and hospices is important in that each represents a different group of clients that you will be visiting, although the lines are not always clearly drawn. In each of these types of facilities you may visit clients in their rooms, visit with a group of clients in a meeting or living room, or a combination of the two.
Often the clients living in such facilities have little outside contact, and your visit may be the highlight of their week. Many will enjoy sharing memories of dogs that have been a significant part of their lives in the past.
Retirement homes generally support independent living, and have the air of a senior citizen center. Assisted living homes provide services such as meals and housekeeping, and assist residents in daily living. Many have a special unit to provide for those with memory issues.
Nursing homes provide all the amenities of assisted living homes, with the addition of skilled nursing care. Hospices provide specialized healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing suffering for patients who are nearing the end of life.
You may find it very difficult, or very rewarding, to work with people in the latter stages of life. As noted above, it is important for you, your dog, and your clients that you discover what type of work best suits your skills and needs.
Mental and Physical Therapy with a Health Professional
Picture courtesy of
C.H.A.M.P. Assistance Dogs
While animal-assisted activities is a catch-all term used to describe all types of therapy dog work, animal-assisted therapy is a term used to describe only a specific category of therapy dog work.
Animal-assisted therapy is conducted by a health professional who uses the animal in providing their service to the client. The health professional might use their own dog in their service, but most often will incorporate a therapy dog team. Thus a typical session would include the heath professional, the client, a therapy dog and its handler.
Animal-assisted therapy further differs from animal-assisted activities in that the sessions are designed to help the client achieve specific goals, such as increased mobility or improved memory. The sessions are documented by the health professional to record activity and progress.
Examples of health professionals that use animal-assisted therapy:
• Mental and physical therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Speech therapists
• Nurses
• Social workers
Examples of areas where animal-assisted therapy is used to help clients improve:
• Verbal and physical interactions with others (self-expression, cooperation)
• Motor skills
• Mobility and balance
• Exercise
• Mental skills (memory, concentration, problem solving)
• Anxiety
• Depression (grieving)
• Trust
Visiting with therapy dogs has been shown to lower anxiety and motivate participation. In physical therapy, the client may be motivated to pet the dog or walk with it. In mental therapy, the dog is seen as a friend and ally, thus presenting a safe atmosphere for sharing.
The World English Dictionary defines occupational therapy as follows:
Treatment of people with physical, emotional, or social problems, using purposeful activity to help them overcome or learn to deal with their problems
That nicely sums up the purpose of animal-assisted therapy.
Schools, Colleges and Universities
Picture courtesy of
Dog B.O.N.E.S. Therapy Dogs
of Massachusetts
Therapy dogs serve as non-judgmental companions in the process of learning and development. They are used for everything from help with lessons to teaching social skills and responsibility. They help students with emotional problems that interfere with school, including grief and personal crisis.
In some cases, a teacher may be the handler of their own trained therapy dog, and their dog may spend an entire day at school with them. However, working with students for more than a couple hours would likely be very stressful for the dog. Therefore work time is limited, and the dog is provided a quiet, private space to escape to for lengthy breaks.
The use of therapy dogs in colleges and universities has just recently become popular. They are primarily used to reduce stress and depression in students studying particularly difficult curriculums, or studying for exams. Visits with therapy dogs have been reported by students to serve as a more healthy method of stress relief, as opposed to stereotypical alternatives such as binge drinking.
Read to Dog Programs in Schools and Libraries
Picture courtesy of Tranquil Pawz Therapy Dogs
Picture courtesy of Paws 4 Love Reno
When children read to others, it not only helps to improve their reading, vocabulary and comprehensive skills, but also their confidence and self-esteem, allowing them to progress all the more. But children with poor reading skills can become intimidated, too self-conscious and fearful of ridicule to participate. Enter the dog.
Children not only find it fun reading to a dog, but they can do so without fear of judgment. The calmness of the dog lessens the anxiety of the child, and the child knows that they will not be criticized or laughed at for their mistakes.
In their wonderfully innocent way of thinking, children do not reason that there are others listening; they are simply reading to the dog. They are able to relax and concentrate on the task. Yet all the while the dog's handler is present to help the child with reading and comprehension.
Logo courtesy of
Reading Education Assistance
Dogs (R.E.A.D.)
Picture courtesy of
TN Safety Spotters
Crisis response organizations work with emergency response agencies to place therapy dog teams in disaster areas. The teams provide comfort, emotional support, and hope to the victims of the disaster, as well as to the emergency responders.
Disaster victims often shut down emotionally and stop thinking clearly. The presence of a dog, and especially physical contact with one, can help calm a person, which allows them to think more clearly. They are then in a better position to communicate their needs to emergency responders.
Teams are specially trained to work in stressful, unpredictable environments.
Picture courtesy of Kamlu Retirement Inn
A woman said she had a therapy dog.
She explained that she had been taking her dog on visits to see her mother, who resided in an assisted living home. Everyone at the facility fell in love with her dog and looked forward to their weekly visits. So when her mother passed away, she continued her visits with the other residents.
