Therapy Dog Training

You’ve probably seen service dogs at stores and restaurants with their handlers. But did you know some dogs provide therapy? If you’re interested in raising a therapy dog, or if you think your dog would make a good therapy dog, here’s how to get started.

ATD provides registration, support, and insurance for members who volunteer with dogs to visit hospitals, special needs centers, schools, nursing homes, and other facilities. We’re a network of caring volunteers who are willing to share our special canines to bring smiles and joy to people, young and old alike.

Dogs can actually help us with our need for emotional support and companionship. Dogs have a unique compatibility with humans, keeping us happy and emotionally healthy. Dogs can actually go beyond alleviating the loneliness that people feel and can go out of their way to make their owners happy. Because of their keen intelligence and eagerness to please, dogs can undertake a module-based training program, to provide customized therapy for humans.

Jane Brody signed up her dog, Max, to be a therapy dog and discovered that patients, hospital workers and pet owners all reap the benefits of the experience.

Not every dog is cut out to become a certified therapy dog, but there is a lot you can do to start working towards that goal, even with a young puppy.

“He’d be perfect as a therapy dog — perfect. You just have to help me stop him from biting so much.” I wish I could say I’m making this up, but yes, I did have a client who said that, and yes, he truly thought his dog could be a great therapy dog. My client had the best of intentions, but it took a while to convince him that his pathologically shy and potentially dangerous dog was no better suited to therapy work than I am to being a ballerina.

A therapy dog provides emotional support to people who need it, and typically belongs to a person who brings the dog to visit clients in places such as hospitals and nursing homes. There is no single way of training a therapy dog, but if your dog has stable nerves and loves human contact, and you want her to be certified as a therapy dog, you must provide her with the socialization and the basic obedience training needed to pass the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizenship certification requirements.

It is important to know that taking a therapy dog training class is not required for animals and handlers to become therapy teams. That being said, however, it is difficult for most people on their own to set up training sessions that simulate visiting conditions.

The clicker training method for therapy dog training.

Learn everything you need to know about therapy dog training and what's required for your puppy to become a therapy dog.

Learn what therapy dogs do and find out how to get certified as a therapy team with your dog.

Therapy dogs bring joy to hospitals, classrooms, and nursing homes. Here's how you and your four-footed pet can join this caring community

A dog trained to provide comfort and affection to people in a facility setting. Therapy dogs are NOT Service Dogs, which are trained to provide a specific service for a person with special needs.