How to train a therapy dog?

[sillyluc]

Hi! I'm new to this forum and I am really excited to see a whole message forum dedicated to newfies!
We currently have a newfie. We love him. He's from a BYB. But he has been the BEST dog. We are looking at getting another newfie next summer. I contacted another breeder who shows her dogs and is not a BYB. She said she evaluated the temperament of the dogs before they were selected for homes to make sure the right dogs were going into the right homes. So this got me thinking- since she's looking at temperament anyway, maybe this time around I could train a therapy dog. I had lots of fun training my current newfie just in basic things. But I had a couple questions:
1. I have three children. They participated in the training of Rez. I know therapy dogs need to be trained really well. My children are young (11, 9 and 8).. can they somehow "ruin" this training? We have lots of kids in and out of our house currently with friends visiting, etc.
2. I researched a bit on the web but I was confused by what I was reading.. does someone help you train a therapy dog or do they only evaluate?
3. Is one sex better than another for therapy work? Just out of curiousity. I have only ever had male dogs and cats (ok, I've had two female cats out of the many we have owned).

I always thought it would be fun to raise service dog puppies but this seems even better since we want another newfie and I'll get to participate in the therapy with the dog (I would love to have a dog that goes to children's hospitals or participates in reading programs).
Anyway... I'd love to hear any advice from those who have trained therapy dogs- especially newfies and especially if you have children in the home.

Thank you!

 

[takemebacktotulsa]

We don't have kids but do therapy work with our Newf. We found a good training club and started with puppy classes. Our club has its own accredited therapy program that you are eligible to join once you pass the CGC test, obtain recommendations from instructors and pass a series of obedience classes and trial visits. There are also organizations like TDI that have their own therapy programs and tests to pass before you may make visits. We work with both male and female dogs and I think temperament is more important than sex when it comes to therapy work. My guy loves people, especially kids, so we visit the children's hospital every chance we get. Good luck with your search!

 

[new_2_newf]

My two cents - a good therapy dog is born, not made. Some dogs are just well dispositioned for that sort of stuff and others are not. Thankfully, a well bred newf is usually a good candidate. My advice is to go an meet the parents of the pup you are looking at. Go and see what a breeder you are interested in is keeping and producing. Are they friendly or aloof? Stable or skiddish? A solid temperament should give you a dog that is friendly and stable, not much should give them reason to start to any great degree. Keep in mind, nature can play with that. If a bitch is in season, a dog might be otherwise distracted and off in a lot of ways, a bitch in season could be a bitch, a bitch that has a litter on the ground might be a little protective, and a bitch going through a phantom pregnancy might be a little...well just weird. We often don't see a lot of that in the home life because most of our dogs are altered, and we don't have the variety a breeder might have with intact males and females at the same time.

If you can, meet some of the pups that breeder has produced. same sort of idea. If you have a breeder that is using sound stock and producing sound AND HEALTHY puppies, then you probably have a decent breeder and would likely get a decent pup. You want health...you can't take an ill dog into a lot of therapy situations.

Once you have a sound and healthy pup, the most important things you can do is get obedience under way. practice, practice, practice, practice. your kids are old enough to help. I don't think they could ruin anything unless they are causing the pup undo stress, pain, or fear. I think most normal family situations are fine for development.

When it is age appropriate, start gently and slowly exposing your dog to as many sights and sounds as you can. Different people, different things, different sounds, lights, etc. Keep in mind a puppy's fear stages and try not to push them too much during these times.

Around 12-18 months, you should start to see well trained and obedient dog that is exposed to some different sights and sounds, and this is where you could start thinking about therapy work.

Some organizations offer 'classes' to help weed out potential dogs and help expose the dogs to various situations they might encounter while working and during the testing, others do not. You'll have to see what is around you locally. Either way, see what you have locally. Both should be able to explain the testing they put a dog through and help you understand how you and your dog must behave to pass the test and start working. Consider getting a CGC or CGN with your dog before you go through the testing. The therapy testing is much more in depth, but the CGC/CGN is a good place to start. If you don't have those skills down pat, you are going to have trouble with the therapy testing.