Was her dog a therapy dog?
Sure, why not? It certainly did the work. But as you will read, there are a number of good reasons to consider registering with a therapy dog organization.
Requirements and Rules of Therapy Dog Organizations
Picture courtesy of
Coastal Carolina Chapter of
Love on a Leash
Therapy dog organizations that offer registration each have their own requirements and rules you must follow in order to be a member and to be protected by their insurance policy.
To get an idea what an evaluation might be like, the AKC's Canine Good Citizen® (CGC) Program is a good place to start. Most therapy dog evaluations are similar to or an extension of the CGC test.
That said, organizations do differ in many ways. For example, some require both the dog and handler to be evaluated, while others only evaluate the dog; some require periodic evaluations, while others only require that your registration be renewed every year or two.
Here are some other examples of the requirements and rules of various organizations:
► Minimum age requirements for you and your dog
► Your dog must be spayed or neutered
► Your dog may not be fed a raw protein diet
► Your dog must have a record of vaccination in accordance with your vet's recommendations
► Your dog must be bathed before each workday
► You and your dog must wear ID while on the job
► Your dog must be kept on a leash of a maximum length while on the job
► You may not serve under the auspices of a second organization
Altogether, the list sounds very limiting. Remember that these are just examples, and that they do not apply to all organizations. Nevertheless, if one of them is an issue for you, you will want to consider it in selecting an organization to work with.
Registration with a therapy dog organization generally provides the following benefits:
► Training for you (or ensuring proper training through evaluation)
► Training for your dog (or ensuring proper training through evaluation)
► Evaluation of the two of you as a team
► Insurance
► Assistance with placement at facilities requesting therapy dog visits
Picture courtesy of Caring Canines
Completing the process of registering with a therapy dog organization generally ensures that you and your dog are ready to safely serve your community, and that you are being responsible in protecting yourself with insurance.
Local organizations will generally assist in placing you at a facility in your community, and national organizations may also help in this area by providing a list of facilities requesting visits.
If an organization doesn't provide one or more of these services directly, it will guide you to another organization that does. For example, a local organization may provide all the support you need to become a therapy dog team and begin serving in your community, but they may refer you to a national organization for training, evaluation, registration and insurance.
Your dog may not need any training at all! Therapy dogs simply have to be very obedient, tolerant, and social. And your dog is all of these things, right?
Picture courtesy of
Tranquil Pawz Therapy Dogs
Dogs are brought to therapy dog evaluations that aren't even close to being ready for therapy dog work. They bark and pull at other dogs, and have to be taken from the room to get them under control.
If you are unsure if your "best friend" is ready for therapy dog work, the AKC's Canine Good Citizen® (CGC) Program, as noted above, is a good place to start. Most therapy dog evaluations are similar to or an extension of the CGC test.
If your dog needs additional training, check to see if a local therapy dog organization offers a training program or can refer you to one. Many professional dog trainers offer group classes designed to prepare you and your dog for a therapy dog evaluation.
Okay, that's mostly been about your dog. But what about you?
Training for the handler differs with the different therapy dog organizations. Some require that you and your dog attend a training program together, while others allow you to go directly to an evaluation. Other options include home schooling on-line or from printed materials.
Either way, arrange with other teams to shadow them, following them on their rounds at the facilities they visit. It's not only a great way to learn, but it's a great way to choose the type of facility that you and your dog will most enjoy working in.
Picture courtesy of
Independent Therapy Dogs
A few organizations only require that you submit a copy of an AKC Canine Good Citizen® (CGC) Program certification along with your application in order to register with them. Most organizations, however, require that you be evaluated by members of their own organization.
If an organization offers a training program, it's a great way to prepare for their evaluation. But whether they do or not, one of the best things you can do to prepare is to volunteer to assist at evaluation and observe those being evaluated. If the organization only allows members to assist, then go as an observer.
One of the most important things you can do during your evaluation, and in the therapy dog work you do afterward, is to be proactive. Most organizations do not treat the evaluation like an obedience trial, where the dog is to perform flawlessly with only minimal direction from its handler. You are welcome to assist your dog just as you would on the jog.
Here are a couple of examples:
1. If you see another dog enter the room, tell your dog so it doesn't feel the need to tell you with a bark. This is being proactive, rather than acting after your dog barks, which would be reactive. Or doing nothing, which would be inactive.
2. Let's say three people are aggressively moving toward your dog and asking to pet it. That could be scary! So be proactive, and reach down and pick up your dog or bend down and connect with it if it's larger. It will then feel secure with your contact, and should be fine being petting by any number of people.
Taking these proactive actions is exactly what you will be doing on the job.
Logo courtesy of Paws 4 Friends
While people often inquire how to have their dog certified for therapy dog work, not all organizations use the term certify, or certification.
Here are two of the definitions of the word certify:
1. endorse reliably
2. award a certificate attesting to the completion of a course of study or the passing of a qualifying examination
As you can see, according to the first definition, it would simply mean that a team had been deemed qualified for therapy dog work. However, the second definition implies that training has been involved in the certification process.
