Therapy Dogs

[vannest]

Just curious as to how many of you have Rotties who are Therapy Dogs. Also, would like comments on something that was said to me by one of the staff during one of our nursing home visits. This young man was very personable and was quite interested in Bessie. At first I had to explain to him that "Yes, she is a full-blood rottie, not a cross." (This is question I'm used to since Bessie has a "foxy" face rather than a blocky one. I wanted that type of face. I looked high and low to find that type of face! sheesh!)

After I convinced him that she was indeed a true Rottie, he went on to say he couldn't believe I was using her for Therapy work. I explained to him that not only does she enjoy performing with our group (She's quite a ham in front of an audience) but she also enjoys meeting the patients and having them oooooh and ahhhhh over her.

So far the conversation wasn't that unusual as I'm used to people questioning her pedigree because of her foxy face as well as being surprised that a Rottie enjoys therapy work, but then it took a real nasty turn. He said I must not care much for my dog since I am intentionally subverting all the personality traits that make her a Rottie. He went on to say that it's obvious I have ruined her by "making" her be "friendly".

He went on and on about how HIS rotties would never allow strangers to touch them and how HIS rotties had too much dignity to do silly "tricks" and how HIS rotties were what rotties really should be. I took about as much of this as I could then politely (ok.. maybe not politely, but at least coherently) explained to him that he didn't know jack.

Has anyone else run into problems similiar to this with Rottie Therapy Dogs? Personally, I'm quite proud that Bessie is calm and confident enough to let strangers of all ages make a fuss over her. And as for "silly tricks"....the look in her eyes when she takes a bow on the stage (all the way down in front, all the way up in the back and her little nubbin tail going 100 miles an hour)... well, there is no one who can tell me she isn't enjoying herself.

--pam

[CarolineS]

Pam,

I'm not in therapy work with Maggie yet, but am hoping to take the test soon. http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/smile.gif

I think you were just dealing with a "jerk". A lot of people conveniently overlook the part of the FCI and ADRK breed standards that deals with character. The ADRK standard says the Rott is "of a basically friendly annd peaceable nature, very devoted, well-trainable and willing to work". The FCI standard characterizes Rotts as "being good natured, placid and fond of children in basic disposition, he is very devoted, obedient, biddable and eager to work". If this doesn't sound like an ideal therapy dog, I don't know what does!

I think the idiot in question probably owns his Rotts more to complement an inadequate part of his anatomy, than to owning them out of a love for the breed and all its characteristics.

[Sasha's Mamma]

I am fairly new with this posting idea but I think it is a terrific idea.

Now to get to my response.

Sasha, my 5 month old female Rottie, is the sweetest most personable dog I have EVER owned.

I have so many people coming up to me telling me that they were so afraid of Rotties prior to meeting Sasha. Now they want to research the breed and might even adopt a pup. I think that is terrific for the breed. Rotties get such a bad rap. I think that all they need is love and attention - like any animal.

If your dog can change the mind set of just a few then your dog has done it's job.

I say if a dog is meant to be a social animal than why try and change it.

[JonandMichelle]

I am in the same boat as CarolineS. I am not into Therapy Work yet, but am doing the finishing touches with my Raja. Hopefully come this spring I or should I say we will be proud to say were in Therapy Work!! This "man" and I say this loosely, sounds like the matcho jackass (DONKEY) type. How, if more than likely drilled doesn't know a damn thing about this so called vicious breed. I would let it roll off your back. You should be so proud of your girl. Is this "man" a regular there? If so, I would just walk away. Or, you can always buy him a book and tell him to get educated http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/smile.gif Just a thought.

[judy v]

Were you working in a psychiatric hospital? Certainly we know why this person is a patient. Wait, it wasn't a patient? Perhaps there should be an institution for fools. What else can I say? My old guy has been a therapy dog since he was 18 months old. We have had a life time of wonderful experiences.

[czechrott]

I had a Therapy Dog (TDI). We were watched very careful when we took the examination, as we were the only "Working Dog" breed at the test. I would have loved to run into this jerk that you did. My therapy dog was 10X Sch III and had a DPO II title. Maybe he could tell me how Im "subverting" my dog !

Focus on all the good your doing, both for the people who love your visits, and as a good will embassador for the breed !

[SarasMom]

My Sara has been a TDI dog for 2 years. While I have never had a situation quite like yours, I get the "will that Rockwilder bite me?" routine quite often. I used to get it ALL the time until the all the staff got to know Sara. Now I just get it with the new hires and visitors. It's funny though, I never get asked by a resident if she will bite just because she's a Rottie. It's always people who have massive exposure to the media and the stereotypes.
One issue I did have though:
Sara is quite a "talker" and this did scare some people a couple of times. I have now trained her to NOT do this when visiting. It sure took a lot of work to do that because she usually does it when she's extremely happy and the nursing home is a happy place to her. She hardly does it at all anymore when visiting, and when she does, I remind her and she stops.
My biggest issue is making sure that she doesn't step on the residents' feet. Most at the facility I visit are very ill (have Alzhimer's or other serious illness). Therefore, almost all are in bed or wheelchairs, and most don't wear shoes. They wear heavy socks or footies. I don't have to tell you what the effect of a 100 pound dog stepping on the foot of a VERY fragile person is. I have to be extremely careful about this. Thankfully, it has never happened, but I worry all the time about it.

[Nancy Estes]

There was a German import, SchH III, some years ago that was a top winning American Champion and a therapy dog as well (Mirko) who certainly disproved the idea that a Rottweiler with SchH credentials couldn't do therapy work as well. He was imported as an adult and trained by his new owners as a therapy dog. There are plenty of others out there with similar credentials that do therapy work as well. A Rottweiler with correct temperament is not supposed to be a highly suspicious dog and should be able to be trained to deal with all sorts of therapy settings.

Nancy

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von Dorow Rottweilers
doggo1@apex2000.net

[Caterpillar Mechanic]

Help! I have several wonderful Rotites one of which I know would make a great therapy dog. Lexus is calm, cool, confident, friendly, and not easily rattled. I work in the health care field and have always had an interest in this kind of work. I just needed to find the right dog! Now, I have it but need information on the process of getting her certified. Please help!

Kellie

[CarolineS]

Kellie,

I know there is another thread on here somewhere that goes into the different organizations that look after it. I'm Canadian, so it is handled by a different organization up here, so can't help you. Try doing a search on "Therapy Dogs", make sure you do it in "all active forums and archives" and I'm sure something will pop up.