Therapy Training

[Jamie & Odin]

I am interested in eventually training Odin as a therapy dog. My husband is an episcopal minister, and we are interested in working together at the local jail, hospitals, nursing homes etc. His ministry combined with my therapy dog. Kind of different slant, but we thought it would be neat. So, my question is, if anyone is near me, and could recommend a trainer, it would be very much appreciated. I live in Menomonie, WI about an 1 1/2 hrs. from Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN and 40 Min form Eau Claire, WI. The only training I am aware of locally is fairly basic obediance, agility etc. no therapy. Thanks!

[CarolineS]

There is no therapy-specific training needed for a dog to be certified for therapy work. Your dog needs to be obedient, so obedience training would be a good place to start. A therapy dog must be well socialized with people and dogs, obedient, of a relatively calm nature and enjoy interacting with people. We discussed this a little while ago in this thread http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/sho...&threadid=8580

Maybe after you read it you'll think of some questions, or some points that were missed, and can ask us. :)

[Jamie & Odin]

Well, that clears up the training question! Thanks for the reference to the prior thread. I've only had my boy for about two months, he's 11 mos. old and I'm not sure if therapy work is the best avenue to take with him, but wanted to seriously consider it. He starts obedience classes again in November, so upon completion of the session I'll do another assessment. He is not aggressive, but since I adopted him from the shelter, I don't know much at all about his line or his early socialization. What I do know is that he was abused and rescued by the shelter. While he's not aggressive, and is actually much more submisive than what one would hope for in a Rott, I am seeing so much potential come through in these two months. With a loving home and good training, I think he may eventually be up for it. Thanks again.

[RottiMomCT]

as long as the dog is obedient. well socialized, and a happy, well adjusted, well cared for member of your home and society, getting him/her CGC tested and then tested thru a recognized Animal Therapy Association (Therapy Dogs International or Delta Society) will be a snap. As usual, I've had a brain lapse and forget the address for TDI, but the link for Delta Socety is WWW.DELTASOCIETY.ORG

I adopted me Ben from NERR in 2/00 and he and I recently passed our Delta Society Pet Partners exam and will begin visiting clients around Thanksgiving.....he's already MY personal Therapy Dog - aren't they all, they don't care what kind of day you've had, they love you anyways!

I'm not sure of TDI, but with Delta Society, you are insured up to (I think) $100,000, and many agencies (hospitals, etc) are more open to animals visiting their facilities that have been thorougly tested.

Good luck - i'ts definitely worth it!

:D