Because of the different meanings, and because some organizations train their members and others only evaluate them, the term certification has different meanings to different organizations:
► With most organizations, passing the evaluation is synonymous with certification, and after becoming certified you are invited to register with the organization and perform therapy dog work under their name.
► Other organizations, however, do not use the word certification at all. They believe that the term certification implies that the organization was integral in the training of you and your dog, which they may or may not have been. So they use the word registration, which only implies that you and your dog passed their evaluation and were invited to register with the organization and perform therapy dog work under their name.
Picture courtesy of Prescription Pets
Unfortunately, especially in the very litigious United States, we have to worry about being sued even when we aren't at fault. Also, while our dog might never bite someone, their nails or even their teeth could scratch them accidentally. And we have to be especially careful with the elderly who may have thinner, softer, less elastic skin.
If you have a homeowner's policy, it may offer very good coverage for just such an accident. However, if you file a claim for a dog bite, you may then be required to either get rid of your dog or change insurance companies.
Of course not everyone has a homeowner's policy, or one with adequate coverage. And even for those who do, being covered by a policy designed for therapy dogs might be the wiser choice.
Before registering with a therapy dog organization, be sure to find out if they offer insurance to cover any liability exposure you might have while doing therapy dog work.
If you have a local therapy dog organization in your area, or a chapter or affiliate of a national organization, you may find it rewarding to become a member and enjoy the camaraderie and support of fellow members. A local organization will be active in your community, helping to find facilities that are seeking therapy dog team visits and placing teams in those facilities.
As a member of a local organization, you will also have the opportunity to enjoy participating in such activities as training classes, evaluations, fundraising events, and parades!
Picture courtesy of Caring Canines
If you don't have a local therapy dog organization or you simply desire to work independently, a national organization may suit your needs. They may also assist in team placement, coordinating available teams with requests for visits.
Finding a Therapy Dog Organization
Picture courtesy of Paws to Heal
In addition to checking the list for the U.S. or Canada, contact some of the facilities in your area where you think you might want to do your therapy dog work. Ask them what local or national organizations are represented by the therapy dog teams that visit their facility.
Even if you register with a national organization, you may want to consider joining a local organization for the support you'll receive, the social aspects of membership in a local organization, and the additional opportunities to serve your community.
And of course if you learn of an organization that's not on our list, please let us know. It's another opportunity for you to help others.
How to Start Your Own U.S. Non-Profit Organization
Logo courtesy of
Space Coast Therapy Dogs
Establishing and operating a tax-exempt, non-profit organization would appear to be a daunting task, especially if you have the relevant IRS publications in hand. But for many organizations, the task is actually quite manageable. If you only knew where to begin.
Tax-Exempt, Non-Profit Clubs & Other Organizations provides much of the information you'll need to know, as well as references to the IRS publications and contacts you'll need.
Picture courtesy of
C.H.A.M.P. Assistance Dogs
All of us who are involved in therapy dog work frequently hear our dogs referred to as service dogs. This gives us an opportunity to help educate the public about therapy dogs, service dogs, and their differences.
► A service dog is trained to assist one person who has a disability, and generally should not be disturbed while it is working as doing so might put its owner in jeopardy.
A therapy dog is trained to provide affection and comfort to any number of people, and its primary job is to allow unfamiliar people to make physical contact with it.
► In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, a person with a disability generally has the right to be accompanied by their service dog anywhere the general public is allowed. In Canada, laws vary by province. (See Service Dog Central for law details.)
A therapy dog handler has no special rights to be accompanied by their therapy dog anywhere that dogs are not generally allowed.
How should the public respond to service dogs?
You may hear that you should not speak to a service dog because it is rude to its owner, as if you were talking to their wheelchair. But we love it when people give attention to our dogs, and the owners of service dogs feel the same way.
However, there are some important considerations concerning our approach to service dogs and their owners:
► Approaching the Dog: When we encounter a service dog in public, we should assume that it is "working," performing its function in assisting its owner. Often service dogs wear signs asking us not to disturb them while they are working.
It is therefore important to ask permission before we give attention to a service dog. Which is, of course, the courteous and safe way to approach any dog.
Picture courtesy of
C.H.A.M.P. Assistance Dogs
► Approaching the Owner: When we're out with our dogs, it's usually for relatively brief periods of time. And they all add up to only a small part of our day.
A person with a service dog, on the other hand, has their dog with them virtually all throughout their day. That could include their commute to work, their workday at the office, running errands at lunchtime, and rushing around the mall doing last minute Christmas shopping.
In educating others about service dogs, we can point this out and suggest that they be very considerate in deciding when to speak to a person with a service dog. It's not that they wouldn't love to chat with us; it's that there are just too many of us and they need time to live their lives.
If you are an outgoing person, you will be speaking to those around you at the gym, on the bus, and in the checkout line at the grocery store. And if one of them happens to have a service dog, consider speaking to them, too. We certainly don't want to exclude them.
We just need to be especially considerate of people with service dogs. We need to make sure we don't interrupt their dog's work, or contribute to an incessant interruption of their lives.
