Can I Train My Aussiedoodle To Be A Therapy Dog?

Aussiedoodles are a friendly and intelligent breed . But they can also be very bouncy and playful. So can you really train your Aussiedoodle to be a therapy dog?

If your Aussiedoodle loves being around people, they can be trained to be a therapy dog in time. Even if your dog likes to jump up on people, the right training can teach your dog how to interact with people appropriately. 

A trained therapy dog can bring so much joy to the people they meet, and we are learning more every day about the benefits therapy dogs offer. The key to becoming a successful therapy dog team is finding the right role for your aussiedoodle. Just as temperaments can vary, so, too, are  the available roles.

My own dogs have had successful therapy dog careers because I determined their jobs based on their personalities. My low-key girl was the perfect candidate to take to nursing homes, where she would calmly stand next to someone as they would pet and talk to her. My higher energy dog was better suited for schools, where she could impress children with her tricks and antics. As a dog trainer, I have been able to see many of my students go on to bring joy as a therapy dog in a variety of venues.

What Do Therapy Dogs Do?

Therapy dogs provide comfort and emotional support to those around them. Teams volunteer their time within the community in places where people need emotional support and joy.

It is important to note that therapy dogs are not service dogs. Service dogs are trained to perform specific tasks for their handlers, and have public access rights. Therapy dogs do not have public access rights. Therapy dog visits should be set up with facilities in advance. 

Some of the places you can volunteer as a therapy dog team:

Hospitals

Many hospitals will invite therapy dog teams to visit patients. Research suggests that therapy dogs can help a patient's emotional state.

Nursing/Assisted Living Homes

Much like at hospitals, nursing homes love to bring dogs in to cheer up patients. Many times teams will be placed in a community center, and sometimes staff will ask the teams to visit specific residents in their rooms.

Libraries

Reading dogs are popular these days, and for good reason! Studies show that when children read to dogs it can improve their reading fluency. Libraries often host therapy dog teams to get kids more excited about reading.

Hospice

Dogs that visit hospice centers or patients' homes give the patient and their families a much needed break from reality during difficult times. A student of mine was a hospice dog, and he would be assigned a patient to visit about once a week. The entire family looked forward to his visits.

Schools and Students

Dogs can give a much needed break to kids dealing with the many stressors of today’s student. Many times therapy dog teams will be stationed in a counselor’s office. Alternatively, teams can sign up to visit high school and college campuses during final exam week to provide a brain break..

What Makes a Good Therapy Dog?

Your Aussiedoodle may be excellent with your family, but will they be a successful therapy dog?

A good therapy dog likes to interact with all of the people they meet. So your dog should not just be friendly, but really outgoing. For instance, I have a dog that is friendly, but when she is with me, she prefers to stay by my side. A good therapy dog should be willing to enthusiastically approach other people, and not just be focused on their person.

A therapy dog must also be stable in many different environments. For instance, how will your dog react if they are in a hospital when there is an emergency? Alarms may sound, and staff will run around.  

Your dog will also need to be under control when they walk by food trays, or even medicine. They also need to be able to ignore people at facilities that may not want to greet them.

And it is also key that you (or the person who is taking on the job as handler) has a heart for therapy work too. You will be interacting with the people your dog is visiting with. So you must be comfortable talking with a wide variety of people. 

Do I Need To Certify My Dog To Do Therapy Work?

I would highly recommend it, for several reasons.

First, the certification process allows another person to get their eyes on your dog. While we all think our dogs are perfect, someone that works regularly with dogs in the therapy environment can give you feedback that will help your dog be even more successful as a therapy dog.

When you are certified, the organization you work with can send you a list of places seeking therapy dogs, so it can help you find volunteer opportunities. In fact, many facilities will only work with dogs that have earned their certification.

But most importantly, a certification will offer you liability insurance. This will safeguard you from any claims that may be made in case of anything that could unexpectedly happen.

There are several therapy dog organizations where you can seek certification. Look through these organizations recognized by the American Kennel Club to find the one that is the right fit for you.

How to Train a Therapy Dog

Even if your Aussiedoodle likes to bounce off the walls, some training can help equip them with the skills needed to participate in therapy work. 

Before considering therapy dog certification, you should have passed a basic level obedience class. 

Here are some of the most important behaviors to proof. Proofing means the dog can perform these skills in multiple locations, with different levels of distractions. So you want to have training sessions at parks, dog friendly stores, etc.

Four On The Floor/Sit

Polite greetings are essential. Many social dogs like to jump up to get closer to people. So it is important to teach the dog a safer way to interact. When practicing, make sure people only pay attention to your dog when they are in a sit, or have four feet planted on the floor. You can reinforce it further by using a marker (a clicker, or the word “yes”) when they are in the position you would like them to greet people, and follow up the mark with a food reward

Leave it

Dogs must be able to leave a wide range of things! A good “leave It” is simple to teach, but does require a lot of proofing to make sure they can leave the high value things you might find out and about. This video will help you build up your dog’s response to “leave it”.

Distractions

So often when we train our dogs, we train the foundation exercise, but don’t build reliable responses amidst distractions. Dogs do not generalize well. That is why many dogs are more obedient in their home, than when they are out and about.Therapy dogs are expected to be well-behaved in every situation.

So you want to start working with your dog in a wide variety of environments. Aim for a 5 minute session each day in a new environment. Start in an area with low level distractions (ie- an empty parking lot). 

As your dog is successful, work your way up the ladder of distractions… for each dog this may be different. If your dog can’t focus around squirrels, you may decide to start with indoor venues first (ie- pet friendly stores, friends’ homes).

For more information on working around distractions, this article goes in depth into how to build fluency.