In my work as a professional dog trainer, I often meet clients who tell me that their final training goal is for their dogs to become therapy dogs. Unfortunately, not all of them realize this dream. This is usually not due to the owner’s lack of training - quite the contrary, they are very committed - but due to the fact that not every dog is made to be a therapy dog.

Today we will look at the innate qualities a therapy dog needs!

 Age

All puppies are wild and rambunctious. Nobody would think that their 5 month old whirlwind is a suitable therapy dog. But even as puppies pass their first birthday they are usually not ready to settle down yet.

Especially with energetic breeds such as Doodles, you should expect to wait for several years until your dog has a calm enough demeanor to be a therapy dog.

Socialization & Exposure

Did you take your puppy to many places as he was growing up? Therapy dogs should get exposed to a variety of different people, places, dogs, sounds and objects as early in their life as possible. The first 6 months of your dog’s life are crucial for socialization and exposure. If you missed out during this time and your dog is e.g. afraid of wheelchairs or elevators, he can probably not become a therapy dog anymore.

Strange Fears

Many of our dogs have unusual quirks and idiosyncrasies - maybe yours is afraid of trash cans or the sound of your printer? While small fears like this usually do not impact our dog’s day-to-day life, they can disqualify him from ever working as a therapy dog. A therapy dog needs to be bomb-proof and should never shy away, startle or even start barking frantically when working.

If your dog has an ingrained fear, therapy work is not for him.

Patience

Therapy takes time and patience! If your dog is always wiggly, always on the move and hard to calm down you should probably pursue a different hobby. You can teach patience and impulse control to dogs to some degree, but many dogs will always be more excitable than others. If your adult dog has troubles even sitting still for 10 minutes, do not pursue a therapy dog career with him.

Love For Training

Being a therapy dog means ongoing training. Your dog will first have to complete a basic therapy dog course and then do some supervised visits. Once he is certified, he will be going to his place of work (hospitals, libraries, airports etc.) regularly - usually about once or twice a week.

This is fun, but it also requires ongoing training and effort. Your dog will need obedience and leash-walking refreshers down the line. Many people also love to watch therapy dogs perform tricks - so you might be expected to teach your pooch a new party trick every month.

If ongoing training does not sound fun to your dog (or to you!), pick a different path for him.

Breed-Specific Considerations

While we dog trainers know that you can never judge a dog by his breed, many organizations ban certain dog breeds from working as therapy dogs. If your dog is a Pitbull, Chow, Mastiff, Malinois or a cross of one of those breeds, chances are that therapy work is not his path in life. These dogs are very high-energy and can show reactive or guarding tendencies in certain circumstances.

However, they are amazing sports dogs, so if you cannot do therapy work - there is still agility, nosework, canine parkour, rally and much more out there to explore!

Evaluate Your Dog

Check the following questions. Only if you can answer all of them with “Yes” your dog has the sure potential to become a therapy dog!

• Is your dog at least 2-3 years old?
• Did your dog have a lot of socialization and exposure during his puppy phase?
• Is your dog free of any fears and phobias?
• Does your dog have patience and the ability to sit still and wait?
• Does your dog enjoy training?
• Is your dog a typical “family dog mainstream breed” and not a guard dog breed?

The Bottom Line

Having a therapy dog and watching him or her bringing a smile to people’s faces is an extremely rewarding process. However, not every dog was born to become a therapy dog. Do not make the mistake of forcing your into a job that he is not suitable for - this won’t be fun for you or him.

If you decide that therapy work is not your dog’s destiny, there are many other fun hobbies you can pursue together!

Guest Contributor: Anne Handschack / SPIRITDOG Training