About Therapy Dogs
Answers to all of your questions about therapy dogs
and registering your dog as a therapy dog
What is a therapy dog?
Therapy dogs are privately owned pets who have been registered or certified by a recognized therapy dog organization to visit people in need with their owner/handler. Therapy dogs visit people to provide comfort, support healing, increase emotional well-being, and improve quality of life for the people and staff whose lives the dogs touch.
Therapy dogs and their handlers are volunteers.
Therapy dogs are NOT service animals.
They do not receive any of the same access privileges under the Americans with Disabilities Act that a service animal does. For clarification, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA published by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Laura DeMaio Roy, owner of DoggyU, gives a thorough explanation of the different definitions and regulations around therapy dogs, service dogs, and emotional support animals in the video below. She also includes a link to her updated video regarding the 2021 service dog and ESA laws for flying with your dog.
How do I know if my dog would make a good therapy dog?
While every therapy dog organization has their own criteria for registering therapy dogs, there are general characteristics that can help you determine if your dog would be a good therapy dog:
Your dog is at least one-year old.
Your dog may be pure-bred or mixed breed.
Your dog maintains an even temperament and friendly demeanor, especially around people and in new situations.
Your dog likes meeting people, and loves receiving pets, even some hugs.
You dog remains calm even when people get carried away with affection.
Your dog understands basic obedience cues like sit, down, place, stay, come, and leave it.
Your dog knows how to walk politely on a loose-leash.
When meeting new people, your dog keeps all four paws on the floor.
After seven months of living with Bernie McSquare, I had an experience that solidified for me, his desire to help people. Read about our therapy dog origin story from Christmas Eve 2016.
If you've been working with a trainer, ask your trainer to give you an honest assessment of whether or not your dog would be a good fit for therapy dog work. If your trainer sees anything that might interfere with your dog passing an evaluation like an abundance of enthusiasm, they may be able to give suggestions for exercises and activities to support your dog on your journey to becoming a certified team.
Each therapy dog organization will have specific criteria for joining their group. Be sure to do your research and find the organization that you know you would work well with.
How long will it take to train my dog for therapy dog certification?
That answer varies for every dog. The evaluation, training, and testing process varies by therapy dog organization as well.
Generally, therapy dogs have good manners in a variety of environments around many different kinds of people. Your dog should know basic obedience cues like sit, down, place, stay, come, and leave it. They should also know how to walk politely on a loose-leash.
A solid training goal for any therapy dog is to pass the Canine Good Citizen Test. This AKC test requires your dog to perform ten different tasks with a certified evaluator:
If you're looking for training tips and inspiration for the CGC test, please read all of our posts about Canine Good Citizen. We’ve shared specific dog training tips for each of the ten test tasks, a variety of resources to help you succeed with your CGC training, and stories involving how we trained Bernie for CGC.
What places do therapy dogs visit?
Therapy dog teams have a wide array of choices for facilities they may visit. The list below is an overview and should not be considered comprehensive. Individual facilities may contact therapy dog organizations to ask for visits, so different communities will have different opportunities.
hospitals
nursing homes
hospice facilities
retirement homes
rehabilitation centers
schools
college campuses
libraries
airports
disaster areas
Watch this five minute video to see therapy dogs visiting Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and hear the numerous benefits they bring to the patients. You may want to grab a few tissues!
What organizations certify or register dogs as therapy dogs?
Why do I have to work with a therapy dog organization?
Having your dog registered with a recognized therapy dog organization provides you and your dog with credibility with potential visitation facilities. You may also have opportunities for training and continuing education.
You'll also have the peace of mind knowing that you and your dog are covered by the liability insurance policy of the registering therapy dog organization. Not every therapy dog organization offers liability insurance. Be sure to do your research and ask what coverage they provide in exchange for annual dues.
Does pet therapy really make a difference?
Therapy dog stories pop up in the news every week. While much of this coverage is anecdotal, the smiling faces of the recipients of a dog's unconditional love do not lie.
If you'd like to read more about the good work therapy dogs do, be sure to follow McSquare Doodles on our Facebook Page where we select and share inspirational stories of therapy dog work.
Below, I've collected news stories covering recent scientific research into the effectiveness of therapy dog work. I'll be updating this section as reports of new studies are published, so be sure to check back.
Remember to book mark this page or Pin it for later.
11.28.19
From The University of British Columbia: New research demonstrates dogs promote page turning
5.14.19
From Heart: Trial of Therapy Dogs Proves a Success (Link to study results may be found here.)
5.13.19
From News Channel Five in Nashville: Vanderbilt nursing professor launches study on therapy dogs and children battling cancer
8.1.18
From The Mayo Clinic: Pet therapy: Animals as healers
7.18.18
From Science Daily: Therapy dogs effective in reducing symptoms of ADHD, study finds
7.17.18
From Oncology Nursing News: Pet therapy brings comfort to patients with cancer
12.22.17
Want to read more about the Canines and Childhood Cancer Study? Check out the press release from American Humane.
3.12.18
From Science Daily: Sit, stay, heal: Study finds therapy dogs help stressed university students
12.22.16
From the American Psychiatric Association: Therapy dogs: helping improve lives of people with mental illness
11-2-15
From Early Childhood Journal: The Impact of a Therapy Dog Program on Children’s Reading Skills and Attitudes toward Reading