Also, if your current pup has the health and disposition, there is no reason they couldn't do therapy work...lineage and pedigree don't really matter in that world. either way, going through the same steps is a good idea for any dog...it doesn't hurt them at all to have solid obedience and exposure to a variety of things in the world, it just makes them a more stable dog.

 

[newflizzie]

I believe that a good part of a great therapy dog is their temperament, wherever they come from. Also, I believe they need to be well socialized and trained for good behavior. I've only been doing therapy for 2 1/2 years, but one of the MOST important things I've learned is that you need to be able to read your dog. I took classes in basic obedience, then the CGC, and then took a therapy dog test. With my second Newf, we actually took a therapy dog class, and will take another in the Fall before testing. There are a lot of things a therapy dog can do, so just because your dog may not have the personality to sit patiently for reading therapy or in a hospital bed, doesn't mean they can't be a therapy dog -they can go into schools and teach dog safety, and go into nursing homes, or to colleges during finals week, etc. Knowing your dog really well will help you make the best decisions for your dog. Good Luck! We absolutely love doing therapy visits!

 

[sillyluc]

Thanks, you all have given me a lot to think about and some more research to do. I hadn't thought about Canine Good Citizen. I haven't even really read about it, only heard about it. So I have some more research to do!

I don't think our current newf would make a good therapy dog for various reasons. We adore him and others love giving him attention, but I don't think he would adore being a therapy dog, if that makes sense. We did not think about temperament when we bought him... in fact, I had intended going to the breeder to just look at the place and the dogs. But they had to 4 month old puppies and, omg, they were cute. So we impulsively brought him home. This time around I'm a little more calculating and willing to take my time to find the right dog. We will visit the breeder first and I am going to look more in CGC, etc.

Glad to hear having kids won't hinder training. They did help me train Rez. Even my youngest, then 4 yrs old, could have Rez sit and down (which was super cute!). Our only downfall was with the clicker, which I wanted to use, but the kids LOVED clicking it at every moment they could, so it kind of lost its "power".

Thanks for the advice. I'm off to do some more research!

 

[new_2_newf]

keep us posted if you have more questions. loads of people here have therapy dogs all over the world doing a variety of tasks, and some have even trained assistance dogs for their own use. It definitely helps to start with a good sold base in temperament and health, and from there it's a bit of a craps shoot. Some dogs are born to do it, others require a little more prompting. Also, it's not for every owner. There are a lot of days that visits upset me...it can be really hard to see people you care about (and you do start to care about them) decline, and it can be sad when they cry when you have to leave because you are THE ONLY soul that comes to see them, and it can also be amazing when you make someone's week, or see a non responsive patient smile or talk to the dog. It can be a bit of an emotional roller coaster.

 

[plafleursr]

I have a6 yr old newfy female, she is rescue I adopter at 2 yrs old and received her TDI @ 3. Therapy Dogs International has just changed the testing http://www.tdi-dog.org/images/TestingBrochure.pdf You need to have any dog Obedience trained and under control at all times, No problems with being around other dogs or people. Before my Newfy I had 2 rotties, that where certified for children. Therapy dogs, visit children, Nurseing homes, Hospitials. If you go on TDI's web page you can check if there is a Chapter in you area or evulators in area, they could help you.

 

[blstarke]

I have been volunteering with therapy dogs since the 1970's and the most important is the temperament. My newfs are socialized as soon as they have all their shots and they are raised visiting the nursing homes.

 

[NewfieMama]

I have been volunteering with therapy dogs since the 1970's and the most important is the temperament. My newfs are socialized as soon as they have all their shots and they are raised visiting the nursing homes.

I agree with this. Expose your dog to as many different situations, people, places as possible. Crowds, sporting events, festivals, parades, anything and everything you can.