Train Therapy Dog

Not many people are aware of therapy dogs.



The main purpose of these dogs is to help those people in the hospital, nursing rooms, mental centers and such other places that are undergoing some sort of therapy. They may also be needed at schools and libraries. Dogs are very loving and their presence in the room can liven up everyone.



They are very affectionate and people love to know that someone likes them and wants to be with them. It is for this basic purpose of providing comfort and companionship that we have therapy dogs and therapy dog training is relatively different as compared to training given to dogs otherwise. However, the basic commands like sit, come and stay are the same.



Training becomes imperative because dogs are trained in a way that helps other people so they need to act in a certain way and also need to be trained towards the different reactions got by different people. Every therapy dog is handled by another person who also should undergo training so that they can control the dogs. It is mandatory for the therapy dog to pass the Canine Good Citizen Certificate Test (CGC) and may be a couple of other tests that are specifically required for therapy dogs.

You need to make the right choice for choosing a dog to be trained for this purpose because you cannot take a dog that is fierce, not friendly and very aggressive. Therefore, go in for a dog that has a friendly and a very calm temperament. Train your dog with positive reinforcement techniques and it is very essential that the dog is well trained for obedience, behavior and outdoor activities. These dogs need to be trained for strangers approaching them and playing with them. Dogs otherwise would get self defensive but therapy dogs are trained not to do so and be friendly with strangers. Also, such dogs need to be trained for not jumping, sniffing around, barking or growling, licking and so on as such kind of a behavior will not be acceptable. Take your dog for a walk to public places so that they get used to a lot of people being around plus get accustomed to the chaos and different kinds of noises that are there. Therapy dogs need to be friendly with other dogs as well and need to be trained for the same. Therapy dog training might require that extra effort from you but the results will be lifelong that you can benefit throughout.