How long does a therapy dog program take? How much does it cost?

2022-02-12T18:58:42-05:00

I am curious among the RP Community if anyone has volunteered their puppy for Therapy Dog training? How long does that take? Costs? What is the expected give back for Therapy missions for owner and dog? Have a 6 month male Golden Retriever that is both highly intelligent and very empathetic (natural instinct for picking up on moods via human facial, body language and tone of voice). So I think I have the right dog. Just curious on the commitment.

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made Feb 13 at 2022 7:37 AM

2022-02-13T07:37:18-05:00

I don't have one; I have had the opportunity to work with others.
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/how-to-train-a-therapy-dog/
From the article: Therapy dogs must have attained adulthood, with many organizations not allowing puppies under a year old. Additionally, many organizations require dogs to pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen(CGC) test for obedience, although others require a therapy-specific test in place of the CGC. Keehn, who both trains and evaluates dogs for CGC as well as therapy certification, affirms that these elements are extremely important for when any therapy dog is in public. A dog who can’t “leave it” on cue or interact with children in a friendly manner will not succeed.

Other than that, age and breed don’t really matter. Keehn has tested dogs as little as a four-pound Yorkshire Terrier and as old as 13-year-old Beagle – both of whom passed their CGC with flying colors. To avoid conflicts of interest, Keehn will only test teams for whom she’s played no role in training. Aside from basic obedience, the dog must possess a naturally social temperament, not be too young or bouncy, and must want the job.

How To Train a Therapy Dog: Learning If Your Dog Is Fit For Therapy Work

Therapy dogs provide comfort and relief to those in hospitals, schools, and elsewhere. Learning to train a therapy dog takes temperament, time, & patience.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 13 at 2022 11:26 AM

2022-02-13T11:26:31-05:00

https://dogcare.dailypuppy.com/how-to-donate-a-dog-for-service-12161175.html

How to Donate a Dog for Service

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Feb 14 at 2022 9:49 AM

2022-02-14T09:49:45-05:00

If you are looking for points of contact I would reach out to your local humane society or local hospital for some points of contact. They should be able to assist with pointing you in the direction with getting the info you want. Ultimately the time and cost depends on the agency or org that is doing it. That info depends and varies on the people doing it.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Feb 14 at 2022 9:33 PM

2022-02-14T21:33:27-05:00

Although Beckham crossed the Rainbow Bridge a year ago, he worked for about 10 years as a Certified Therapy Dog. His best work was in physical rehab (do twice as much with a dog on the other end) and neuropsych. He'd get patients to come out of their shells. For a while, he had more IDs and insurance than I had. The process involved about 2 years of training which always includes obedience. Then there was a series of testing and then testing in hospital environments. The dog doesn't get hit with hospital stuff cold as while they are still in training status, we were able to ask and be allowed to train most everywhere. And yes, CTDs are volunteers and have their hospital IDs and eat free at the cafeteria. Becks knew where they all were. In later years, he worked more reading programs and helped out in the child victim unit and court. Primary cost is a lot of your time as both the dog and handler are registered. There's transportation, much more bathing, recerts, and the list goes on. Everyone we knew were owner/handler combination as you should live with the dog to be sensitive to their stresses. Most failures are due to overworking the dog. It needs to be fun and something they look forward to. The picture was at a hotel lobby where Becks met up with several Wounded Warriors. Some time later, Becks injured a paw. The Vets refused to let him do his normal stuff as one of theirs was wounded. There's healing going on both ways there. We now have a year old flat coated retriever "Dakota" who we're doing the preliminary training and ferreting out his suitability for CTD work. So far so good... Costs beyond having a well cared for dog amount to $1 grand plus/year for maintaining them in hospital ready status. Transportation and your time are worth something to.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 19 at 2023 1:57 PM

2023-02-19T13:57:21-05:00

I have not found a program to train a dog you already have. Most programs just place a new trained dog with a veteran. However, the ADA (Americans with disabilities act) allows for self train dogs to be service animals and they are training books on Amazon. If there are programs that reimburse for professional training. I’d be interested in that program.