Therapy Dog

[sweetlee]

There is nowhere in my city to have my dog evaluated for his TD, but the nursing homes here are asking for pets to come and visit.
All they require is a health certificate and that the activities director meet and interact with the dog first.
I believe that Dodge would be a GREAT visitor.
He could visit one on one, and then we could do a little "show" for a group of people.
He knows lots of cute tricks such as sitting pretty, waving bye bye, saying prayers, giving 5, (although this one might scare me, if he missed I know that older people bleed very easily).
Have any of you ever done therapy work at care centers? I also thought of the cancer wards and pediatric wards at the hospital.
Is there anything we should work on specifically before we consider doing this?
I think it would be a great job for Dodge.
The closest evaluator is about 7 hours from here. I am sure he would pass his test, I have heard it is basically the CGC test, with the added distractions such as wheelchairs and walkers going by.

Sharon

[mikimm]

The thing about working as a therapy dog without the test & certification is that you yourself are completely liable for any damages done by your dog whether intentional or not. For instance, if Dodge were to accidentally cause a scratch on some elderly person's arm with his pads, it could end up being a serious incident. If that person is on blood thinners or whatever, there could be a tear in the skin, bleeding, etc. With TDI (Therapy Dog International) certification, you get a liability policy that will cover damages like that.

The other thing about therapy dog work is that it really helps to be associated with others who do the same work. For example, you can learn valuable lessons about observing your dog's behavior for signs of stress, etc, that could potentially become a problem. Getting the actual certification helps you have a netowrk of people to contact with questions, advice, and experience that you won't have if you just go it alone.

I'd recommend contacting TDI or another certifying organization and asking what it would take to get a tester to come to your area. Maybe if you have 10 friends with dogs who would like to do it too, they might send someone to your area.

Just some suggestions.

[targonrotts]

i second those suggestions.

it is a liability to do therapy without being under one of the registries.
search for therapy dogs,inc therapy dogs international delta society and others.

depending which registry, depends on test. i belong to therapy dogs , inc. we get a eveluation by a tester observer and 3 supervised visits to facilities before we are registered. search these registries and locate your nearest evaluators.

it is a very rewarding volunteeer job!

[sweetlee]

Thanks, I will do those searches and I think you can order training books.
I could train for the test myself and then I guess I could go visit my daughter in Omaha for a week, that gives me another excuse to go see the new grandbaby who is due around Christmas time.
I really do think Dodge would make a great therapy dog, he loves everyone, and he knows the difference between an active kid, he loves to run with the grandkids, and he is gentle and subdued with babies or elderly people.
I am sure it IS very rewarding. When we went to go visit my great uncle Dave who was 95 and just passed away, he lit up as he petted Dodge and yacked forever. He was sound asleep when we got there.


Thanks again,

Sharon

[chasetheface]

There is another active thread re: this that offers info to. I did do a look up for WV teams
and they are out there - don't know how close to you they are but at least you could contact them for more info. Do a search on Pet Partner teams in your area as well as Team
Evaluators to find extra help and info in your area...at least for the Delta Society Pet Partner program.

http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/wor...questions.html