What is a Therapy Dog?
Therapy dogs are trained to provide comfort and affection to people in hospitals, retirement homes, hospices, nursing homes, schools, and disaster areas, and also to people with autism.
Therapy dogs work in animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapy, typically alongside their owner/handlers who consider them the canines to be their personal pets.Therapy dogs come in all shapes, sizes, and breeds, and they differ from service dogs in many regards.
Service Dog vs Therapy Dog vs Emotional Support Dog
When you hear “assistance animal”, you think of a pet who can help with physical or mental disabilities. However, only emotional support animals and service animals get to claim this title.
Therapy animals are not classified as assistance animals on the account that they don’t belong to one owner rather and organization. Multiple people get to experience their love and care, not just one.
If you are looking for a dog to tend to your own emotional/mental needs, take the free, 5-minute pre-screening
now and see if you qualify for an ESA. If so, you’ll get connected to a licensed mental health professional in your state today.
How to Get a Therapy Dog: Therapy Dog Requirements
These dogs are required to be fully certified and temperament tested, unlike emotional support animal training, which is heavily encouraged.
Therapy dogs must:
- Be well-tempered
- Be comfortable in a busy or stressful environment
- Not shed excessively
- Love to cheer others up
- Be well-socialized
A good therapy dog must be friendly, confident, gentle in all situations and must be comfortable and contented with being petted and handled, sometimes clumsily.
Additionally, the dog must possess the ability to be lifted or assisted onto an individual’s lap or bed, and must also be able to sit or lie comfortably there.
