What Makes a Good Therapy Dog?
A Therapy Dog visiting any facility (or community event) must be social and totally under control – friendly, but not so overly friendly as to inflict unintentional injury to the person the dog is visiting. A good Therapy Dog is calm, tolerant and polite. The balance between calmness, and friendliness is a difficult one. Your dog must also get along with all other dogs. Even an excellent obedience dog may not be a good visiting dog if it shows little interest in meeting people. An aloof dog may be calm, but may cause people to feel rejected. Therapy Dogs must like people of all ages. If the dog doesn’t enjoy people, it may be hurtful to the person the dog is visiting. The person needs to feel accepted by the dog. Getting Involved In Therapy Work With Your Dog If you are interested in your dog becoming a Therapy Dog, you will need to consider your dog’s personality, temperament and behavior. Work with your dog in encountering unusual sights, sounds and smells. A group obedience class wi
