Therapy, service, dogs?

Question

If I was wanting to get a dog in the future to carry to nursing homes and childrens hosp.. What are they called?
I would like to do some research on this!
thanks in advance!

Answer 1

A Therapy dog is one that would visit nursing homes, hospitals or even help kids in school learn to read etc. The Delta Society is a nationally recognized certification program for Therapy dogs. I know of some great dogs doing this kind of work. They are gentle in nature, enjoy people and adapt quickly to new environments.

Service dogs generally are trained for a specific skill set such as for the hearing impaired, those with vision problems, seizures, wheel chair bound etc. These dogs should concentrate on their "person" when working and their training is different.

I suggest trying to talk to some people in your area who do Therapy work. You will learn what type of personality therapy dogs have and you can look for those same attributes in the dog you decide to get. Also, sometimes people who work with therapy dogs can assist you in finding a dog suitable for the job.

lots of different breeds of dogs do therapy work, but you will find lots of Golden Retrievers and Labs out there.

Again, Delta Society will give you much needed information.

http://www.deltasociety.org/home.htm

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Therapy dogs do the type of thing you are considering doing. There is actually a TD available through a judge, and your dog can earn that title doing a large test, which certifies it as a Therapy Dog.

There is also the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) title available through an AKC judge, similarly, which all Therapy Dogs should earn prior to certification.

Once certified, the dog can enter nursing homes and can help people by visiting and by being present.

The Delta Society does a lot of Guide and Service Dog work.

I'd give you this URL instead, because it is specific to TD work.

I hope this helps.

http://www.tdi-dog.org/

Answer 4

Here is a good place to start

http://www.deltasociety.org


Good luck in your venture, this is both a demanding and rewarding volunteer opporunity.