Characteristics to Look for in a Therapy Dog

We have all heard about therapy dogs, some of us may have even seen them in action. Therapy dogs are those that are allowed in hospitals, nursing homes and other places in the hopes that there presence there will help someone. These dogs provide comfort to the person with whom they are visiting and they often reduce stress. This is accomplished by the dog's natural ability to sense the emotional state of the person with whom they are in contact with. Dogs can do this with total strangers, but they are more apt to do it with their own "family" naturally.

Today though, there are dogs that are trained to perform as therapy dogs and have had their ability to sense these problems even more easily. Even though these dogs have training, they need to be the type of dog that can handle these situations and not just any dog will do. There are some characteristics that will need to be looked for before any training begins, because if the dog does not have these characteristics then the training will be a waste of time usually.

Temperament in Therapy Dog Candidates

The first characteristic to look for when looking for a therapy dog is how friendly is the dog in question? This is usually a characteristic that is easy to see. All you really have to do is spend a little time with the dog, and it will not take to long for you to decide if the dog is friendly or not. If it is not friendly it will more than likely not want to be in the same area as you or will appear to be shy and not nosy about what you are doing.

The next characteristic to look for is whether the dog is calm or not. A calm dog is better as a therapy dog than one that is hyper all the time. This is another characteristic that can be seen fairly early with a dog. Although being calm may not be as easy to see as a dog that is friendly, you can usually decide this by spending some time with the dog in question.

Allowing someone to touch the dog all over is another characteristic that should be looked at when trying to decide on a dog to use as a therapy dog. Therapy dogs will be subjected to being touched all over by people all the time they are doing their "job". A dog that does not like having hands all over him will not do well as a therapy dog. This is another characteristic that does not take that long to decide.

Ideal Behavior in Therapy Dog Candidates

Does the dog in question get along with other animals? Usually dogs that get along well with other animals will have the type of personality that is being looked for in a therapy dog. They are very social and enjoy being around other animals and people. This may be a little harder to notice because the dog will need to be taken around other animals, especially ones that the dog is not familiar with. You can not always tell how a dog is going to react to animals that are not in their household by watching them interact with animals they live with.

Good manners is another characteristic that a therapy dog must have. Sure, most manners can be taught, but if the dog already has the basics down, then things are a lot better when it goes to the therapy level. The dog should know the basics such as sit, come, lay down, no and it should be capable of being walked on a leash with out pulling the handler. Also, the dog should be house broke.

When to Begin Therapy Dog Training

Dogs that are considered for therapy dog training should be at least a year old. This is a good idea because the dog is either already out of its puppy stage or will be shortly. This is important when the actual training begins because it will make the training and the handling of the dog that much easier. Also older dogs are usually more capable of handling the stress that they endure when they are "working" than young dogs.

Health Requirements for Therapy Dogs

The last characteristic to look for is the health of the dog. A therapy dog must be a healthy dog or it will not be able to handle the stress of the job it has to do. If a dog does not feel well then it will more than likely not want to be handled, which means the therapy the dog provides will be limited.