Training can be Ruff!

If including a therapy animal in your clinical practice is something you are considering, let's talk about how to get started!

First things first... not all animals are destined to be therapy animals. Your baby “Scruffy” may give the best loves and be A Good Boy, this does not mean that he will be able to make the cut for a trained therapy animal. If you are anything like us, then you love your dog and want to take them with you to work. Also, we recognize that our pets would not be the best for therapy animal training. To determine if your pet has the chops to be a therapy animal ask yourself these questions:

1. Are they interested in meeting new people in all settings?

• Therapy dogs will need to be nice and comforting to all people around.

2. Does your dog have a calming demeanor?

• Therapy dogs are required to be calm in high stress/distracting settings.

3. Does your dog adapt to new settings and smells?

• Therapy dogs need to be composed when going with the handler to new areas.

Do you have what it takes to be a handler? Therapy animals require a handler who can manage all the training restrictions. The handler must be adaptable and comforting as well. All training is designed for the therapy animal, meaning you are being assessed just as much as the therapy animals are. If you think you can be a team leader to your therapy animal, then please see the steps to becoming a therapy animal and handler.

The AKC (American Kennel Club) suggests taking these steps to become a therapy animal and handler:

1. Obedience training

• Well trained in basic obedience, which can be done in your home or through a course.

2. K-9 Good Citizen Test

• This is a 10-skill test that assessed your dog's abilities as well as the handler's bond. This is an important step to ensure that the dog and handler are able to command and listen.

3. Advanced K-9 Good Citizen Test

• This is not required but strongly encouraged. This test assesses the dog and handlers' community skills to simulate being in a crowd or community.

4. Therapy dog class resulting in a test/evaluation

• This class will prepare both dog and handler for visits to areas that you both may work, schools, hospitals, retirement communities, athletic training facilities.

5. After completion of test it is time to register your therapy animal with a National Therapy Dog Organization

• The AKC has an extensive list of organization options

The training is a major commitment for the animal as well as for the handler. The requirements may be slightly different for each state, county, or city. It is our recommendation that you research your local requirements before fully committing. There may be more resources in your area that can help you to become a therapy animal and handler.

Please share your state and some of the resources in that area. Consider sharing your thoughts with us in the comments. We would love to hear your perspective about therapy animals in the athletic training facilities and training them to work with us. #TwoATsAndABlog

References

Karetnick J. How to Train a Therapy Dog. American Kennel Club. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/how-to-train-a-therapy-dog/. Published December 2, 2019. Accessed March 20, 2022.

What is CGC? American Kennel Club. https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/. Accessed March 20, 2022.

AKC Community Canine. American Kennel Club. https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/akc-community-canine/. Accessed March 20, 2022.

About the AKC Community Canine Title. American Kennel Club. https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/akc-community-canine/test-items/. Accessed March 20, 2022.

AKC Recognized Therapy Dog Organizations. American Kennel Club. https://www.akc.org/sports/title-recognition-program/therapy-dog-program/therapy-dog-organizations/. Accessed March 20, 2022.

Pet Partners. https://petpartners.org/. Accessed March 20, 2022.